A
major union in the banking sector, All India Bank Employees’
Association (AIBEA) apprehends the uniform service condition between the
State Bank of India and its five associate banks as sort of a precursor
for merger, said a top union leader.
The union on Thursday said it would go
ahead with the January 8 strike as the management of the five associate
banks of State Bank of India (SBI) is firm on implementing service
conditions unilaterally.
“We do have the apprehension that common
service conditions between SBI and its five associate banks is a step
towards merger of the five banks with SBI,” C.H. Venkatachalam, AIBEA
general secretary, told IANS on Thursday.
According to him, already there is
uniformity in technology, branding, work procedure, usage of ATMs by the
account holders of the six banks.
The five associate banks of the SBI are
State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Hyderabad,
State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, and State Bank of Travancore.
Speaking about the strike on January 8,
Venkatachalam said the conciliation meeting held on Wednesday by the
chief labour commissioner (CLC) in New Delhi was a failure.
He said the management of SBI’s five
associate banks remained steadfast on implementing the new Career
Progression Scheme (CPS) for their employees, violating the bilateral
agreement with the union.
According to Venkatachalam, the five
banks want to abolish permanent cadres like sweepers and outsoucre their
labour activity, but this cannot be done unilaterally.
In a statement on Thursday, the AIBEA
said at the conciliation meeting on Wednesday the CLC had advised the
management of associate banks to put on hold the implementation of new
service conditions.
The CLC also advised the bank management to find an amicable solution through mutual discussion.
The bank managements were not agreeable
to the CLC’s advice and the talks failed, forcing the employees to go on
a strike soon after the New Year is rung in.
“We also informed the CLC that IBA
(Indian Banks’ Association), having signed the settlement on behalf of
the banks based on their mandate, cannot remain a spectator when the
terms of the settlement are violated by any of the banks and has to play
its role to ensure proper implementation. Otherwise it would lead to
chaotic situation and result in serious industrial disputes and
conflicts,” Venkatachalam said.
