10 lakh bank employees is on strike over pay revision
New Delhi : Over 10 lakh bank employees will go for strike on May 30 and May 31 over pay revision, causing a setback in back services this week.
Previously, an effort to defer the strike failed as the meeting between United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) representatives and the Labour Department, Finance Ministry and Indian Banks Association officials could not break the deadlock.
"The UFBU leaders conveyed their grievance that there is an inordinate delay, an offer of 2 per cent was not in good taste and the practice of wage negotiation for officers up to Scale VII which has been the practice has to continue," said All India Bank Officers Confederation General Secretary D Franco.
The Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) supported the issues and asked the Indian Banks Association (IBA) to respond with positive effect.
IBA representative said they will think about the revised offer but requested the UFBU to calculate the demand. UFBU stated that the charter of demands is clear.
In regard to the demand about revising wages of officers, the IBA said that six banks have given a restricted directive. IBA also highlighted about the losses that banks have suffered lately.
UFBU leaders mentioned figures to prove how working profits have doubled, staff expenses reduced and business more than doubled.
CLC said that officers and employees have to be paid for hard work and not based on profit.
IBA was not likely to accept the new offer but guaranteed to continue with the negotiations.
On the officers' scale, the IBA was keen to discuss with banks but could not provide any assurance.
As there was no concrete proposal, UFBU, announced that the strike will continue.
"We had given a 25 days advance notice to IBA about the strike, but it failed to negotiate with the bank unions to avoid the strike despite the intervention of the CLC. Bank officers and employees are not getting their dues for the efforts they put in -- be it the recent cash crunch or the demonetisation exercise earlier," said Ravinder Gupta, Joint General Secretary, All India Bank Officers' Confederation.
