Bipartite Settlement Progress In View Of An Employee

SOME FACTS ON WAGE REVISION - A LETTER FROM A SINCERE BANK EMPLOYEE
- let us hope " the collective wisdom of the leadership of the UFBU will achieve better wage revision and service conditions for the employees and officers".

The 10th Bi-Partite Settlement for Bank employees and the 7th Joint Note for Bank Officers- Discussions with the representatives of the employees & Officers Unions with Management viz IBA is going on. Nearly 2 years are over more than 15 Rounds of talks taken place with Sub committee Meeting for discussing and finalizing the other issues raised by employees and officers have also taken place. Yet the Unions have to reach to a finality.

Employees and Officers went for 5 days strike during these two years to achieve their demand. They have also deferred their Strike action on 7/1/2015 for one day Strike and the 4 days strike proposed on 21/1/2015 to 24/1/2015 was also put on hold. This withdrawal has irked the bank men and women in general and young employees and officers in particular.

In social media the work force is expressing their anger against the Unions/Associations. We also heard that one of the senior vice president of one of the Officers' organizations openly resigning from the negotiating team of that organization citing the reason being “put on hold the 4 days strike 21st Jan to 24th Jan” and falsely claiming that the interest of the youngsters are to be protected.

The collective wisdom of the UFBU leadership decided to put on hold the 4 days strike with a decision to go for strike if there is no satisfactory improvement in the wage revision talks (especially in the percentage increase on Pay Slip Components).Officers organizations are demanding (apart from good increase in Pay Slip Components,) the Regulated working Hours for Officers, 5 days Banking and improvement in Disciplinary & Appeal Provisions.
Much anger is coming form rank and file and especially from Youngsters . The Young work force is carried away by some of the leaders like who openly resigned from only the Negotiating Team and not from the Association. He is claiming a tall leader of a Bank and he also has assured the Youngsters that whatever lost in Bi-partite will be ensured in that Bank. Let me come to this issue in my later letter.

Now let us understand why the strike call was put on hold? What are the reasons for such an action. It is quoted that when IBA is coming forward with improvements in their offer the Unions’ direct action like strike need not be there and we must use the negotiating table to get a reasonable increase in our pay components and improvements in service conditions. This is the collective wisdom of the 9 Union .

Many are openly writing in social media that UFBU is bone less and they are controlled by one leader. Let me analyse the fall out of the action programme.

SCENE-I The Bank employees & Officers went on 4 days Strike. The Strike would have been success. The financial industry would have come to a stand still, especially on 26/01/2015 on our Republic Day. Unable to bear the impasse the Government would have considered our demand of 19.5%on Pay Slip Component. Thereafter can we expect that the Government/IBA/DFS will remain silent for ever and they will go well with our Unions/Associations especially under the present Government at Centre.

SCENE-II: The Strike for 4 days announced and Unions/Associations have also plunged into action. For the first two days the strike happened and thereafter the Government plunges into action and goes on against the bank men and women by their direct action ( they are empowered - and in Tamil Nadu , the then government had done once and it took years to restore nearly 1000 employees). Strike fizzles out and the employees and officers are made to work like a slave.

SCENE-III. Strike takes place. IBA again goes back from their present offer of 12.5% back to 10% or even below. After the Strike those who resigned from their negotiating team and those who are writing in social media against UFBU or their organization , will they can come forward to discuss for hike from that level. For this also we have experience. In the previous settlement, when there was an impasse on settlement, AIBOC suddenly demanded 30% ( when the indications were for 17.5%) increase, then IBA immediately told that their offer from 17.5% is reduced to 13.5%. It was Mr R J Sridharan, who used his connections with some left party MPs met, the then Finance Minister and ensured the offer to increase 17.5% . This is also history.

SCENE IV: Because of the 4 days Strike, angered Government puts down the Bi-partite mechanism in the Banking Industry and announces that they shall introduce the CPC ( what our friends in social media require like Mr A K Singh and company writing all those without any basis. CPC takes away the bi-partite mechanism. Then those who resigned and boasting themselves before the youngsters as Heros be allowed to represent in the Board on behalf of the employees/officers? Even if so, who will respect them in the Board??
SCENE V: Because of the 4 days strike , the Government/IBA/DFS budges and agrees for increase in pay slip components what we wanted. All are happy and the government says that we are eager to work with the Unions/Associations hence forth and they are given more powers to negotiate. (This is the ideal situation we expect).
Some Hard Facts:

 Just 2 years back, in State Bank of India, there was demonstrations in front of their Offices by Officers after office hours, demanding withdrawal of 7 days banking being introduced in SBI. The Management plunged into action, all the State General Secretaries were transferred cris- cross and three to 4 of the them are put under regulation 19(3). The General Secretary of AIBOC and the General Secretary of State Bank Officers’ Federation was transferred from Chennai to Valparai( a hill place in Tamilnadu) despite the fact he was having some serious aliment. The management filed a suit in Mumbai High court demanding Rs.110 Crores compensation from the officers federation. Their Check off for deduction of monthly subscription was stopped for few months. Ultimately the General Secretary of AIBOC silently resigned from the Bank and organization and his resignation was not even known to the world.

