Bank Strike: CLC asks IBA to call unions for negotiations immediately

The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) consisting of nine unions of bank employees and officers, has given call for an 48-hour all-India strike from 0600 hrs on January 20 to 0600 hrs on January 22. Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) BK Sanwariya in a conciliation meeting held with the Indian Bank Association (IBA) at New Delhi today advised the Unions to call for negotiations immediately, to avert the strike. About 10 lakh employees and officers of Public and private sector and foreign banks will participate in the agitation across the country, call for which was given by UFBU at its meeting in Hyderabad on December 23. Informing this to UNI, All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) General Secretary Ch Venkatachalam said CLC asked IBA to conduct the meetings fortnightly on regular basis to finalise the wage revision at the earliest. The UFBU were demanding immediate wage revision settlement and opposing the banking reform policies of the government. Mr Venkatachalam said the IBA offered to hold the meeting at its office in Mumbai on January 17 and the UFBU said it would attend the same with an open mind. Further decision on the strike would depend on the outcome of the meeting with the IBA, he added. In the meeting held at Hyderabad, the UFBU had decided to urge IBA to resume the discussions. If IBA failed to settle their demands, the UFBU warned of going on a two-day strike from January 20, followed by more strikes in February and March this year. On December 18 last year, the bank employees and officers observed an All India Bank Strike to press for their demands. Since IBA did not come forward with any revised offer and the Government was also not coming forward to discuss the ongoing banking reform measures with the unions, the strike was forced on the unions, Mr Venkatachalam added