Calcutta, March 9 :     The proposed indefinite strike in nationalised banks from March 17 may fizzle out as the All India Bank Employees? Association (AIBEA), the largest union of bank employees, has threatened to pull out. The decision will be formally communicated to the members of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) at its meeting in Mumbai tomorrow. AIBEA, a powerful member of the UFBU, has workmen directors?bank staff who are on the board?in 23 of the 27 nationalised banks. It also has a strong presence in the foreign banks. ?Whether or not the unions call an indefinite strike will depend on tomorrow?s meeting. All the members of UFBU will have to reach a consensus on the matter,? said S.R. Sengupta, general secretary of the All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC), the largest officers? union in the banking industry. However, a section of the union feels that if AIBEA decides not to participate in the strike then the possibility of an indefinite strike is very dim. AIBEA feels that the bankers have accepted 90 per cent of their demands and the remaining 10 per cent can be achieved through negotiations. ?The decision to go in for an indefinite strike was taken almost two months back. But the situation has changed a lot since then. So we have to rethink before we decide on the matter,? said AIBEA general secretary Tarakeswar Chakroborty. He said the bankers initially offered the employees an 8 per cent hike. ?But now the bankers have agreed to give us a near 12 per cent hike and that, too, with effect from November 1, 1997. This will enable the employees to get arrears,? Chakroborty added. The difference of opinion among the nine banking unions cropped up when the representatives of AIBEA, AIBOC and National Council of Bank Employees (NCBE) met the Indian Banks? Association (IBA) chairman on February 24 and settled for an almost 12 per cent hike in wages. ?We were kept in the dark about this meeting and we observed a two-day strike,? said a bank union leader. However, Chakroborty said the near 12 per cent hike in basic pay will translate into a 70 per cent increase in the gross salary as the other components, like DA, house rent allowance, will also go up as a result of a higher basic pay. In the sixth bipartite settlement where the basic pay of employees was raised by 10.5 per cent, the government had to fork out Rs 473 crore more. This time, it will work out to Rs 737 crore. The UFBU will also meet the regional labour commissioner of Mumbai tomorrow on the wage issue. The managing committee of IBA will hold their talks on the wage settlement tomorrow morning.