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Bankers reach wage settlement

The proposed indefinite bank strike on March 17 has been called off today as the bank employees' unions reached the seventh bipartite wage settlement with the Indian Banks Association in Bombay late last night with a load factor of 12.25 per cent, inclusive of retirement benefits.

The agreement will create a financial burden of Rs 14 billion on the banking industry. IBA Secretary-General M N Dandekar said the agreement between IBA and the United Forum of Bank Unions comprising five workers' unions and four officers unions will be effective from November 1, 1997 with an understanding that the benefits will be phased out over a period of time.

The meeting dragged on for 12 hours since the IBA was reluctant to accept the overall load factor at 12.50 per cent as insisted on by the unions.

IBA Chairman A T Pannir Salvam said a lot of goodwill involved in the wage settlement since the IBA was not willing to come down from its earlier offer of 12 per cent. It is an honourable settlement, he said.

Indian National Bank Officers Congress General Secretary K K Nair said the banking industry had gained from this. There is no loser or winner; the industry was the gainer, he said.

The wage talks between the IBA and the UFBU in the presence of Regional Labour Commissioner Shiv Ram Krishnan had started on Wednesday and ended late last evening.

The UFBU had gone on a two-day strike on February 25 and 26 after talks with the IBA broke down on February 24, when both sides refused to climb down from their earlier positions.

The unions had reduced their demand to 18 per cent from 23 per cent, following a meeting with the finance minister in New Delhi in the first week of February.

The IBA on the other hand, offered to hike its offer to 10 per cent from 9.99 per cent.

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