Dear Comrades,
3 Days All India Strike in CSB Bank on Sept. 29/30 & Oct. 1 1 Day All India Strike in Bank of Maharashtra on 27th Sept.
2 Days Strike in Bank of Maharashtra 20/21 Oct. Extend Support – Express Solidarity
Agitation in CSB Bank (Catholic Syrian Bank):
Upto 10th Bipartite Settlement, CSB Bank was part of the industry-level uniform wage revision. Few years ago, the management of this 100 years old Bank has been passed on to the hands of Fairfax Financial Holdings, a Canada based Investment Company. This time, they were reluctant to give the mandate to IBA but we were pursuing the issue.
Wage Settlement has been implemented in all the Bank including all the private Banks. Now, the management says that they will not extend the 11th BPS wage revision to the employees and officers.
On the other hand, the management has also stopped recruitment of staff with IBA wage pattern and is encouraging the appointment of Cost to Company staff in a big way. Out of the total of about 3000 employees and officers of the Bank, 1200 are already C2C staff.
For the past 2 to 3 years, the management was citing the Bank’s performance as a reason for not giving mandate to IBA. Now the Bank has made good profits. While the MD/CEO has been awarded Rs. 6 crores for this performance, the management says that the productivity of the employees is low and hence wage revision cannot be given.
In the backdrop of this deliberate attitude of the management, the United Forum of CSB Bank Unions (AIBEA-AIBOC-BEFI-INBEF) has given the call for agitation and 3 days strike all over the country on 29th/30th September, and 1st October, 2021.
UFBU has already written to the MD of the Bank to reconsider their decision and called upon all units to extend support to this agitation.
We request all our Unions and members to extend all-out support to their struggle and extend necessary help to them in the respective centres.
If the management does not come forward to resolve the issue amicably, AIBEA will be constrained to consider giving supportive programme including strike action.
Agitation in Bank of Maharashtra:
In Bank of Maharashtra, the management has been adopting an unfriendly IR policy by taking various unilateral decisions and ignoring the time-tested IR norms. Our Union, All India Bank of Maharashtra Employees Federation has been trying its best to resolve the various issues amicably through mutual discussions. But the management has not been forthcoming.
There is huge shortage of staff in substaff, clerical and part time posts. Management is not ready to fill up these posts with the result that the staff are facing acute shortage in the Branches and the same is affecting customer service also.
The management is also intimidating the staff with the threat of administrative transfers to far off places in the name of filling up the vacancies in these branches. Adequate security staff are not made available exposing the Bank and staff to serious risk.
Last year, our Union launched an agitation which was deferred since management assured in the conciliation meeting that these issues would be addressed. Clearly, the management is adopting an unfair labour practice.
Hence, our Union along with other Unions, has launched a joint agitation (AIBEA, NOBW, BKMS, MNS) and have also given the call for All India Strike on 27th September, and again on 20th & 21st October, 2021.
We request all our Unions to extend full support to their agitation and participate in the local demonstrations, etc.
With greetings,
Yours comradely,
C.H. VENKATACHALAM GENERAL SECRETARY
Dhrna at Zonal Office, Lattur, Maharashtra