MUMBAI - THOUSANDS of employees at India's central bank plan a nationwide walkout on Tuesday to push for better pensions in a move that threatens to throw the nation's financial system into turmoil, reports said.

The planned strike comes as India's economy is being buffeted by the global financial upheaval.

It would be the first time in 13 years that management and staff of the Reserve Bank of India, based in the country's financial centre Mumbai, have jointly called a strike, newspapers said Saturday.

The walkout will hit payment and settlement operations between banks, foreign exchange market transactions and bulk electronic payments.

The employees are pushing for pension parity with government employees and automatic revision of pensions when pay scales are revised.

Only senior management would not take part in the strike.

The central bank operates in 26 cities in India and has around 21,500 employees.

The two sides met on Friday to thrash out a settlement but the talks ended in stalemate, the Business Standard daily said.

However, the Business Standard quoted unnamed officials as saying that Reserve Bank of India Governor D. Subbarao 'would take up the matter with the government at a later stage (in quest) of a suitable solution.' -- AFP