Take up wage revision to IDBI employees, Officers on priority : Assns to MD

Hyderabad, Sep 5: All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) and All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA) has urged the IDBI Bank Limited Managing Director & CEO Mahesh Kumar Jain to take up the wage revision issue to employees and officers on a priority basis and with all seriousness and resolve the matter amicably and expeditiously. In a letter to Mr Jain, copies marked to Secretary, Dept. of Financial Services, MoF, GoI, New Delhi Chairman, Indian Banks’ Association, Chief Labour Commissioner, New Delhi, AIBEA General Secretary Ch.Venkatachalam and AIBOA General Secretary S Nagarajan said we assure that our affiliates will extend all co-operation in this regard including on the issue of bringing IDBI Bank at par with the IBA pattern. They said, Should the management choose the prolong, precipitate, and delay the issue further, AIBEA and AIBOA will be constrained to decide upon industry-level agitational progrmames including 'strike' by all employees and officers of all the Banks in the entire industry. 'We believe management will not push us to the wall in the largest interest of industrial harmony in the banking industry and come forward to conclude the settlement immediately'. Mr Venkatachalam and Mr Nagarajan said We are deeply concerned to observe that despite we repeatedly taking up the issue with your management and employees and officers exhibiting their resentment through various progrmames including strikes over the undue delay in finalizing the wage revision for the employees and officers which, as you know, is due from November 1, 2012. In all other Banks, wage revision from November 1, 2012 is not only completed and implemented, but even the negotiations have commenced for the next wage revision due form November, 2017. Our affiliates have shown utmost patience and restraint and also have adopted a very reasonable approach in order to expedite the wage revision in IDBI Bank but we are constrained to observe that the approach of the management has been 'indifferent', 'unreasonable', 'casual' and 'negative'. All of us are aware of the unhealthy financial condition of the Bank caused due to the huge bad loans accumulated by the Bank. The reasons and who are responsible for the same are also well-known. Instead of taking the workforce on board and moving towards the turnaround, it is unfortunate that the staff are being frustrated and de-motivated for no fault of them. We wish to point out that continuation of the delay in settling wage revision is no longer acceptable to us as we have reached the camel’s back, the top Union leaders said. UNI