Melbourne, Mar 14: Australian trade unions want Prime Minster Kevin Rudd to stop banking jobs going offshore, after his government rejected calls to have the deposit guarantee withdrawn from banks that move jobs out of Australia.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has sought an urgent meeting with Rudd after ANZ Bank announced it was shifting 500 jobs to India.

The ACTU wants taxpayer funding of banks to be conditional on jobs staying in the country, and said banks could survive the global financial crisis without sacking workers.

"Those jobs don't have to go. They can help us over the next 12 months as we get through this crisis," ACTU president Sharan Burrow told Sky News.

The Finance Sector Union (FSU) says it is concerned the banks will use the financial turmoil as an excuse to shift more work overseas.

"Australia's big banks remain the most profitable in the world, raking in huge profits while others around the globe fail," FSU's national secretary Leon Carter said.

"So, why is it that they are speeding up their plans to send more Australian banking jobs offshore?"

A spokesman for Rudd rejected FSU demands to have Government funding tied to jobs staying in Australia, News. com. au reported.

"The bank guarantee is to stabilise the financial system for the benefit of all Australians. It doesn't mean the Government can make managerial decisions for individual banks," he said.

ANZ, Australia's fourth biggest bank, initially confirmed yesterday it would sack 500 processing office staff and move the work to India by the end of 2009, but later changed its line to say no jobs would be lost in Australia. It said it was creating 500 jobs in Bangalore, India, rather than Australia. (ANI)