SBI associate banks' employees to go on strike Thursday

Chandigarh: A section of employees of five associate banks of SBI will go on strike Thursday to protest against the proposal for merger of associate banks with the parent bank.

Bank employees under the banner of State Sector Bank Employees Association (SSBEA) will go on nationwide strike tomorrow, S K Gautam, the Secretary of SSBEA, said today.

SSBEA comprise unions in the associate banks of State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Hyderabad and State Bank of Patiala.

"On June 2, with intervention of Chief Labour Commssioner of Delhi, a meeting was held between management of State Bank of India and SSBEA but it ended in a deadlock in the absence of any offer from the management for redressal of our grievances. So, we are left with no alternative except to go on strike tomorrow," Gautam said.

Protesting bank employees are demanding delinking of associate banks from State Bank of India, saying that these associate banks should not be merged with SBI.

State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Hyderabad and State Bank of Patiala are the five associates of the country's largest lender SBI.

Their other demands are extension of compassionate appointment scheme as per government guidelines, recruitment of sub staff and part-time employees, increase in quantum of staff housing loan, among others.

The All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) had already called for a nation-wide strike on June 24 in support of various demands of the State Sector Bank Employees Association.