European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 22, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 2 a a a the stars and stripes tuesday May 22,1990merchants Bank Union reach Accord by Randy Mcclain financial writer Frankfurt West Germany a merchants National Bank has reached an agreement in principle to Settle a Long standing contract dispute with the Union representing its employees in West Germany. A from our Side it was a hard Compromise but i think the majority of our members will accept this. Both sides Are losing a Little bit a said Aloysius Wohlfahrt a spokesman for the banking Union. The agreement which must be voted on by Union members guarantees workers a 4.6 percent pay raise retroactive to nov. I and sets up new procedures for salary increases in subsequent years. Bank and Union officials expressed optimism monday that the agreement will Lead to an official contract for 1990 within a  weeks. Merchants and the Disseldorf Headquarters of the West German Commerce banking and insurance Union have until june 8 to review the preliminary agreement. Either Side can Back out if it so chooses. The Union has 1,000 members at merchants 130 branches in Germany. Union members have been working without a contract since nov. 1, when their Tariff agreement for 1989 expired. Bob Lewis an executive with merchants in Frankfurt said he expects Union members to approve the proposed contract. A it appears to be a Good agreement for All parties a he said. If its approved the agreement will bring to an end a bitter seven month labor dispute Between the two sides. Employees staged several one Day strikes at merchants branches Over the Winter after negotiations had stalled. A key part of the preliminary agreement ties future pay raises at merchants to whatever raises Are agreed to by the West German banking Industry As a whole. Unlike in the United states where each Bank handles Jabor matters on its own West Germany a banking Industry enters into a Blanket annual contract covering All institutions. National contract talks will be held in november. On a related Issue merchants management still wants a  workers each weekend to be available to service and refill automated Teller machines that run out of Cash. The catch is that German labor Law generally prohibits sunday work. Union officials have compromised a bit on the Issue. The agreement in principle with merchants includes a plan for compensating employees should Sun Day work be ruled Legal at some Point. One potential Snag to signing a final document remains however. Wohlfahrt said merchants management wants the Bank a Frankfurt based Central works Council which gives employees a say in some aspects of How the Bank is run to approve atm service during three Day Holiday weekends. Wohlfahrt said he Isnit sure what the Council which includes Union and non Union voting members will do. Merchants is threatening to veto the tentative labor agreement unless they get this Concession the Union spokesman said. But the works Council can to be forced to break West German Law said Wohlfahrt who expects merchants top executives to Back off from their demand prior to june 8. A the Bank can to afford to cancel this preliminary agreement now after such a Long struggle a he said. Among other issues addressed in the agreement Are a change in the Way step increases Are computed after employees Complete one year on the Job and the establishment of a new trainees pay category for tellers and some other workers for the first four months of their  updates ban on writer ends Johannesburg South Africa apr Donald Woods whose Book on Black activist Steve Biko was made into the movie a cry Freedom a is now free to return to South Africa after being banned for years his former newspaper said sunday. The East London daily dispatch where Woods was the editor in the 1970s, said it had received a letter from president . De Klerk saying there were no restrictions or pending charges against Woods. A there really does seem to be a new spirit in South Africa and in a greatly looking Forward to coming Back to experience it for myself a Woods said. Woods befriended Biko before his death in police custody in september 1977. A month later Woods was placed under a Banning order that prevented him from working As a journalist. He and his family fled South Africa in 1978 and have been living in London Ever since. Spying on alleged spy Washington apr the state department has won the right to use evidence gathered through electronic surveillance in proceedings to dismiss suspected spy Felix s. Bloch from the foreign service. A Federal judge said in an order that the electronic surveillance were conducted lawfully under the foreign intelligence surveillance  Washington a voting officials have announced primary elections for Tennessee on aug. 2 and Kansas on aug. 7. Service members government employees and their family members who Are residents of these states should Contact their unit voting officers for details on How to Register and obtain Absentee ballots. A completed Federal postcard application should be mailed