File Photo: Unions of Bank Employees Today Threatened to go on a Four-Day Strike from February 25
Unions of bank employees have threatened to go on a four-day strike starting February 25. They have also threatened to be follow it up by an indefinite strike from March 16, if their wage hike and other demands are not met with immediately.
All India Bank Employees' Association General Secretary CH Venkatachalam rejected as "inadequate", the management's (Indian Banks Association) present offer of 13 per cent increase in the wage bill from its initial 5 per cent and said the employees would "go on continuous strike from February 25 and an indefinite strike from March 16."
"From the Unions, we feel that this offer is inadequate and not satisfactory, looking to the higher rate of inflation in the recent years and the multi-fold increase in workload", he said in a statement.
"When the entire workforce in banking industry is making every effort to implement various programmes of government, including the 'Jan Dhan Yojana', it is unfortunate and regrettable that the Government of India, which is aware of this unresolved dispute in the banking industry, is a silent spectator," he said.
Faced with the casual approach of the government and the IBA, bank unions have been forced to again give a call for the strike, he said noting that the Chief Labour Commissioner had convened a conciliation meeting on February 20 in New Delhi.
From the Union's side "we will also endeavour to work out an acceptable level of wage hike if IBA and Government exhibit a positive approach so that the two-year old negotiations come to a fruitful conclusion", he said.