SBI officers call off strike

Officers of the State Bank of India (SBI) have called off a planned two-day nationwide strike on Tuesday and Wednesday, in a move that will bring much relief to customers. The strike was called off after the management agreed to some of the demands.

GD Nadaf, general secretary of the All India State Bank Officers Federation (AISBOF), said the association decided to ''defer'' the strike after reaching an understanding with the management on certain issues.

He said the AISBOF would continue talks with the management on the remaining issues.

The SBI management, he said, has agreed to the officers' demand for adequate compensation for working on holidays and had also come out with assurances on issues related to transfers and promotion of staff to officer cadre.

SBI is the India's largest lender, with over 136 million customers and 13,560 branches across the nation.

In an appeal on Friday, SBI chairman Pratip Chaudhuri called on the union to withdraw the proposed strike.

He said the management expected and hoped that the strike would be called off. He added the government had not estimated its losses on account of the strike yet. He added that more than money, it would damage the confidence of banks' customers.

With Monday and Thursday being public holidays, banking operations would have been hit on Tuesday and Wednesday if the strike had not been withdrawn.