Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said that the government had decided to move in to end the deadlock between the management and striking employees' union leaders of the State Bank of India after talks between the two failed late Saturday night.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Sunday morning, the finance minister said both sides had been asked to reach New Delhi on Sunday afternoon so that a settlement can be reached to end the near week-long strike.
"I was told around midnight that the talks had broke down and I immediately asked them to move to New Delhi," he said in response to a question from a media person. He hoped that the fresh round of talks between the striking employees and the management under his supervision would help resolving the matter.
Talking about the demand that the SBI employees should get 50 per cent of their last salary drawn as pension when they retire, Chidambaram said SBI employees were getting a better deal than employees in other public sector banks and this could spark off a reaction in other banks as well.
Meanwhile, state governments of many states have asked the Reserve Bank of India to move their bank accounts out of SBI to banks of their choices.
Salaried class persons who were not able to draw their salaries from the bank in time have been forced to borrow money from relatives and friends to run their households. Their hopes of an early end to the strike were quashed late Saturday night when the finance ministry rejected the written proposal from the management with the employees.
The talks between the employees and the management under the supervision of finance minister are likely to begin sometimes in the afternoon.