Staff strike hits bank operations across India - Economic Times

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KOLKATA: Banking operations were affected on Wednesday as employees observed a one-day strike demanding early wage settlement and protesting against banking sector reforms.

The impact of the agitation was more evident in the eastern and southern parts of the country with ATMs remaining shut in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Clearing operation too was hampered in the western markets with the volume of cheques at the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) clearing houses falling to 2.5 lakh from a normal of about 10 lakh a day.

"If there's no positive response from the IBA and the government, employees may resort to further agitation, including strikes," said Rajen Nagar, president of All India Bank Employees Association, the largest bank union representing almost half of the 10-lakh bank employees, including officers and subordinated staff.

Bank unions called for the strike after rejecting Indian Banks' Association's (IBA's) offer of a 5% salary increase. The wage revision for government bank employees was due since November 2012. The unions are going to put more pressure on the management after their meeting in Hyderabad on December 23.

At the last tripartite wage settlement in 2007, which expired in October 2012, bank employees received an 18% rise in salaries. RBI employees and officers organized huge rallies before all RBI offices including the central office at Mumbai in support of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), the umbrella body for nine major bank unions, and refuting the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission's recommendations of taking away some functions from RBI.

"The rallies repudiated Finance Minister's announcement in Mumbai on December 14 on the government's decision to implement the recommendations of FSLRC of March 2013 and take away several important powers of the country's central bank and vest them with the government and/or separate agencies," said Samir Ghosh, general secretary of RBI's employees' association.

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