Bank unions reject IBA's 15% wage hike offer, to go ahead with 2-day strike

Bank employees unions on Thursday rejected Indian Banks Association’s (IBA) offer of 15 per cent hike in wages and decided to go ahead with two day strike beginning January 31, 2020.

IBA offered a 15 per cent hike in wages, a revision over previous offer of 12.5 per cent at bilateral meeting of bank and trade union representatives to avert agitation by bank employees.

C H Venkatachalam, general Secretary, All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA), said banks have declined to consider demand for five days banking in week and merger of special allowance.

Banks, under aegis of IBA, have improved offer (15 per cent). But it not acceptable and United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has decided to go ahead with proposed two-day strike (January 31 and February 01, 2020) he said.

Meanwhile IBA in a statement said in the meeting held today (on January 30, 2020), despite the revised offer of upto 19 per cent hike including performance linked incentive made from IBA side.

During discussions, IBA team explained the conditions of business, paying capacity of Banks and consistent efforts at providing various types of benefits to the employees. But Unions are pressing for some other demands which are not possible to accept, IBA said.

One such demand is for 5-day banking. It is known to all that the economy of the country is going through testing times.  Banks being the principal players in economic development, cannot afford to provide lesser number of working days for banking activities, IBA added.

United Forum of Bank Unions which consists of nine bank unions of employees and officers, viz. AIBEA, AIBOC, NCBE, AIBOA, BEFI, INBEF, INBOC, NOBW and NOBO, has given the call for agitational programmes including strike actions.

Unions have also planned a three-day strike from March 11, followed by an indefinite strike from April 01, 2020.

Some of the major demands include Wage Revision Settlement at 20 per cent hike on Pay slip components with adequate loading thereof, Scrapping of New Pension Scheme(NPS), Updation of Pension and Improvement in Family Pension.

For the convenience of the customers, Banks will keep alternative channels available and customers can utilise these alternate/digital channels of banking 24x7 for day to day banking.