Over 10 lakh bank employees in the government and private sectors across the country are gearing up for a two-day strike starting on May 30, as the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) did not make any improved offer over the two per cent wage hike made earlier, an All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) leader said.
The strike is spearheaded by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions. The 48-hour strike is expected to start at 6am on May 30.
The bankers would strike work demanding early revision of the wages. The wage revision has been due since November 1, 2017.
"It is now too late for us to go back on our strike call. We had requested the IBA to come up with a better offer than the mere two per cent hike offer made earlier. We also asked the IBA not to de-link the wage negotiations for bank officers in the 4-7 scales. The IBA did not do anything,” AIBEA general secretary C.H. Venkatachalam told reporters.
He said at the conciliation meeting held on Monday, the chief labour commissioner (CLC) had asked the IBA not to raise new controversies like de-linking the wage talks for officers in the 4-7 scales.
"Though the CLC tried its best to sort out the strike issues, there is no positive development. Hence strike on May 30 and 31 (Wednesday and Thursday) stands," All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC) general secretary D.T. Franco said.
According to Venkatachalam, with regard to the coverage of officers from Scale 4-7, the IBA said it did not get the mandate from six banks as they opted to cover officers up to scale-3 level.
However, 14 banks have given the mandate for covering the officers up to scale-7 in wage negotiations as was done in the previous wage settlement negotiations, he said.