UFBU to go on indefinite strike from March 24

Vijayawada, Feb 24 (UNI) The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella organisation of all the nine unions representing bank employees and officers has announced that it will go on an indefinite nationwide strike from March 24 if their long pending demands were not settled by the Centre.

Talking to UNI today, UFBU Convener and All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) General Secretary Ch Venkatachalam said the proposed two-day bank strike from tomorrow would go ahead, following the failur of talks held between UFBU and the Indian Bank Association (IBA) Chairman M B N Rao last night.

The call for the two-day strike had been given by the UFBU after it observed a one-day country-wide strike on January 25.

Mr Venkatachalam said in a last-ditch effort, Mr Rao had called for a meeting with the unions who agreed to meet him as the confabulation on February 22 with Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram and also with Chief Labour Commissioner S K Mukhopadhya by the UFBU and IBA had not yielded any results.

The UFBU Convener also said about more than nine lakh employees and officers from public and private sectors and foreign banks would participate in the strike and the banking service throughout the country would paralyse completely for two days.

The unions also opposed the proposed merger of SBI associate banks with the parent bank and also the mergers among public sector banks.

The other demands of the UFBU included option to PF optees to join the pension scheme, restoration of compassionate appointments in banks, filling up all vacancies in banks, stop outsourcing of normal banking jobs and services and early settlement of wage revision.

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