PS : I have many more photographs of intermediary days, including those where squirrels and children are enjoying the not yet fully ripped mulberry fruits.   I have not uploaded the same as this article file   would become too heavy for downloading.

The above shows that in the life of a living being the period of even 11 days can means a lot, leave alone a period of 50+ days.   These many days can bring life to a dead wood tree or make a fully bloomed tree to almost a dead wood tree.  

Similarly, a period of 50 days delay can cause distress to a human being / bankers.    Therefore, almost negligible progress in 10th BPS talks  during last 50 days is something like a criminal negligence as lot of senior bankers with financial crunch may have suffered beyond imagination.  The delay of 30 months in reaching the negotiations is unthinkable for people in distress.   Some of the bankers may be waiting to undergo some operation for self, spouse or even old parents on getting an arrear, which can give a fresh lease of life to them.  On the other hand, some may be thinking of getting their son / daughter married with the additional help of arrears.    There may be some others who might have promised their children of higher education or some additional course to get a job.   The time lost will never come back.

However, for IBA and UFBU, 30 months delay has little meaning.   Over a decade back,  it was decided that unions will submit their demands six month in advance and by due date or so the BPS will be finalized.  Purely on this assurance at that time the period of BPS was increased from 4 years to 5 years (I am sure number of senior bankers will  vouch for this).  However, that has been buried with the time and now delays are becoming longer and longer.

 Even if you have not liked our comparison, learn the lesson that a period of even 15 days in our life has got a lot of meaning as nature does not stop whether you take some steps to do some good work or just sleep over it.

Desperate to defer the strike from 23rd January, the leaders even reported that 4 days strike has been kept on hold and IBA assured that the issues will be resolved in the first week of February 2015.   UFBU also indicated that if not resolved soon, it will call for 4 day strike in February 2015 itself.  Once strike was cancelled, IBA was again on the old tricks and held a meeting only on 23rd February and asked for 90 more days to finalise the BPS.   Now as on 19th April, 55 days have lapsed and still there is hardly any progress on the issues of construction of pay scales, issues relating to retirees / pensioners, holidays on 2 Saturdays, medical reimbursement etc. etc.

Now there are serious doubts whether this will be completed within next 35 days with full understanding of the issues OR  it will be delayed OR  it will be signed by UFBU  on the dotted lines given by IBA.   

It is high time that UFBU realizes the value of time or it will again become ULLU (most of the initiative has already been lost) at the hands of IBA with bankers crying at least for next 5 years if not for whole life.   Once the gap in the salaries with other counterparts increases, it will become extremely difficult to fill up that gap in future.  For retirees, the delay of each day is more torturous.