PANAJI: The customers of the Goa Urban Co-operative Bank (GUCB) were put to inconvenience on Monday as the bank employees went on a strike in support of their long pending demands.

In view of this, the chairman and vice-chairman and 5 directors quit their posts. The seven members of board of directors, who resigned are the chairman, Mr V A Naik, the vice chairman, Mr B M B P Fernandes, and directors, Mr R N Lavande, Mr C U Chodankar, Mr D P S Curchorcar, Ms M R Pereira, and Mr P A Kavlekar.

They had dispatched letters to the Goa Urban Cooperative Bank Officers Association and the Goa Urban Cooperative Bank Employees Union with a request to defer the strike scheduled for March 29.

The president of GUCBL union, Mr Subhash Naik George addressing the media stated that the employees have deferred the strike to May 3 after taking the stock of the situation but will continue indefinitely till charters of demands pending since January 1, 2003 are met.

A fresh letter has been send to the general manager signed by the president of employees association, Mr S N George, general secretary, Ms Archana Karre, president of officers association, Mr Prasanna Uttagi, and general secretary, Mr Shivaji Bhangui.

Mr George also said the employees were waiting patiently for 8 long years while the employees of nationalized banks had wage settlement twice since 2003, in the first revision it was 13 1/2 per cent hike while in the second it was 17 1/2 rise but Goa Bank employees got only 5 per cent interim relief and that only after going on 2-day strike in September 2007. He also said officers association and employees association had given a strike call notice one month in advance.