All-India bank strike on Dec 18

The United Forum of Bank Unions, an umbrella organisation of bank officers’ and employees’ unions, will go on an all-India strike on December 18 to press for a halt to the ongoing banking reforms and immediate wage revision in the banking sector.

In a press statement, State Banks’ Staff Union (Kerala Circle) said that the last five-yearly bipartite wage settlement had run out more than a year back but the Indian Banks’ Association had not taken steps for the overdue settlement.

The union pointed out that the workload of bank staffers had gone up enormously across the industry and the cost of living too had risen, necessitating substantial increase in pay and allowances.

It also noted that the Government had recently introduced a series of reforms in public sector banks many of which were aimed at privatising them. The banking regulations, it said, had safeguarded the banking system from collapse even as several major banks in other countries folded up during the global economic crisis.

The Government was now trying to water down these regulations. The December 18 strike is part of the unions’ resistance to the reforms.

Source: thehindubusinessline