The Hindu Business Line : Strike justified

This has the reference to the editorial, `A `strike' for organised labour' (Business Line, April 12). The strike by the SBI workforce has ended following an agreement of "mutual satisfaction" of all the parties. The pension hike agreed upon will not affect the cost of services offered by SBI, as pointed out in the editorial.

The increased outgo would be paid from the corpus exclusively meant for the pension benefit. Is it justifiable for the wife of a retired SBI chairman to get a family pension of Rs 600 per month? Even in the current liberalised economic context, the affirmative meaning of the right to strike has been reinforced by the SBI workforce. No doubt inconvenience was caused to customers and the public because of the strike, but the pension beneficiaries are none other than senior citizens who also comprise the public. One hopes the IBA and the government will not give room for employees of other public sector banks to go on strike over this issue.

The concluding part of the editorial, "A national debate on the contours of a wage policy for the workforce in the organised sector incorporating an inflation-adjusted component of old age social security brooks no further delay," is commendable.

V. Kumaresan

Chennai

Letters to the editor and contributions can be sent by e-mail to: bleditor@thehindu.co.in

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