Call For Formation of New Bank Union

Sri Kamlesh Chaturvedi Writes on Facebook -25.11.2014


Few bank employees called me today asking and demanding formation of entirely new union. I tried to convince them saying that banking industry is already dealing with situation of multiplicity of unions, how one more union will create any impact? More the unions-weaker is the bargaining power.

I could not convince them as they were saying that all the present unions are politically motivated having vested interest and operate on old methods instead of trying innovative new ideas. They said in next two years, new employees would replace old employees and so would be the case with new union as it will gradually replace old unions and will emerge as majority union.

 Formation of union is easy, increasing and sustaining strength is too difficult. Union needs variety of activists, field workers to mobilise members and collect grievances, table workers to reply emails, letters and build data, legal workers to file cases and specialists in art of negotiations. An union functions well only if it is having these type of workers with diversified potential and combining and coordinating as team.

 Any new union will be subjected to trade union rivalry at the behest of present unions and its attention may get diverted.
So question of formation of any new union requires deep thinking. I invite views and suggestions of bank employees especially new young bank employees .

My views are as follows

Instead of forming new union, it is desirable to write letters to present union leaders, force them to do better and if not changeable. Sincere bank staff who are talented and who are really interested to serve common bankers may make  effort to remove non-performing union leaders or force them and to expose them to think honestly for welfare of bank staff..
 
Similarly retired bank officers or award staff  may expose ED CMD and senior officers of all banks, because they are retired and not afraid of any demotion or transfer or any repercussion as normally working staff usually are. It is few senior officers who have damaged the value of banks by promoting flattery and bribery in loans and in promotions and transfers.

 The more they are exposed , the more they will prove helpful in wage hike . It is IBA members who caused rise in bad assets and it is they only who are denying wage hike in the name of NPA and less profit. It is they who want to keep ministers happy for their own career at the cost of lives of common bankers and career of common bankers.

 Retired or outsiders can only tell the truth , but working staff is always afraid of transfers and rejection in promotions. It is open secret that even case filed against injustice in promotions or transfers are withdrawn and all such cases have been aborted premature by clever management.

WE have seen how management and unions together cheated four lac bank employees in last settlement in the name of 2nd option of pension and several writs filed against injustice proved futile. Several cases against injustice in promotions are filed every year in some bank or the other and most  of them are either withdrawn or postponed for indefinite period till the aggrieved is retired or dead.

The need  of the hour is that all sincere and matured bankers come forward to expose misdeeds of top bankers and top union leaders who are making fool of bank staff in the name of unity or wage settlement or promotions. Usually clever leaders and clever top officers of management keep a few militant officers into their confidence, give them all possible helps and agree to their few recommendations in promotions and transfers and then exploit ten lac bank staff. Bank staff have to be ready to sacrifice promotions and be ready to face pain of transfers if they want to stop management using 'Divide And Rule' policy to exploit bank staff. Bank staff has to protest reckless expansion of banks taking place without similar rise in manpower. They have to stop late sitting and learn to love their families for whom they are in service.

Many of Top leaders are having their own business and professions apart from bank job and they want to promote their business by using their power and position and for this purpose they misuse powers they enjoy in banks either as management or as union leaders. Aam bankers have to expose such evil works and then only reign of injustice will end.

As such formation of new union is totally unwarranted and avoidable. Several unions simply give rise to inter union rivalry and it is aam banker who have to ultimately suffer. It is just like multiplicity of political parties in India that common citizens are suffering and leaders of parties are flourishing day and night. When there are many unions, they criticise each other but do not think it wise to sit together and fight against common enemy . Union of one bank can expose misdeeds of other banks to allay fear of transfers and rejection in promotions.

If at least 100 employees of each bank take oath to expose two bad high value loan accounts of their bank and handover the entire story to friend in other bank for exposure and for punishing real culprit top officials , they can save lot of junior or mid level offices from unjustified punishment who are made scapegoat in such big cases of bad loans for none of their fault. Juniors do not sanction big loans , they simply process it as per sweet will of highers , but when loan goes bad it is juniors who are taken to task and higher officials  who verbally built pressure on juniors are totally exonerated and acquitted.

Even now nine unions appear to be united on one platform called United Forum of Bank Unions. But the fact is that they are totally apart from each other and fighting for survival of their respective unions. Aam bankers have become totally indifferent and inactive. Leaders do not have will or do not have capacity to pull together all their followers to make the fight against injustice successful .

Had UFBU leaders  been so much competent and sincere to get wage hike as per aspiration of aam bankers  , they could have got it in six months of wage revision when it was due. When unions of other departments and organisation can get success why not bank unions representing ten lac bank employees can succeed. They give a strike call and then sleep for months together for getting a date for next dialogue. They did not get ignited and angered when they were cheated in DA merger date or when management offed 5% hike or 0.5 percent rise .And so on....  Not to speak of wage hike or injustice in promotions or arbitrary transfers to good performers , bank union leaders appear to have failed to ensure respectable service  and status of bank staff.

Position is very much pathetic and  Aam bankers have to be awakened from their deep slumber and force them to come out of facebook abusing and take real part in agitation. It is aam bankers who can force their leaders to perform.

It is undoubtedly true that bank staff aspire for bigger wage hike. But when Management has been ignoring the demand for last two years , may be in nexus with union leaders or to please ministers, it is the duty of bank staff to expose top officials and politicians who caused rise in bad debts and erosion in profits. If bank staff decide to speak truth of high value loans, not only ED and CMD of many banks will get exposed, but many EDs and CMDs will speak truth of politicians who built pressure on them for sanctioning of loan to bad businessmen and who built pressure for writing off of loans of big corporate houses. In this way not only profit will rise and NPA will come down , but GOI or IBA will stop making excuse of bad debts or profitability to deny wage hike.

It is therefore in the interest of all to expose IBA which has been consistently deny wag hike on plea of bad debts and profitability. Bank staff have to take it a challenge and prove that it is not the fault of bank staff , but it is entirely the fault and mischievous top officials of banks and politicians who ruled the country for last ten years.

Though wage hike may be further delayed by few months , but it will a great service to Nation and particularly health of public sector banks survival of which is at stake.