Over 10 lakh (1 million) bank employees across the country are likely to strike work on Tuesday in protest against the 'negative attitude of the Indian Banks Association and the central government' towards their wage revision.
The last gasp effort by the Regional Labour Commissioner (Central) to avoid the one-day strike had failed as the IBA stuck to their earlier offer of 9.5 per cent hike in wages for officers and other employees, a statement issued by United Forum of Bank Unions, which represents nine bank workers' unions, said in Kolkata on Monday.
The UFBU had been negotiating with the IBA on the 8th wage revision of bank employees from 2002 after periodicity of the 7th wage revision ended on October 31, 2002, the statement said, quoting Ashok Datta, the forum's convenor (West Bengal unit).
Datta said that the IBA offer was even below the 12.25 per cent increase agreed on the last occasion when some of the banks were sustaining losses.
He said at present all the banks, particularly the public sector banks, were maintaining a reasonable profitability, and between 1999 and 2003, the per employee business had increased from Rs 1.25 crore (Rs 12.5 million) to Rs 2.155 crore (Rs 21.55 million) and per employee profit to Rs 177,000 from Rs 90,000.
In this backdrop, the offer made by the IBA was not adequate and satisfactory and the UFBU would continue with its agitational programme, including Tuesday's strike, Datta said.