SBI indefinite strike continues

New Delhi, Apr 5 (UNI) Services in 9022 branches of the State Bank of India (SBI) continue to be affected due to the indefinite strike by an estimated 2.10 lakh bank workers and officers across the country which entered the third day today.

The striking SBI employees, demanding a revision of the pension rate, said they will continue with the agitation till the government accepts their demands.

''We will continue with the agitation till the government fulfills our demands,'' All India State Bank of India Staff Federation (AISBISF) Vice President V K Gupta said.

The All India State Bank of India Staff Federation and the All India State Bank of India's Officers' Federation, claimed that operations in branches, including nearly 1,000 in the Delhi region, are being affected by the strike.

''The entire system has been paralysed... all operations have been suspended,'' All India State Bank of India's Officers' Federation Vice President T N Goel claimed.

The nationwide strike comes in the wake of the government's failure to address the long-pending issue of the pension scheme, awaiting revision for the past 14 years.

The decision to go on strike was taken after the talks on Friday and Saturday failed between the employee federations, the government and the Chief Labour Commissioner.

The government had invited the federations for talks to resolve the issue as a last-ditch attempt to ward off the strike in the country's largest bank.

In fact, negotiations were on between the federations and the Government till late Sunday night but they failed to avert the strike, Mr Gupta said.

According to bank sources, while pension was revised and updated in the case of the several associate banks of SBI, it was not undertaken for the SBI employees.

In response to a call given by the Joint Action Committee(JAC) comprising All India State Bank Officers' Federation (AISBOF) and All India State Bank of India Staff Federation (AISBISF), the workers and officers across the country went on protest.

UNI NR RR BD1633