Bank employees plan nation-wide strike on 28 February
24 Feb 2012
Three major bank employees unions, the All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) and the National Organisation of Bank Workers (NOBW), have jointly given notice of a nation-wide strike on 28 February, over certain demands.
The National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBC), representing all central trade unions, including BMS, INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, AICCTU, UTUC, TUCC, LPF, SEWA, has also decided to go on strike and served strike notice on Indian Banks Association (IBA) and individual banks.
The employees are seeking regulated working hours, pay parity among similarly placed banks and extension of 6.5 per cent revised pay from November 2007.
They also want working days reduced to five, besides stagnation-free pay scales and standardisation of retirement benefits as also an end to cross mergers of regional rural banks (RRBs), among others.
''The issues raised by them are common to the entire working class of our country,'' NCBE said in a release.
''Prices, particularly food prices, have been galloping over the past months. Labour is sought to be marginalised and permanent jobs are being replaced with contractual jobs. Wages are not commensurate with the work extracted.