Bank Unions Drumming Up Support Against Wage Freeze

Senior representatives of all bank unions, at a meeting held in Mumbai on February 14, have taken stock of the various issues facing bank employees and officers, and have chalked out a programme of action for the resolution of the same.

This meeting is the first of its kind in the bank employees movement; it was triggered off over the resolution of a wage freeze in the Uco Bank.

This assumes importance in view of the meeting of the Uco Banks board of directors in Calcutta on February 19.

A joint deputation of the trade unions will urge revocation of the resolution on the day of the meeting.

 

In the event of the Uco boards decision not being revoked, there will be an instant sit-down strike the same day inside the Uco Bank premises in the city. An all-India bank strike also will be called on the 28th of this month.

The agitation over the issue of the Uco Bank wage freeze has been going on for some time. There was a massive demonstration in front of the Uco Bank headquarters in Calcutta on February 3. A delegation also met the banks executive director M M Vaish that same day.

The issue was also raised in a letter from a joint committee of the various workers associations to the finance minister in which the unions alleged the bank employees are being blamed for the poor situation of the banking industry caused by the high level of non-performing assets, mismanagement and non-recovery of bank loans.

The letter points out that the centre and the Reserve Bank of India are responsible for the present state of affairs of the Uco Bank. The bank has been without a chairman for the last several months. Unions also allege that the bank had been forced by the government to purchase shares of other nationalised banks the Dena Bank and the Bank of Baroda.

The associations have pointed out that the wage freeze would be a precursor to other such actions and would be bound to create countrywide industrial unrest.

The Mumbai meeting also laid out other common issues plaguing the bank workers. These include the establishment of local area private banks, non-implementation of pension settlement in private banks, non-implementation of salary revision in regional rural banks, ban on appointments even need-based ones and removal of ceiling on gratuity and bonus.

The plan of action for combating the above was chalked out in the Mumbai meeting.

This includes a strike action on April 4 and April 5 as well as other forms of action like a demonstration on March 13, a joint rally by all unions on April 3, observation of all-India Day by badge wearing, submission of joint memorandum and demonstrations, and campaigning by posters, leaflets seminars and symposium.