Now, BoR employee unions threaten strike against merger

A day after the officers gave a strike call, the employees of the troubled private sector lender Bank of Rajasthan (BoR), which is set to be taken over by ICICI Bank, today threatened to go on a token strike on June 4 and 5 to protest against the move.

Three major employee unions of BoR-- the All-India Bank of Rajasthan Employees Federation, All-India Bank of Rajasthan Officers' Association and Akhil Bhartiya Bank of Rajasthan Karmchari Sangh--have called the strike, demanding immediate termination of the meger proposal.

"We have decided to strike work on June 4 and 5. If the authorities do not heed to our demand, we will again go on a three-day strike beginning June 17. All branches of BoR and over 4,000 employees will participate in the strike," All-India Bank of Rajasthan Employees Federation president Dharmendra Rao told PTI over phone.

 

The unions fear that the merger would result in job losses as the work culture of the both banks are very different. This would also destroy the identity of one of the oldest private sector banks in the country, Rao said, adding there is no guarantee that our jobs will be protected.

The unions have also written to finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and the Reserve Bank demanding their intervention in the matter and has scheduled a meeting with the regional labour commissioner to discuss the matter.

The move assumes significance as the shareholders of both banks are set to meet on June 21 in an extra ordinary general meeting to approve the merger proposal.

On May 23, ICICI Bank had announced take over of BoR through share-swap deal that values the BoR at about Rs 3,000 crore. The transaction would be done by way of offering 25 shares of ICICI for every 118 shares of BoR.