Inboc general secretary KK Nair ecohoed the sentiment of the All India Bank Employees Assocation (AIBEA) general secretary Tarakeswar Chakrabory who had said on Monday that the unions have not rejected the IBA offer of a 10 per cent wage hike and they want the association to improve it further.

According to trade union sources, the forum is willing to come down from its demand of an 18 per cent wage hike.

The IBA management committe will meet in Mumbai on Wednesday to take stock of the situation. The meeting will be followed by the last round of reconciliation meeting at the regional labour commissioner's office. According to sources, if the IBA managment committee agrees to raise the wage hike offer to 10.5 per cent, the unions may call off the strike. At the last wage pact, the hike was 10.5 per cent.

However, IBA chairman AT Paneerselvam told The financial Express, "it is impossible for the bank managements to give anything higher than a 10 per cent rise. We hope the unions will be considerate enough to see reason in our stand. If the managements give anything higer than a 10 per cent hike, at least 10 banks will immediately go into the red. We cannot close down banks to dole out wages."

Inboc general secretary Nair said: "the unions will renegotiate on the demands provided the IBA is more generous in its offer. We can quantify our requirements if IBA is definite on how much it can afford as wages." The unions also want the IBA to implement the wage pact with retrospective effect -- November 1997 on expiry of the previous wage settlement. The association, however, has made it clear that the new wage settlement will be implemented with prospective effect. Although the IBA is willing to make it effective from January 1999, the unions may find it hard to accept the IBA stance.

Another disputed area is the Regional labour commissioner Shivarama Krishna told The Financial Express: "We are conducting a conciliatory meeting in order to bring an amicable settlement between the IBA and UFBU. Both IBA and the commissioner's office will take all possible to steps to avert the strike. Despite that, if the unions stick to their stand we may be forced to term the strike illegal."