Bank employees are most likely to strike work on 22 August as the talks between the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and the unions held in Mumbai have failed. Two spokespersons of the unions spearheading the strike – the All-India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) and the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) said the IBA informed them that it was for the government to make a decision on most of the unions’ demands. The IBA had taken the initiative to call the union representatives to persuade them to call of the strike plan. The representatives of the unions are expected to meet the chief labor commissioner in New Delhi. V.G. Kannan, chief executive of IBA, told the union representatives it was not an ideal time for the bank employees to strike work as negotiations are going on at various levels to address their demands. However, the union representatives pointed out that the government is not coming forward with anything concrete on issues such as privatization of the banks and mergers and on demands such as better functioning of the banks.
