Employees of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) have decided to join the countrywide banking sector strike declared for tomorrow.

Nabard employees find common cause with counterparts in commercial banks called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), said Jose T Abraham, President of All-India Nabard Employees Association.

A settlement in the banking industry is elusive despite 15 rounds of negotiations and five industry-wide strikes spearheaded by the UFBU, Abraham recalled.

“Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) is testing the patience of bank employees. The Centre has become a mute spectator to the ongoing struggle in the entire banking industry.”

Abraham contested the argument put out by the Centre/IBA on growing non-performing assets in the industry.

“The fact is that the banking industry has made profits of ₹1.14 lakh crore, ₹1.21 lakh crore and ₹1.27 lakh crore during 2012, 2013 and 2014.

But bank managements have failed to take any action on NPAs by big industrialists which is an area of concern for bank employees as a whole.”

Abraham noted that the Nabard management has not been honouring the commitments to employees made across the table for reasons best known to them.

Major pending issues for the past two years are recruitment of Group B and C staff; restoration of compassionate appointments and compassionate package in the lines of the RBI; and decentralisation of human resources management system package.

Nabard employees have been agitating on these issues for quite a long time, Abraham recalled.

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