"The chairman of Union Bank of India (UBI), Allahabad Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Karur Vyasa Bank and Catholic Syrian Bank and three senior officials from State Bank of India, UBI and Bank of India will be negotiating on the behest of the bankers' body," IBA secreatry, MN Dandekar told The Financial Express.

Banking sources said that this attempt is a significant climb-down in IBA's earlier stance--no further negotiations are envisaged and IBA is hopeful that the unions will agree with the terms of the memorandum of understanding (MoU)-- following IBA top-brass' meeting with the union finance minister, Yashwant Sinha, earlier thismonth.

However, Dandekar said that the bankers' body will stick to its guns during the fresh round of negotiations and no concessions will be offerred during these negotiations.

"IBA will stick to the terms agreed in the MoU signed by IBA and the trade unions on March 11 which envisages a wage hike of 12.5 per cent for the bank employees," he said.

Earlier, IBA chairman, AT Pannir Selvam, told The Financial Express, "IBA's member banks are not willing for any further concessions and may pull out en masse from the negotiations in case we digress from the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by IBA and the trade unions on March 11. With their bottomlines under tremendous pressure on account of low credit offtake, lacklustre economy and increasing competition, banks are not in a position to offer any further increase in the already huge wage bill of around Rs 1,460 crore per annum."

The main grudge of various employees' unions revolves around IBA's attempt to `stone-wall' the entire process ofsettlement by refusing to negotiate the issue of distribution of load and charging 26.5 per cent basic pay for the pension scheme which is in lieu of the PF, as against the 10 per cent PF employees were contributing earlier.

However, IBA maintains that both sides agreed at a 12.25 per cent hike inclusive of cost of superannuation benefits and all aspects of wages/allowances and additional costs by way of higher gratuity, PF contribution and pension.