Following a firm assurance from President Mahinda Rajapaksa that equal pension rights would be granted to all bank employees, the Ceylon Bank Employees’ Union has decided to call off its half-day strike planned for tomorrow (Thursday) and the one-day strike planned for November 27, Presidential Secretariat sources said.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa had a cordial discussion with representatives of the Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank, National Savings Bank, the State Mortgage and Investment Bank, the Housing Development Finance Corporation, Lankaputhra Bank and the Rural Developments Banks of Wayamba, Rajarata, Kandurata, Uva, Sabaragamuwa and Ruhuna at the Temple Trees on Saturday.

He gave them a firm assurance that commencing January next year all employees State Banks, irrespective of their period of service would become entitled to pension rights.

Commenting on the President’s pledge, Ceylon Bank Employees Union General Secretary M. Sukumaran said bank employees had been agitating for pension rights for a long time and the President in his Mahinda Chintanaya had pledged that all those who joined the banking service after January 1, 1996 would be made eligible for pensions.

When the bank managements failed to heed their request, the Ceylon Bank Employees Union, convened an emergency meeting of the executive committee and decided to organise massive protest marches at various venues on October 11 with the participation of 12,000 members arriving in the city from distant branches of Jaffna, Batticaloa and the Vanni and to also strike for half a day on November 6, the day of the Budget.

On hearing of the action planned by the Bank Employees Union, Deputy Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya arranged a meeting with the President to discuss the matter, Sukumaran said.