the goan I network
PANAJI
Banking services are likely to be affected in the State as all nationalised and some private sector banks will be joining the two-day nationwide strike on May 30 & 31.
Though negotiations have been ongoing since early 2017 for wage revision, the government hasn’t revised the wages for bank employees/officers which stands at merely 2
percent.
The last revision in pay for bank employees which began in 2012 ended in October 2017, and a new revision in pay was due to come into effect from November 2017. As asked for by the Government, a fresh demand for a revision in pay was handed over to the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and the government in early 2017, but the government has been reluctant to meet these demands.
Subhash Naik Jorge, the Goa unit convenor of UFBU told The Goan that a short rally will be staged tomorrow around Azad Maidan in Panaji.
When asked whether ATM services would be affected, Jorge said that in view of the strike, ATM machines will be topped up, but whether money reserves will last for two days is unsure.
General Secretary of the Goa Bank Employees’ Association A M Pereira said that he felt that the 2 percent wage hike was almost an insult to bankers, as it is bankers in the country that have implemented the government’s schemes, most notably the demonetisation of certain currency denominations that took place in late 2016. Pereira said that a 15% wage hike was a reasonable demand.
Besides this, banks have been slow in recruiting new employees, so the weight of the work falls on existing employees. Pereira also pointed out that cost of living has gone up, and while other government employees have received fair pay hikes, bankers have been left behind.
Pereira also spoke of how the strike was a sacrifice for all those participating in it. He said, “We will be sacrificing two days’ salary in the hope that the Government will be reasonable. All we’re asking for is a reasonable settlement. We hope the Government will be graceful in meeting our demands instead of us struggling for the same to be met,” he said.
While speaking about how he hoped the strike would be effective, Pereira noted that since banking is the heart of the economy, it is difficult for the common man when banks are closed due to strikes. As such, he hoped that they would not have to go on an indefinite strike, thus inconveniencing the common man.
