We keep seeing letters written by various Retirees Associations to UFBU Leadership apprising them demands of Retirees including the demand of Pension Revision. We fail to understand the logic behind one association writing to other Associations requesting them to raise their demands. It undoubtedly and clearly proves that these Retirees Associations have lived up-to the expectations of Retirees and have utterly failed to achieve the aim with which the idea of formulation of Retirees Associations was floated.
Its high time to think about the existence of such retirees associations. Bank Retirees must realise by now that Retirees Associations of which they are members have been formed by leaders of the past who could not live without post. There was no need for formation of Retirees Associations especially when Trade Unions Act, 1926 permits 50% membership of Retirees. Through formation of Retirees Associations, these leaders of the past have isolated bank retirees from the main stream. These Retirees Associations have no voice, IBA all the time denies to negotiate with them. Under these circumstances, these Retirees Associations have no other alternative but to request UFBU to raise their issues. Why the leadership of UFBU will raise the issues and demands of Retirees? Every one knows that leadership of UFBU is hungry for money and this is the reason they delay signing of BPS with a view to gain more levy. So why such money hungry leadership will pay attention to your miserable position when you yourself have chosen to leave their membership for joining the Retirees Associations ?
Believe me, by isolating yourself from main stream you are harming yourself. UFBU leadership has cheated you again and again over the years. Solution lies in joining We Bankers. This way you will join the main stream as also the young bank employees. Though you will not get any post yet you will get plenty of respect for sharing your knowledge and experience with young bank employees. A revolution may happen if enthusiasm and vigour of youth gets combined with knowledge and experience of Retired Bank Employees. Think over my suggestions. We Bankers is the future Trade Union of Bank Employees.
*Bank Employees Unions- The Double Agents*
The Union leaders presently at the helm have done nothing except clinching the Pension in 1997. They surrendered the bargaining power of 10 Lakh plus bank employees to IBA and Bank Managements. This happened over a period of 27 years due to status quo, incapacitated and present corrupt leaders.
The 1993 Pension agreement was not implemented as agreed. For this Unions are silent and were silent. Unions never insisted the bankers to implement pension in lines of CPC as drafted in pension agreement.
In 2001, VRS bonanza was accepted by TU's, giving way to paying reasonably handsome Ex Gratia and pension optees getting pension from date of retirement. Instead of pension payment from their attaining superannuation age ie from 60 years. This led to deficiency of pension corpus from 2002, as the pension optees contribution was meagre and withdrawals was large. This problem was trusted on the inservice bank employees in 2010. Cleverly UFBU linked wage revision to second option pension option pretending they are for employees. Later made the pension optees agree for a Heavy penalty of surrendering their wage revision arrears for improvising the Pension Corpus. Already retired were asked to pay back their PF settled with interest to join pension scheme. Great drama enacted by both Bank Unions and IBA. Young Bank Employees who had not joined the banks and consequently were not members of unions were deprived from the benefits of Pension Fund. This way our own leaders broke the unity creating 3 distinct and separate group of bank employees in terms of benefits of Pension.
Later Bank Unions were silenced slowly year on year by IBA saying NPA's and pension is burdening the bank profits so 'no revision'. Alternatively offer was given for 8%, 5% and 2% hike to bankers unlike rise of 20% in other PSU's. A time comes, wherein IBA will tell that all banks will not get wage revision, all bank-men will not get wage revision, but few down the line will get. For others, wage revision will be depending on banks health and bank-men performance. This is the 15-20 years success story of great mighty Bank Unions whose some of the leaders have refused to hang their boots even at the age of 70 years plus.
Is their this greed for power for the welfare of bank employees ?Certainly not, it’s their hunger for illegal kickbacks by surrendering the bargaining power of Trade Unions which does not end here. They started meddling with Bank retirees issues. In X BP thry collided with IBA and made heinous note drafting illegal definition on 'contractual relationship between bank management and the retirees' and made UFBU sign it. This is the height of their greed, which witnessed sacrificing the interests of retirees, a few of them being Retirees themselves.
Apart from BP earnings, the latest Medical Group Insurance policy fetched TU leaders enough money year on year .These UFBU leaders, in the name of continuation of scheme negotiate for retirees an annual increase in insurance premium payable. They don't rub the same on account of Inservice Employees Insurance premium payable, as that is paid by their counterparts, that is IBA or Bank Managements. Today bank retirees are the worst sufferers not having got their justifiable superannuated benefits in every Bipartite's from VI BP onwards. DA anomalies, fixation differences, non up-gradation of pension, introduction of special allowance, cut off dates for benefits like gratuity, non insistence of retirees premium to be borne by managements from welfare fund etc., all these issues/ problems mishandled and created by union leaders are being fought by poor retirees in several Courts with their own money. Apart from above the biggest crime committed by UFBU is allowing IBA to misinterpret Pension Regulations 1995, for calculation of pension, recovery of disbursed pension etc., Recently UFBU keeps mum on change of effective date of Gratuity enhancement, when all other PSU's get as per house decision ie from 01/01/2016.
Retiree Friends, awake and arise at least now, before these UFBU and APBRF bury you alive. Join We Bankers Movement, struggle and fight on your own. Keep your age factor always in sight. Encourage young leadership of We Bankers and achieve the aim of replacing illegally constituted IBA with National Industrial Tribunal or specifically constituted Pay Commission exclusively for bank employees. Let there be transparency as we see in our Awards - Sastry and Desai.
