10 lakh bankers to strike work in May-end
Chennai, May 6: Over 10 lakh bankers in government and private banks will go on a two-day strike by the end of May if the government does not ask the Indian Banks Association (IBA) to make an improved offer, said a leader of the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA).
"It is a matter of shame that while thousands of crores of rupees are written off from profits towards bad loans of big corporates, the genuine demands of bank employees are being denied in this fashion," C.H. Venkatachalam, General Secretary, AIBEA, said on Sunday.
"If the Finance Ministry does not intervene to make the IBA to make their improved offer, it has been decide to call for a 48-hour continuous strike by end of this month," he said.
Wage revision talks between the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) -- an umbrella body of bank unions -- and IBA representing various banks held in Mumbai on Saturday ended in a failure.
Venkatachalam said the IBA offered an increase of 2 per cent over the total wage bill of the banks as on March 31, 2017.
In the last 10th Bipartite Wage Settlement that was made effective from November 1, 2012, IBA had agreed for a hike of 15 per cent increase over the total wage bill.
The unions rejected the IBA offer of 2 per cent hike, Venkatachalam said.
While the government had asked the IBA to conclude the wage revision settlement before November 1, 2017, the latter has been delaying, Venkatachalam added.
Wage revision for bankers is due from November 1, 2017.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Mumbai school principal asked to resign over social media views: Aide
Mumbai, May 2: The management of a reputed school in Mumbai has allegedly asked its principal to resign reportedly for liking social media posts on the issue of Palestine and the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict, her aide said on Thursday.
The aide of Parveen Shaikh, the principal of Somaiya School in the Vidyavihar area, said on April 26, she was called by the school management for a formal meeting and asked to resign allegedly over her comments and likes on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on the Hamas-Israel conflict and other issues.
"In the meeting, they (school management) said this (comments/likes) was not acceptable and asked her to resign. However, she refused to resign," the aide said.
Thereafter, for the next two days, she was pressured by the management to quit her post, according to her aide.
When contacted, Shaikh declined to comment on the issue.
The issue came to light after a web portal published a report highlighting the principal's comments/ likes on her X handle that were deemed as pro-Palestine and sympathetic towards Hamas.
The aide noted that Shaikh's work has been "exemplary" and the management should take into account the fact that the school had received several awards, including for academic excellence, under her leadership.
Shaikh has been associated with the school since the last 12 years and took charge as the principal seven years ago.
A spokesperson for the school management said, "The matter is still being investigated. As soon as they get an update, they will share it."