The new General Secretary gave a letter to management that it is the mistake of the earlier leader to have gone for such action and they have assured the SBI Management that they shall not hence forth indulge in such programmes without informing the management. They purchased peace in SBI. This is the truth.

Now I ask our members in General and the Youngsters in particular who are boasted and are not taught the right way -whether you want the same scene in all other Banks also . Or the collective wisdom of the leadership of the UFBU to go to the negotiating table to achieve better wage revision and service conditions for the employees and officers. People may say that this a method of threatening. No my dear friend I am only putting the facts before you to decide the right path.

We all are simply carried away by flattery speeches, flattery writings on web site by some” solutions “ or flattery writings by some “individuals” to write without any basis giving only false information. We all are carried away by some one’s resignation with some ulterior motive and not to achieve better wage revision but only to ensure elevation in their graph in the organization.

The Genext has to be taught in the right trade union perspective. They are going to lead the Industry and the Organisations. They should be given their chance to lead us. We need to INVEST IN THEM and the investment in the right direction and not to be carried away.
Our anger must be against the management. When UFBU decided for withdrawal of extra cooperation programme, how many of us honestly implemented the same in Bank Branches. It happened only in some pockets and now there also the Officers have started violating the same. Then the so called leaders why they did not resign that their orders are not carried out ?. Or the so called leaders why they could not implement 100% in bank branches.?. I am still trying to find the answers. Extra cooperation has meant working of Service branches in all Bank Branches during Holidays in Tamil Nadu ( 15th to 17th). Why those resigned did not implement the call of UFBU?. No answers.

My dear colleagues, let us come unitedly to fight for a reasonable wage revision. Let us not be divided by one reason or other. Let us realize the facts and let us ensure better wage revision when the other side of the negotiating table is showing improvements. Let the leadership use their collective wisdom. Let us all from rank and file give the fillip to the leadership to ensure that Bi-partism continues and we ultimately win over our demands. Let us ensure Jobs and Job Security for the young men and women who are our next generation leaders .After all we need to work with the same management for every now and then after Wage revision and this is not the end once for all. My dear friends your proactive writings and actions will give the leadership of the Unions/Associations to think and do better .
I am not trying to defend the leadership of any Union/Association. But I am only provoking the youngsters to take the right path to lead us in the days to come.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/abcindia/permalink/402112776615268/

Banks, unions near deal on wage hikes
Mumbai: Anup Roy 26 1 2015
Tenth round of the negotiation process—which happens every five years—is now on; IBA has indicated that it will be closed by mid-February

Excluding pension, the hike proposed by the Indian Banks’ Association works out to Rs. 3,938 crore for the industry.

Bank unions and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) are close to striking a wage deal that has been negotiated for the last 27 months, aided by emerging flexibility on both sides and pressure from bank workers. Bankers too are looking forward to a solution as repeated strikes affect banking activities.

The tenth round of the negotiation process—which happens every five years—is now on, and the IBA has indicated that it will be closed by mid-February. Such deadlines have been missed in the past, but this time the unions are facing pressure from employees. While the IBA started the negotiation process with a pay hike proposal of 5%, unions demanded 25%. Negotiations largely stalled in 2014, and employees stayed off work several times. The IBA’s latest offer is 12.5%, while unions have come down to 19.5%. In 2010, the last time wages were settled, the hike was 17.5%. At that time, however, the hike included pension and gratuity, while this time the hike is being calculated only on the payslip component. Including pension and gratuity, the hike proposed now is above 12.5%. In absolute amount also, the proposed hike is bigger.

Excluding pension, the hike works out to Rs.3,938 crore for the banking industry. Including pension, the proposal will cost around Rs.7,000-7,500 crore, said C.H. Venkatachalam, general secretary of the All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA). Including pension, the hike last time worked out to Rs. 4,816 crore for public sector banks. Excluding pension and gratuity, the hike on the payslip component was Rs. 2,980 crore. The amount offered is indeed more, but the wage has to take into account future inflation also, Venkatachalam said.

Vishwas Utagi, Maharashtra convenor of United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), the umbrella organization that is heading the wage negotiation, however, said the increase is not much when compared with the increase in banks’ business and profitability.
IBA chairman T.M. Bhasin did not respond to Mint’s text message, or return calls, but some bankers aware of the talks said banks are not willing to make more concessions. People with knowledge of the matter said the government has also given instructions to settle the hike at around the present level offered by the IBA. Anything more will be hard to secure and the government will act tough if the unions resort to prolonged strikes, they said.

