The Hindu Business Line : Strike notice illegal, says RBI

The management of the Reserve Bank of India has taken strong exception to the decision of the All India Reserve Bank Employees Association (AIRBEA) to participate in the strike called on December 14 by various central trade unions and others not only to make a common cause but also to protest against the RBI management's decision to outsource jobs and downsize.

In a letter to the General Secretary of AIRBEA, a senior official of the RBI has explained why AIRBEA's decision to join the December 14 strike is "illegal, unjustified and uncalled for".

First, the strike notice, according to the RBI management, has not been served in the form `L' prescribed in terms of Rule 71(1) of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The notice is not legally valid and therefore any strike proposed in a legally invalid notice is also illegal.

However, more important, as the letter has pointed out, whatever the central bank has done in regard to outsourcing and downsizing has been as per the settlement reached on May 31, 2004, between the management and the association.

In that agreement, AIRBEA — according to the management — had agreed to review activities, systems and procedures, re-engineering and redeployment of staff with a view to rationalising the staff strength of different departments and sections and reallocation of work among the staff.

Moreover, as it has been pointed out, there has been no retrenchment of staff on account of the revision of systems and procedures. Also, the bank has not made any adverse change in the service conditions of the employees. The letter makes it clear that review of systems and procedures, reorganisation of the work, recruitment etc are matters of managerial functions and are well within the managerial discretion of the bank as per the law laid down by the Supreme Court of India.

Bilateral Discussions

The proposed strike, therefore, will be in violation of the code of discipline accepted by AIRBEA, whereby the management and the association have agreed to resolve all issues through bilateral discussions.

Reacting sharply to the letter, Mr Samir Ghosh, General Secretary of AIRBEA, has said that the management insistence on serving strike notice in the prescribed form is surprising.

Earlier the strike notices, though not served in the prescribed form, were duly recognised by the appropriate authorities initiating conciliation proceedings in which the management also took part. Besides, legality or otherwise is a matter to be decided by the appropriate judicial authority, Mr Ghosh observes.

The interpretation of the settlement reached on May 31, 2004, according to him, is "misleading and warped".

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