Bank officers body plans strike on wage hike

The All India Bank Officer's Confederation (AIBOC) plans to go on strike, if the next round of wage revision talks in July do not fructify.

Addressing mediapersons Shantha Raju, general secretary, AIBOC, said, "The Indian Bank Association had offered an eight per cent wage increase while we had agreed upon a 20 per cent increase from our earlier demand of 35 per cent.

"We are not rigid about a 20 per cent increase and hope a consensus could be reached during the next round of wage talks expected in the first week of July," Raju added.

He said, "We have waited for a year and half for the implementation of wage revision and can wait no longer."

Raju pointed out that banks have been performing well over the last four years and even when the banks were going through a bad patch wages were increased by 12.5 per cent.

A K Jana, president, AIBOC, said that the confederation has put up several demands before the new government including all the disinvestment proposals of banks be put on hold, buying back equity sold to public, rolling back the decision to open up pension fund, withdrawing all proposals relating to trade unions in the name of labour reforms and taking back the amendments to the Banking

Regulations Act to reduce government equity.