Chennai, Dec 20 (IANS): Unions in the banking sector have announced five day strike next month to demand early resolution of their wage hike negotiations, said the All India Bank Employees'Association (AIBEA).

In a statement issued here Saturday, AIBEA said the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) at their meeting in Mumbai Dec 17 have decided to go on strike Jan 7.

It will be followed by four days continuous strike Jan 21-24 and an in-definite strike from March 16 onwards.

The UFBU an umbrella organisation of bank unions includes AIBEA, National Confederation of Bank Employees, Bank Employees Federation of India, Indian National Bank Employees Federation, Indian National Bank Officers Congress, National Organisation of Bank Workers, All India Bank Officers Association, and National Organisation of Bank Officers.

According to AIBEA's statement, the UFBU meeting expressed its dissatisfaction on the casual attitude of Indian Banks'Association (IBA) relating to wage negotiations.

"The meeting took serious note of the action of IBA in asking all the banks to re-visit the mandate given earlier to IBA to negotiate and settle the wage demands of the unions and unanimously decided to lodge its protest immediately by calling for a day's strike Jan 7, 2015, as the action of IBA is nothing but a ploy to delay the negotiation process of wage revision," the statement added.