Early to ensure timely receipt of a ballot officials  a photo outline in mondays editions mistakenly said that about 500 people showed up for the sixth annual German american raft race last weekend. About 11,000 attended. Corps of engineers to Cut 200 from payroll in Europe by oct. 1 by Gary Pomeroy staff writer faced with a declining workload and a continuing construction freeze the european division of the army corps of engineers will Cut at least 200 from the payroll by oct. 1, a corps spokesman said monday. The Uncertain future of . Troops in Europe Means a we done to know exactly the scope of our support Mission for the future a Larry Hawthorne said. A meanwhile we have to guess make estimates a and those estimates Are continually  the division has lost $30 million in new construction a month since january he said. During fiscal 1988, the division employed 1,125 army civilians and local nationals and completed $558 million in construction. The fiscal 1990 construction estimate is $491 million leading the division to pare its payroll of 925 to 689 by the end of the fiscal year. Some of those slots will be eliminated through Normal attrition Hawthorne said. The division attempted to hold off the reduction by helping find jobs for employees who volunteered to move out of Europe. Seventy five people have signed up and 12 have been Given new jobs. But those efforts  reduce the corps enough Hawthorne said. The division asked the army for permission for the reduction on feb. 7 a because it takes a while to get and it would be a tool to get Down to the Levels necessary a Hawthorne said. Temporary employees would be the first to leave. A Twete still a viable organization with a Mission to perform and we will be careful. That management takes that into consideration in identifying positions to be  30 killed when Indian troops open fire on crowd carrying slain islamic Leader cd in a a re i 1 a i no w _ Srinagar India apr Indian Security forces opened fire monday on a crowd of 100,000 moslem carrying the body of a slain Kashmir religious Leader killing at least 30 people and wounding 200, witnesses and doctors said. Thirty bodies and at least 200 people with Bullet wounds were brought to a Hospital. Many of the injured said about 40 More bodies were still on the streets of Srinagar Shawal neighbourhood where the shooting took place. The City was under curfew and the statements from the injured could not be confirmed immediately. Government officials could not be reached for comment. The shooting came after three gunmen killed the top islamic religious Leader in Kashmir earlier monday pumping 15 bullets into him. The Leader of a moslem rebel group fighting for kashmiris Independence from India accused the Indian army of plotting to kill the islamic Leader Maulvi Mohammad Farooq 45. Farooq was shot in his office by three unidentified men after they took him from his Home to a talk a said Mohammad Maqbool Farooqi a chief aide. Maqbool said the youths were dressed in Western clothes and appeared to be kashmiris. Farooq was shot in the head Chest stomach and legs and died later in a Hospital a doctor said. The slain islamic leaders private Secretary Mohammad Yaqub said the Clergyman before doing accused hindu fundamentalists of killing him. Maulvi Mohammad Farooq a i am dying but you fight for the Freedom of   a Iguacu a cur Lew on the Hawal neighbourhood and surrounding areas after the slaving. But tens of thousands of mourners defied the cur a a a  it ecu Mic Gur  to carry Farooqi a coffin from the Soura Hospital to his office in Najouri Kadar a distance of six Miles. Yaqub said Farooqi a last words were members of the paramilitary Cental Reserve police Force fired on the procession after it had covered five Miles the witnesses said speaking on condition of anonymity. They said the Security forces gave no warning before they started shooting. The coffin was hit by bullets and Farooqi a body fell out said the witnesses. Some of the mourners put the body with fresh Bullet wounds Back into the coffin and ran with it into the neighbourhood a a narrow alleys and reached his office safely they  of the coffin bearers was shot in the leg and the leg had to be amputated doctors at Soura Hospital said speaking on condition of anonymity. Soldiers and paramilitary forces have been deployed in Srinagar the capital of Kashmir for the past five months in a bid to control the violent flare up in the moslem rebels Campaign for Independence from India a predominantly hindu nation. Amanullah Khan Leader of the militant Jammu Kashmir liberation front fighting for Independence accused the Indian army of plotting Farooqi a murder with the help of the hindu fundamentalist Uganiza tips Shiv Sena. A. Pr9mnent political organization in Kashmir could think of killing such a great Man. He was a supporter of the present struggle in Kashmir a Khan said in a statement from Pakistan where his group is based. Knan is wanted by the Indian government on charges of ordering a number of killings and kidnappings during the recent flare up of the moslem rebellion in Kashmir