We bankers is a voluntary Organization of bankers in India whether
Officers or Workmen-whether working or Retired. It has been established
for heralding the voice of Bankers across India and is committed to
bring back the lost glory, dignity and self respect of bankers which
have since been lost through last 5 Bipartite Settlements.
Why We Bankers India?
Following questions have been agitating the minds of every vigilant banker and they must peep into the minds of every banker:
(1) Is our wage scale
on par with government employees and other similarly placed Public
Sector employees? What happened to the pay-parity granted to the workmen
by the Sastry Award of 1953? What is the present status of our
Officers, whose pay scales were equated with that of the Govt officers
under the Pillai Committee Recommendations?
(2) What made Shri
Harvinder Singh, Genl. Secretary of AIBOC to say: “Dilution in our
salaries vis-a-vis Government Officials has taken place over a period
starting from 1982 and the gap has widened with successive settlements”.
(AIBOC Circular No. 2014/08)
(3) Is there any
mention in our joint charter of demands about this pay-parity with govt
employee that was upheld in our favor more than 50 years ago?
(4) Don’t our leaders
know that only a 35% to 40 % wage increase in the present settlement
can bridge the gap and bring us on par with the government employees?
(5) What made the
UFBU to quantify its demand at 30%, then climb down to 25% and also
state that they are willing to reconsider (reduce) it further?
(6) Are these militant leaders engaged in collective bargaining or collective begging?
Answers to above
questions clearly and undoubtedly establish that ideal system of
bilateral negotiation across the table has not lived up to the
expectations and aspirations of bankers and with the successive
bipartite settlements position of bankers have downgraded through
widening of gap in salaries on the one hand and increase in business
hours, volume of work and responsibilities on the other.
We bankers is
committed and devoted to bring bankers equal and at par with Central
Government and other similarly placed public sector employees.
Who is responsible for present pathetic conditions of bankers?
One of the main reasons for this pitiable state of our salaries is the Pension Settlement of 1993 and its ineffective monitoring by the UFBU. The retired leaders of UFBU became selfish after retirement and in order to gain benefits, they colluded with Indian Banks Association and agreed illegally for something which is still harming the bank employees till date and would continue to harm in future too if not rectified. We give below the main reason behind present low salary of bank employees making their lives miserable and pathetic.
One of the main reasons for this pitiable state of our salaries is the Pension Settlement of 1993 and its ineffective monitoring by the UFBU. The retired leaders of UFBU became selfish after retirement and in order to gain benefits, they colluded with Indian Banks Association and agreed illegally for something which is still harming the bank employees till date and would continue to harm in future too if not rectified. We give below the main reason behind present low salary of bank employees making their lives miserable and pathetic.
The Bank Employees
Pension Regulations of 1995, only mandates the banks to contribute to
the pension fund every month and also to fill up, short fall, if any,
every year by making an assessment through actuarial investigations.
There is absolutely no provision for filling it up from the wages and
wage revision of the employees.
When that being the
case, during the last three settlements, the UFBU has permitted IBA to
allocate 8.25% of the wage revision (due to the employees) to fill up
the shortfall in the pension fund, during the 7th BPS. At the time of
8th BPS, the employees, including the PF optees, were forced to part
with 9.25% of wage revision to the pension fund. At the time of the 9th
BPS, under the guise of offering one more pension option, the PF optees
(numbering around 3 lakh employees)were forced to part with Rs. 1800
crores from their arrears. Against this unlawful settlement, as many as
17 different writ petitions were filed throughout the country. Now they
have all been clubbed and transferred to the Supreme Court for
adjudication.
Why discriminatory
classification of Employees have been permitted in terms of benefits of
Pension in identical and similar situation resulting into interest
groups and break in our Unity?
Constituent Unions of
UFBU permitted IBA to discriminate employees in identical and similar
situation as a result following three groups have been created:
(1) Those who became entitled for Pension through Pension Regulation 1995 without any contribution to Pension Fund.
(2) Those who became entitled for Pension through Bipartite Settlement dated 27.04.2010 after contributing Rs. 1800 Crore in Pension Fund
(3) Those who joined banks on 01.04.2010 have been denied benefits of existing Pension Fund and have been brought under New Pension Scheme.
(2) Those who became entitled for Pension through Bipartite Settlement dated 27.04.2010 after contributing Rs. 1800 Crore in Pension Fund
(3) Those who joined banks on 01.04.2010 have been denied benefits of existing Pension Fund and have been brought under New Pension Scheme.
Can it be said with
any stretch of imagination that UFBU was having any authority or locus
standi to enter into settlement for those had not joined the services of
the Bank at the signing of 9th Bipartite Settlement and were neither
members of the constituent unions of UFBU nor they had authorized or
mandated these unions to sign settlement on their behalf? These
employees account for about 25% of the existing workforce and there
number would continue to increase because of rapid retirement of
existing employees. It is estimated that by 2015, percentage of these
employees in total number of employees would be around 75%.