IDBI Bank staff plan two-day strike against proposed Fairfax takeover

New Delhi: The United Forum of IDBI Officers and Employees has issued a notice to the bank’s management for a strike planned across all the bank’s branches and offices to protest against its proposed sale to Canada-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Group.

The two-day nationwide hunger strike will be held on November 2 and November 3, aimed at shelving the transaction that involves the dilution of the government’s and LIC’s shareholdings and the transfer of management control to the Fairfax group, according to a statement issued by the union.

The forum, comprising the All India IDBI Officers’ Association and the All India Industrial Development Bank Employees’ Association, has demanded that the government halt the proposed sale and acquire at least 6 per cent equity in IDBI Bank, either from Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) or through the market, to maintain its shareholding at a minimum of 51 per cent. It said this would honour assurances made in the Parliament in December 2003 that the government would maintain majority ownership of the bank.

The forum has also sought written statutory assurances that existing service conditions, welfare measures, pension benefits and reservation policies would be protected. It has demanded the continuation of industry-level wage revisions and pension benefits.

In the event of the sale going through, the forum has sought an option for existing employees and officers to transfer to public sector banks, with their service, scale, seniority, salary, and superannuation benefits protected. It has also demanded the absorption of outsourced and contractual workers employed by IDBI Bank.

It has opposed the proposed sale on the grounds that it would affect the bank’s public sector character despite its financial turnaround.

The union has also expressed concerns about the implications of privatisation for depositors, farmers, small borrowers and employees. It said the bank had supported industrial development and implemented government welfare schemes, including those related to financial inclusion and social security.

The forum has appealed to bank employees, trade unions, customers, depositors and civil society organisations to support its agitation. It said it remained open to dialogue with the government and the bank’s management but warned that the agitation could be intensified, including through a longer or indefinite strike, if its demands are not resolved.

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