People's Democracy

RRB Employees to Join Feb 28 Strike

THE All India Regional Rural Bank Employees Association (AIRRBEA) has decided to joint the general strike on February 28, 2012, called for by all the central trade union organisations, and endorsed all the nine issues raised by the latter.

The decision came from the AIRRBEA general council meeting held recently at Puri in Odisha on January 21-22, 2012. About 400 members of the general council, including 35 women members, from all parts of the country attended the meeting Basudeb Achariya, MP, inaugurated the general council meeting while Odisha panchayati raj minister Maheswar Mohanty, CITU vice president Janardan Pati and BEFI secretary Pradeep Sarangi addressed it.

According to a statement issued by AIRRBEA secretary general Dilip Kumar Mukherjee from Kolkata on January 23, the general council also decided to press for two vital issues facing the regional rural banks’ employees. They are demanding parity in superannuation benefits as available in the banking industry and, secondly, formation of an NRBI with the amalgamation of all the regional rural banks (RRBs) and total delinking from the sponsor banks.

The general council has also decided that it the pension parity issue is not resolved by March 31, 2012, the AIRRBEA would organise a militant dharna in Delhi during the budget session of parliament. The date for the dharna will be fixed later.