Friends,

All of you are aware that the tenure of the 9^th bipartite settlement in banking industry has expired on 31-10-2012 last. Our organization, ALL INDIA BANK EMPLOYEES’ UNITY FORUM (AIBEUF) has duly submitted the Chartered of Demand for 10^th bipartite settlement before the IBA. All other organizations have also submitted their Charter of Demand before the IBA through the UFBU. Meanwhile, though 9 months have passed, no significant progress regarding the bipartite negotiation has yet been witnessed resulting in the bank employees are very much frustrated. Moreover, the counter demands of bank management (Banks’ Charter of Demand) has become a matter of great concern to them.

From the circulars of UFBU dated 07-06-2013 and 12-08-2013 it is observed that though no significant progress regarding the bipartite negotiation has yet taken place regarding wage negotiation but bank management has already placed their counter demands or Banks’ Charter which are extremely dangerous and against the interests of the bank employees. IBA has demanded :- (1) Introduction of cost to company method (fixation of consolidated pay abolishing various allowances and benefits) (2) Introduction of performance related wage (deciding each employee’s salary on the whims of the bank management (3) Restricting the wage revision (limiting the wage revision or imposing ceiling on salary) (4) Increased mobility to Award Staff (massive transfer or harassment of Class-III and Class-IV staff – there will be no Transfer Policy as a whole, bank will have the right to transfer employees expertily) (5) Rationalisation of Special Pay (discontinuing or limiting the Special Pay elements) (6) Merger of DA on the basis of CPI (Consumer Price Index) dated 01.11.2011 instead of 01.11.2012, the result of which will be reduction of basic pay. All the above mentioned issues placed by the IBA or banks’ management are out and out anti employees. In spite of that, the UFBU leadership, instead of out rightly refusing those counter demands of the IBA, has agreed to sit for negotiation with the IBA. We think UFBU should reject all the counter demands of the IBA and start negotiation on the Employees’ Charter. To have negotiation on IBA’s counter demands means the employees will lose their hard earned rights. The Question is - Even then, Why the UFBU is negotiating on Banks’ Charter?

Our Charter of Demand:-

In our Charter of Demand, which we have submitted before the IBA, we have taken the basis of the recommendations of the 15^th Indial Labour Conference, 1957 (which has been updated and recognized by the Supreme Court in 1991).As per the calculations based on the CPI of March 2012 (which will proportionately be increased as per CPI on 01.11.2012) the minimum basic pay in respect of Class-IV staff should range from Rs.20000/- to Rs.49000/- and in respect of Clerks (Class-III employees) it should range from Rs.23000/- to Rs.58000/- (approx.) at a span of 20 years.

AIBEA, BEFI, NCBE etc. have so far arranged for package deal with the IBA. We urge upon the bank employees the disastrous consequence of package deal. Bank employees in each category are today getting far less salary than their counter parts Central Government employees. The reason behind this is that AIBEA, BEFI, NCBE etc., the constituents of UFBU have never calculated what should actually be the wages of the bank employees on scientific basis, have never circulated that among them and have never demanded that from IBA. It were only we and our organization who had first calculated the legitimate wage structure of the bank employees on scientific basis following the above mentioned recommendations of the 15^th Indian Labour Conference, 1957 on the eve of the 7^th bipartite settlement of the bank employees and had circulated that among the bank employees. In order to ensure settlement of 10th bipartite wage agreement of bank employees calculated on that basis we appeal to the bank employees – Raise your voice that “Salary of the bank employees must be determined on scientific basis. By no means salary of the bank employees should be lower than that of the Central Government employees”. In our Charter we Demand:- (1) Annual Increment in respect of Class III & Clas IV employees should be continuing (No Stagnation) and every year Basic Pay be increased by 5%. (2) Every year increased DA be merged with the Basic Pay (3) Areawise House Rent Allowance be determined as 30%, 25% & 20%. (4) FPA be increased by 20%. (5) DA must be pointwise and not slabwise (6) Functional Allowance be 20% of Basic Pay (7) Casual Leave 15 days and Accumulation and Encashment of Priviledge Leave be up to 300 days (8) RRB employees must be extended benefits at par with the Nationalised Bank employees (9) Class IV staff be promoted to the posats of Class III after the completion of 10 years of service.

·      Scrapping off New Pension Scheme, Updation of Pension and Family Pension:-

We demand that all bank employees be brought under the purview of the Pension Scheme by scrapping off the New Pension Scheme. As a consequence of acceptance of New Pension Scheme by AIBEA, BEFI, NCBE etc. the constituents of UFBU, the new entrant bank employees who have joined the bank on or after 01/04/2010 have been put outside the Pension Scheme of the bank employees, resulting in the bank employees of new generation are very much aggrieved. They are suffering from insecurity and will be financially loser.

Bank Employees’ Pension be updated at par with the Central Government Employees. “Family Pension be Increased” is the demand of all bank employees. Without updation the Pensioners are being financially loser to a great extent. Therefore, Updation of Pension and increase of quantum of Family Pension are the most important demands of the 10^th Bipartite Settlement. All the bank employees will have to raise their voices to achieve this demand.

·      Abolition of Part time System:-

The part time system be abolished. All part time employees be made full time. Casual staff, Casual Drivers be absorbed in permanent posts of banks.The part time Sweeper system in vogue in banks since the 1^st bipartite settlement in 1966 be discontinued. All of them made full time.

·      No Contract/Commission basis staff/Agent etc. in the name of Financial Inclusion in banks:-

The system of appointment of Business Facilitator/Contract employees/Commission basis staff/Agent be cancelled and all of them already appointed be made full time staff issui9ng due Appointment Letter. The works related to Financial Inclusion be done by the permanent staff of the banks Bank branches be opened in every village. All sections of common people be provided with banking service. (It is highly required to restrict the Microfinance and Chit FInnd Cos.

