KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has formed a mediation tribunal to address the conflicts between the Federal Bank Officers Association and Federal Bank. Justice A M Shaffique, a former judge of the Kerala High Court, has been appointed as the Presiding Mediator and will be assisted by Advocate Sreelal N Warrier and Advocate George Merlo Pallath.
The court said that if the mediation fails, the petitioner shall implead the Reserve Bank of India as an additional respondent in the writ petition. The court also restrained the association from going ahead with the proposed strike and the notice for the strike will stand suspended until further orders.
Justice C S Dias issued this order in response to a petition filed by the Federal Bank Officers Association, seeking to quash a notice issued by the Regional Labour Commissioner, which directed the general secretary of the Association to appear for conciliation.
Supreme Court lawyer P Chidambaram, representing the petitioner, requested the court to stay the notice, allowing the association to proceed with the strike scheduled for June 26. Advocate Benny P Thomas, the counsel for the Federal Bank, strongly opposed the plea, emphasizing that the strike would adversely affect the bank’s operations.
He highlighted that the bank has 1,282 branches across 24 states and 5 Union Territories, serving 1.40 crore customers and employing 12,790 individuals, with deposits amounting to Rs 1,81,700.59 crore as of March 31, 2022. Considering these facts, the court explored the possibility of resolving the disputes through mediation, and the petitioners accepted the court’s suggestion.