Bank unions to go ahead with 2 day strike as talks with IBA fail

[K.Karthik Raja]

Bank unions to go ahead with 2 day strike as talks with IBA fail
NEW DELHI - Nearly one-mln employees of public sector and old
private banks will go ahead with their two-day nationwide strike on
Feb 25 and 26 after reconciliation talks with Indian Bank Association
failed today.
"They (IBA) have not agreed to our demands. Hence, we will go on a
two-day nationwide strike on Monday and Tuesday, " C.H.
Venkatchalam,Convenor, United Forum of Bank Unions
The bank employees had earlier observed a one-day strike on Jan 25
to press for their demands.
The bank unions are opposed to government's efforts to merge state-
owned banks.
"We are opposed to merger of state-owned banks. We also want the
government to give option of pension to new bank employees,"
Venkatchalam said.
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, who has been strongly advocating
merger of state-owned banks, believes such a move will give these
entities economies of scale and help them compete with both private
and foreign banks.
The bank unions are also opposed to outsourcing of normal banking
services. Venkatchalam said that if demands are not met after the two-
day strike, banks will go on indefinite strike from last week of
March.