·      Medical Scheme:-

As per the understanding dated between UFBU and IBA dated 12/08/2013, the bank management is going to introduce a Mediclaim Policy by abolishing the existing Bankwise Medical Scheme. As a result of this the bank employees will be very much loser. In many banks there already exists the Mediclaim Policy simultaneously with the Medical Scheme. By abolition of Medical Scheme bank employees will lose their hard earned right. Instead of giving assurance to the bank management for discussion on the matter the UFBU leadership should have opposed this step of the bank management. We demand – both the Bankwise Medical Scheme as well the Mediclaim Policy be continued and 100% of the hospitalization expenses be reimbursed.

·      Problems of Contract Employees:-

In banking industry number of Contract employees are increasing day by day with simultaneously decrease of permanent employees (Award Staff). Recruitment in permanent posts is very negligible, almost nil. Job of these contract employees is totally temporary, like their very low salary they are not entitled to any other benefits. As a result thousands of bank employees in banking industry are being compelled to work under contractors (vendors) under fully uncertain service atmosphere. Vendors or contractors are exploiting them ruthlessly. They not only don’t provide minimum wages to the contract employees, on the contrary are depriving them of all other parks and benefits. As an outcome of the UFBU leadership’s (AIBEA, BEFI, NCBE etc.) acceptance of Outsourcing and Contract Employment System through the heinous settlements of 8^th and 9^th bipartite agreements the bank managements are outsourcing most of the works of banks and letting those being done by the contract employees. Are not the leaders of UFBU solely responsible for this extreme inhuman distress of the contract or outsourced employees?

Side by side AIBEA & BEFI are also forming Unions of the Contract Employees. We urge upon the contract employees to ask the leaders of the Contract Employees’ Unions affiliated with AIBEA & BEFI – “When you yourselves have caused this great distress of ours by agreements, what benefits you can bring for us by forming these unions of the contract employees? This dual role of the leaders of AIBEA and BEFI has to be unmasked before the bank employees. The problems of the contract employees are the burning issues. Bank employees, to-day, should think on these issues. This is an obligation on the part of the permanent employees. All the bank employees support the demand of their permanency. They should come forward in support of the struggle of the contract employees. We think it justified to build up mighty movements in support of the demand of permanency of the contract employees. We demand: (1) No recruitment of contract employee in the perennial nature of jobs in banks (2) All existing contract employees be immediately made permanent (3) Contract employment system and outsourcing of banks’ jobs be abolished in the 10^th bipartite settlement.

·       Merger of banks:-

The capitalist system, to-day, is sunk into ever deepest crisis.  This crisis of capitalism is the crisis of every half of a diem. Banking industry is also not free from this. In the nineties, by implementing the recommendations of the Narshingham Committee and Rangarajan Committee pleading in favour of liberalization of economy an attempt was taken to let it be understood that in this way improvement will occur in banking industry. Therefore, though measures of massive retrenchment in disguise of VRS and stoppage of recruitment were adopted but banking industry could not be saved. In connivance of the Central Government, Bank managements, Central bureaucracy and the monopolists, in the name of extending bank loan, huge fund is being written off declaring NPA in one hand and on the other hand in the name of recovery of NPA by one time settlement capitalists are being gifted massive exemptions. As a consequence the banks are now suffering. According to Government accounts in the first quarter of the current financial year gross amount of the NPA of the banks stands rupees 1.76 lakh. This amount is increasing day by day. When no measure is acting properly then Sir Chidambaram has become enthusiastic over the step of merger of banks. The real aim behind this is to suppress the main problem of banking industry and adopting to anti employees steps. On the plea of merger of banks huge number of bank branches will be closed. Contract System and Outsourcing will be further accelerated. Bank employees will have to raise their voices against this. The Central Government desires to reduce the number of nationalized banks from 26 to only 7. Many bank employees will lose their jobs.

·      New License in Banking Industry for Opening of New Banks:-

Under the pressure of both the national and international Corporate Houses Banking Regulations Act has been amended in 2012. Corporate Houses have been granted license to open banks.  Prior to that HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Bank were issued licenses to open. Most of the employees of these banks are either outsourced or contract employees. The employees have neither any wage structure nor any service conditions. Any time they are being driven out. These banks donot recognize existence of the Unions. You are aware that only a few months ago 271 contract employees of ICICI Bank have been retrenched. In course of time these Corporate Houses will grasp the control of the nationalized banks. The Central Government is trying to reverse the very meaning and objectives of bank nationalization. The clear motive is to allow the Corporate Houses to open their own banks. Every body knows that during the decades of thirties and forties the Private Banks used to be closed down. Depositors used to lose their deposited money and the bank employees used to lose their jobs. In nationalized banks depositors’ money was protected as well as the employees’ service was secured. Not only that,  as the private banks which failed to service were merged with the nationalized banks, deposited money of the common people with those private was not forfeited and their employees’ jobs were saved. So, everyone has to oppose opening of these private banks.

Friends, We have taken programmes to build up massive movements of the bank employees. As a part of this a Sit-on-Demonstration  will be held on 10^th September 2013 in front of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata. We appeal to all the permanent as also the temporary/casual/contract/part time bank employees to make this programme successful.  All of you participate in this programme and make this Sit-on-Demonstration a grand success.

With warm greetings.

Jagannath Raymandal

General Secretary, All India Bank Employees’ Unity Forum (AIBEUF)

Date:  26/08/2013

77/2/1, Lenin Sarani,  Kolkata-700013

Phone No. 033-22659085