The Hindu Business Line : Bank unions drop strike plan

New Delhi March 21 The proposed three-day all India bank strike from March 28 was withdrawn on Wednesday after reconciliatory proceedings between the striking trade unions and the Indian Banks Association (IBA) at the Labour Ministry succeeded in convincing both sides to resolve the impasse through a mutually-agreed methodology.

Earlier during the day, the trade union leaders had a meeting with the Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram.

Till then the unions stuck to their decision to go on strike. After the meeting with the Finance Minister, the General Secretary of the AITUC, Mr Gurudas Dasgupta, had said that the decision to strike work stands till the demands are reasonably met.

More than 10 lakh bank employees under the umbrella of United Forum of Bank Unions had threatened to strike unless their demands regarding a second option of pension, compassionate appointments, halting outsourcing of work and filling up vacant posts are met.

As per the agreement reached today, the unions will give their proposal on pension before April 30 to IBA, which will work out a mutually agreed solution before June 30. On outsourcing, the IBA has asked the unions to pinpoint areas of outsourcing that they are opposed to. While the union leaders insisted that they are only deferring the strike and not calling it off, the Labour Ministry officials say that legally the strike stands withdrawn since the unions would have to give fresh notice before announcing another strike.

"We have decided only to defer the agitation, including a three-day strike," the General Secretary of All India Bank Employees' Association, Mr C.H. Venkatachalam, told presspersons after a meeting between union leaders and the IBA.

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