KOLKATA: Demanding an unconditional mandate for the XIth bipartite wage revision talks, one of the bank officers union has called a strike on December 21, ahead of the strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions on December 26.
The banks will remain closed from next Friday to Wednesday, apart from Monday and the banking services could be affected on these days.
On account of fourth Saturday and Sunday, the banks will remain closed on December 22 and 23 followed by a national holiday for Christmas on December 25.
All India Bank Officers Confederation’s (AIBOC) Assistant General Secretary Sajay Das stated that “We called the strike on December 21 demanding a full and unconditional mandate for the XIth bipartite wage revision talks based on a charter of demands submitted in May 2017. No headway has been made in the process so far even after 19 months since the discussion on wage revision began.”
Due to no apparent initiative was observed from Indian Banks’ Association to impress upon the five banks who have not yet submitted the unconditional mandate, over 3.2 lakh officers of the union would participate in the strike.
In a statement, the confederation said, “It is nothing but a farcical logic to restrict the wage negotiations up to the officers in scale III, whereas the entire officer community is covered under Unified Service Regulations.
On December 26 the ATM services would be affected, while during the strike on Friday, services at ATMs are expected to be normal.