PSU bank officers' to go on strike Friday

New Delhi, Dec 20 A union of public sector bank officers has called for a strike on Friday, requesting prompt wage revision and protesting merger of the state-claimed banks.

The strike call given by the All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC) expected to hit banking operations across the nation over. In any case, private sector banks would continue with their usual business as they are not part of the strike.

Most of the banks have already informed their customers about the strike and its effect on their normal banking operation.

The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of the top nine bank unions, has also chosen to observe a strike on December 26.

Considering these two days of unions' strike and other holidays, banks would be shut for most of the extended Christmas weekend. So, most bank branches will be open just for a day between this Friday and next Wednesday. Till December 26, there are three occasions - fourth Saturday on December 22, then Sunday and then Christmas on Tuesday.

AIBOC joint general secretary Ravinder Gupta stated, "We have demanded wage revision based on the minimum wages formula without linking to profits or paying capacity."

Besides, the union has also opposed the proposed merger Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank.

Starting at now many major banks have not given the mandate, few banks have given mandate to IBA for negotiating only upto Scale III officers, said Charanjit deputy general secretary Canara Bank Officers' Association, an affiliate of AIBOC said.

Such fractured mandate will result in deep cut of allotted funds meant for distributing among the various heads of pay slip parts, Gupta said.

As the allotted funds would be the agreed percentage of total pay slip components of up to scale III in regard of those banks which have given command and not the compensation slip segments of the whole business of the entire industry of all the cadres including workmen, he added.