 According to the people, the maximum the unions can win will be a 14% hike.
Venkatachalam said the 12.5% offer is unacceptable, while Utagi said anything less than 19.5% will not be acceptable.However, Venkatachalam said that if banks offer other benefits such as housing, regulated timing and higher transport allowance, the unions can dilute some of their demands.Unions refuse to buy the argument that banks don’t have much money to spare. According to their leaders, the pension corpus of all nationalized banks and associate banks as on March 2014 was at Rs.1.14 trillion, and its interest earnings was about Rs.8,557 crore, against the pension outgo of about Rs. 7,235 crore. Hence, the surplus of Rs.1,322 crore can be included in the wages.

The operating profit of banks, too, has increased in the last five years. The 24 listed public sector banks had an operating profit of Rs.2.57 trillion in March 2010. It has increased to Rs. 4.72 trillion in fiscal 2014. Average business per employee in this period has also increased toRs.14.36 crore in fiscal 2014, from Rs.9.15 crore in fiscal 2010. These factors are prompting the unions to demand a higher increase in wages, even as bankers say numbers don’t tell everything. No banker wanted to be identified for the story, but they pointed to the capital pressure on banks. Banks have barely managed to maintain capital specified under Basel III norms and with an expected credit pickup, they will need more capital, they say. Bankers say demands such as five-day working week, housing for all or full rent reimbursement are unreasonable. However, IBA has agreed to provide full reimbursement on medical expenses.

Analysts say the bad debt situation in public sector banks and additional provisioning for pensions have tied banks’ hands.

 According to Rakesh Shinde, analyst with Bonanza Portfolio Pvt. Ltd, the present wage offer is handsome given the current context. He expects the offer to be sweetened by a maximum of 1-1.5 percentage points. “Public sector bankers do enjoy a number of facilities that their private sector counterparts don’t enjoy. The perks and job security offered to PSU bank employees don’t compare with private sector peers, who have a much higher productivity ratio when compared with public sector bankers,” Shinde said.
As per latest RBI data, profit per employee in private sector banks was Rs. 10.7 lakh in 2012-13, compared with Rs.6.3 lakh for public sector banks. Meanwhile, employees are getting restless.

“Given the kind of hours we put in, the pressure we handle, we deserve a hike of 25% and nothing less. But we know the hike will be a lot less,” said a mid-level manager with a public sector bank in Mumbai. The banker expects a hike of 15%. “My take home is Rs. 55,000 per month in a city like Mumbai, where I am not able to save anything. People who work in the private sector in my level earn four times this,” said the manager. Even though employees get all the arrears, it won’t carry interest. Employees participating in strikes also lose the day’s salary.

Venkatachalam acknowledged that the pressure is immense but added the negotiation cannot be settled at the IBA’s terms. “If they are unwilling to increase their offer, we will intensify our strikes,” he said.
https://www.facebook.com/CBEU.AP/posts/709493745816443

Loss Due To Delay In Wage Settlement- A Facebook member writes as follows:

By delaying the settlement, how much Bank managements saved?
I mentioned that
“9.Ad hoc payment: Every settlement takes two to three years to come to a conclusion. For example 9 th bipartite took 30 months. Employees got arrears for 30 months. In this process employees are loosing and Banks are benefited by crore and crore of rupees.
...

Hence an ad hoc payment, say 15% towards salary increase may be demanded at the first negotiation itself.”

But, UFBU has never raised this demand at any stage. By delaying the settlement, how much Bank managements saved?

 I tried to calculate the amount.

Average Salary (gross in pay slip) of an employee (award staff +officers)
is assumed =Rs.40000
Increase in percentage is=12.5%
Then increase per month =Rs.5000
Interest for this Rs. 5000 for 27 months at 10% interest rate is=Rs.16806
(5000X27X28X10/2400 with compound int. R.D. formula)
Plus, loss of salary for 5 days strike so far=Rs.6666
Total loss per employee=Rs.23472
Then for whole industry 23472X8,00,000=1877,76,00,000=1877.76 crore.
(leaving employees of gramin bank/RBI/ ICICI,HDFC,IDBI etc.,)
Thus by delaying tactics Banks have saved around Rs.1900 crore
Note: 1.If the final increase in % is higher savings will also increase.

 2. For those whose salary is more than 40000 their loss will be more than Rs.23472
3. For those whose salary is less than 40000 their loss will be less than Rs.23472
Apart from this other heads are there:
They are, arrears of leave encashment,
annual medical aid for three years,
contribution to NPS account (of New entrants from 2010) after 27 months,
Huge amount to be paid to employees who retired after 01.11.2012

 Viz. arrears of encashment of P.L on retirement, commutation amount etc.,
I didn’t try to calculate the savings on the above heads because I don’t want
my Blood Pressure to go high. (the amount will be unimaginable)
Any dispute in my calculations?

 by “10th Bipartite and my suggestions”- Indian BANK