Great Achievement For Retired Bankers

A.Ramesh Babu                              K.V.Acharya

Joint Convener                                                                                      Joint Convener,

Flat No 1103, Block 3B,                                                                          J-208 Vijay Rattan Vihar,

S.M.R. Vinay Fountainhead,                                                              Sector 15, Part II,

Culvary Temple Road,                                                                          Gurugram 122001

Hyderabad 500 049                                                                       E-mail: acharyavedavyasa46@gmail.com

E-mail: babu2609@gmail.com                                                    Mobile:09868220338                  

Mobile: 09849381995                                                                    _______________________________

Circular No. 008/2018                                                                          Dated: 07.04.2018

To,

All General Secretaries,

Constituents of CBPRO,

Dear Comrades,

 Supreme Court Judgment dated 13.2.2018 regarding Re-fixation of Basic Pension and Payment of Arrears for those retired between1.4.1998 and 31.10.2002 

We wish to invite attention of our Comrades and Constituents to the following communications of CBPRO on the above subject:

 

1.    CBPRO Circular No. 005/2018 dated 14.02.2018 advising about the favourable judgement dated 13.02.2018 pronounced by Hon'ble Justice Mr Arun Mishra and Hon'ble Justice Mr Amitava Roy of Supreme Court.

 

2.    CBPRO Circular No. 006/2018 dated 07.03.2018 giving a detailed account of the judgment dated 13.02.2018 pronounced by Hon'ble Supreme Court of India.

 

3.    CBPRO letter dated 07.03.2018 addressed to Shri V G Kannan, Chief Executive IBA requesting IBA to issue suitable instructions to all the Member Banks for payment of Arrears along with interest @ 9% within the time specified in the order of Hon'ble Supreme Court.

 

4.    Our Email dated 29.03.2018 (1.33 p.m.) to all the Constituents of CBPRO advising that IBA will be sending communication to Banks to implement the judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court in regard to re-fixation of Basic Pension for those who retired between 01.04.1998 and 31.10.2002.

 

We have been regularly following up the issue of implementation of the order of Hon'ble Supreme court with the officials of IBA so as to expedite release of arrears with interest at the earliest.  

We have a sense of satisfaction that our sincere and persistent efforts yielded favourable results and IBA issued instructions to the Chief Executives of Member Banks (State Bank of India, Public Sector Banks and Private Sector Banks) which were parties to 7^thBi-partite Settlement advising them to take necessary action for implementing the judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court in this regard by paying the differential arrears with 9% interest within four months from the date of Judgment i.e. 13.02.2018.

In this connection we wish to reiterate that the beneficiaries of the order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court and the instructions of IBA will be to those Pensioners who retired between 01.04.1998 and 31.10.2002 and drew Pension(and not from 01.04.1998 to 02.06.2005) and the arrears with interest will be payable to them / their legal heirs on or before the specified date i.e. 13.06.2018.  We also wish to clarify that the arrears will be calculated from 01.04.1998 or the actual date of retirement of the members upto 30.04.2005 and shall be payable with interest @ 9% p.a. since the Basic Pension was re-fixed w.e.f. 01.05.2005 after 8^th Bi-partite and anomaly stood removed. 

We are happy that IBA has been accepting our request to not to restrict the benefit to the petitioners alone and extend the same to all similarly placed Pensioners/Retirees.  After extending the benefit of addition of notional service upto five years in case of those who joined the Banks with special qualification/experience with relaxation of upper age limit like Specialist Officers and extension of 2^nd option of Pension to the Compulsorily Retired Members, this is the hat-trick of extension of benefit to all similarly placed officers that Court order has been implemented to benefit all those who retired during the relevant period.  

We profusely thank the Management Committee and the Officials of IBA for accepting our long pending demand in this regard. We fondly hope that IBA will be considering our just and fair demand in respect of 2^ndoption of Pension to those who resigned after completing pensionable years of service in the Banks.  

We also thank and congratulate Bank of Baroda Retired Officers Association and RBONC, AIRBEA and Com. K S Rengarajan, President ARISE - affiliate of AIBPARC and other individual petitioners who made sustained efforts and exhibited endurance to take the issue to logical conclusion through the judicial process. 

It is a matter of great satisfaction that a large number of more than 100,000 comrades shall be benefited by extension of the order of Hon'ble Supreme Court mainly on account of Special VRS 2000 Retirees.  We hope that the benefited members shall get fairly a good amount of arrears with interest.  The amount so received would actually be less significant if we factor the opportunity cost lost by them.  However this is a sweet success and one more mile stone achieved by the Retirees and their Organisations. 

We will continue our crusade to ensure full justice to the cause of Retirees by pursuing the other pending demands like Updation of Pension, Improvement in Family Pension, Rationalisation of Medical Insurance Scheme at par with serving employees, 2^nd option of Pension to Resignees, Reckoning of Special Allowance for computation of Pension, Gratuity etc.

 With regards,

 Yours Comradely,

                   

A.Ramesh Babu                    K.V.Acharya

Joint Conveners

​​

It shall be appropriate if associations demand the implementation of Bank (Employees') Pension (Amendment) Regulations, 1998 which is in force.

The sole objective of it was granting an option afresh to those who could not opt for pension when the proviso for forfeiture of past service for participation in strike was present in regulation 22 (4) (b).   

The amendment was carried out to the regulation as per letter F No.4/8/4/95-IR dated 24.12.1997 to IBA directing it to advise all member banks to delete the clause and to give effect to it.

Banks however disregarded the directive of the government and did not give  the option that was mandatory in the wake of the amendment.

So long as any amendment to regulations that are inconsistent with the Pension Scheme or which prejudice what is earlier done under a regulation is impermissible in terms of section 19.1. and 19.4 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition & Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, organisations can demand that the options taken under the Joint Note/Settlement be deemed as options for the purpose of the regulations.  This can solve the entire gamut of issues and employees will be entitled to refund of the unlawful contributions of 2.8 times pay and 56 percent of CPF  and pension from date of retirement to 26.11.2009.

The order dated 13.02.2018 of the Supreme Court is also to the rescue of employees.

Act appropriately and watch the outcome

Thanks and Regards

C N VENUGOPALAN

Former Director (GOI Nominee) e-SBT and Ex-Manager, Union Bank of India

"Nandanam" Kesari Junction, N Paravur, Kerala - 683 513

94477