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'IBA not serious about negotiations'

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI MAY 2. Banking operations across the country were affected today as bank officers went on a day's token strike in support of their demand for wage revision and other issues exercising them.

Over 2.5 lakh employees of 26 banks struck work today. Three of the four bank officers associations participated in the strike. Their demands include reduction in interest rates on staff loans, recruitment and promotion of officers who have been over-burdened after many employees opted for the Voluntary Retirement Scheme, compassionate appointments and issues relating to disciplinary proceedings and vigilance.

A massive demonstration was held on the State Bank of India premises on Parliament Street. The strike was called by the All-India Bank Officers Confederation. The National Organisation of Bank Officers supported the strike, while the officers of the Reserve Bank, seven private banks, foreign banks and Bank of Baroda did not participate in the strike.

According to K.D. Khera, president of the AIBOC, the last wage agreement of the officers expired on October 31, 2002, but the Indian Banks Association has not yet made any concrete offer on the charter of demands submitted by the officers organisations in June 2002, though as many as six rounds of negotiations have taken place. "The IBA is not at all serious about negotiations and is merely adopting delaying tactics," Mr. Khera alleged.

The IBA has not even implemented any of the provisions of the MoU signed by them with the officers organisations in August 2002 when officers' organisations had called off their joint strike of August 26 at the instance of the Regional Labour Commissioner, Mumbai. The officers are sore at the imposition of tax on perquisites and allowances, exorbitant rates of interest on staff loans, non-recruitment and promotion of officers, who have to sit late everyday without any extra allowance, after many employees opted for VRS.

Reports indicated that the strike was total and the leaders of the three striking unions — the All-India Bank Officers Association, the All-India Bank Officers Confeedation and the National Organisation of Bank Officers — would meet shortly to chalk out the future course of action.

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