Letter to BS: Negotiation between banking industry and unions is inadequate

The Indian Banks Association has been trying to link pay with performance for the last so many years

Tamal Bandyopadhyay’s column “Who’s afraid of bank trade unions?” (November 25) highlights the inadequacies of the negotiation process between the banking industry and its unions. This is arguably the only industry in which officers and staff join hands to bargain; generally there are separate unions in other public sector undertakings. The negotiations continue for so long that by the time the new agreement is effective, the existing one comes to an end. Since they are with retrospective effect, unions prolong the talks without any apprehension of loss of pay, and to reap the harvest of lump sum payment. Realistically, a