फोरम आफ बैंक पेंशनर एक्टिविस्टस्
Forum of Bank Pensioner Activists
PRAYAGRAJ
न त्वहं कामये राज्यं न स्वर्गं नापुनर्भवम्।
कामये दुःखतप्तानां प्रणिनामार्तिनाशनम्॥
हिमालयं समारभ्य, यायव हिन्दुसरोवरं।
आतं देवनिर्मितं देशं, हिन्दुस्तानं प्रचक्षेत।।
TO:
The Chairmen,
Managing Directors & CEOs
State Bank of India,
Punjab National Bank,
Bank of Baroda,
Union Bank of India,
Indian Bank,
Canara Bank,
Bank of India,
Uco Bank
Indian overseas Bank
Bank of Maharastra,
Punjab & Sindh Bank,
Central Bank of India
Kind Attention:
S/Sri Dinesh Khara,
CH SS Mallikarjun Rao
Sanjiv Chadha,
Raj Kiran Rai,
Ms. Padmakar Chunduru,
S/Sri L. V. Prabhakar,
Atanu Kumar Das,
A. K. Goel,
Karnam Sekar,
A. S. Rajeev,
S. Krishnan,
Matam Venkata Rao
Dear Veteran Bankers,
Greetings & good wishes to all of you for grand success in your career. Wish you to be safe & secured from the deadly pandemic along with all your subordinates, your front line warrior faces.
With your kind permission, we would like to do some hard talk, of course neither irrelevant nor inappropriate, on most awkward predicaments, as under:
1. We think, you are apt professional of core values and handle your assignments, ensuring cultural ethos, core values and ethics, be it bank customers, businesses or the workforce.
2. We think, you are serving your Bank, as public servant, don't hold any ownership right, vested or ancestoral interest in your Bank. In plain words, Banks are neither your personal property nor you have any capital investment in them. In more clear words, you don't have any inheritance or ownership issues.
3. We think, you know and understand, the Bank which you govern, you govern on behalf of it's master, Government of India, Ministry of Finance. Government is owner and it attends to obligations that it owes being owner of Banks.
In the aforesaid conditions, you can't be indifferent or flout the feelings & ideas of master, irrespective consequences, good or bad, because it is they who fall on back in all eventualities & casualties in these national entities. Please take a leaf, back from nationalization of Banks, in this regard, to clear your doubts, if any.
4. Now, we come to our purpose of this communique, for which this letter is written. We invite your kind attention to two important historical developments, which never happened in the history of Indian Banking vis-a-viz Govt.
(i) One, when Hon'ble Finance Minister had to convey her view points about former Bankers, i.e. retirees, through media as she did in her interview published on 30.10.2020 in Business Lines, which you all get at Banks' cost. As she told, she met you, Mr. Dinesh Khara, and urged to play big brother role, take up with IBA and resolve Pension Revision issues. She talked to you also, Mr. Raj Kiran Rai, you being IBA Chairman in same context on same line to resolve Pension Revision & health issues of former bankers.
Trust, you understand and appreciate the gentle way the Hon'ble Finance Minister chose, quite different to else, to push her govt opinion, in a matter hanging over for last 25 years. You know, the issue-revision- in question needs prior approval of government. Her advices to both of you, as FM, should have been read as prior approval of government, even without your asking. How do you all interprete her these steps? Not as prior approval? Not as concurrence? You can term it oral, but if so you should have sought it in writing, if calling and telling by Hon'ble Finance Minister was not enough!
(ii) Two, we are sure, you all were present in 73rd Annual General Body Meeting of your Association, IBA, held on 10.11.2020 and heard her key note address with rapt attention. Hon'ble Finance Minister addressed IBA AGM as Chief Guest. Before concluding her address and giving thanks to IBA for inviting her on the occasion, she referred again the issue in question and talked some extra lines, which appears to have fallen in deaf ears. You all, were you attentive or not, we can't say, but can't think so, because she was speaking as Chief Guest, invited being Finance Minister! However, to afresh your memory, we would like to quote Hon'ble Finance Minister's key note speech's part before her thanking IBA and concluding with bit more stress as under:
"...One of them, after all is the very particular case, sir, being part of banks. Post retirement, Sir, they can't be forgotten, post retirement they can't be left to depend themselves. I think it is important, as much important is customer is your exstaff, who have retired, who have now gone be with their families. Each one of them, they did the best when they were there. I am sure many of you be retired therefore we can't be treating retired differently.
"As a former Defence Minister one ....... message which I would share with you...
Defence person all they treat the defence families as that one. When men are on border their family is taken care, when retired they are taken care of them as one family always,.. ex-service or service. Similarly I wish to see that culture in Banks so that all bank staff and their families are one and they are in service or retired, you will have to...talk of them & share for them."
We think, she gave more clean, clear & candid advices. Obviously, she told you to follow Defense culture, how do they take care of families of in-service and ex-staffers. Her view was crystal clear, OROP, that's Defense culture she talked about. Was it not adequate for you to take the issues of retirees seriously? Is it not ashaming that the FM had to tell veteran PSBs executives the Defense 'cultural' in personnel matter, which she wants in Banking. In Banking bilateralism is over 55 year old. We take it as great disgrace to the 'high offices' you hold that the FM is advising you in a matter of your former bankers on whose shoulders you have risen to this level.
We think, none of you have an intention to ignore or flout Hon'ble Finance Minister's advices or venture to take her as lame duck! Can you, please be frank? If not, then why you are giving a message in public that you do not deed to FM's advices? If you are politicians, we can understand it in that context. But, you are very obedient executives. The Government relied on your ability & prudence to be good guys for the tasks.
Hope, you don't play financial card, because it's non issue given the facts & circumstances. If financial card has any relevance or meaning, better it should have been played while deciding wages and allowances of working staff. Banks financial difficulties were/are no secret to anybody. They have been bleeding from 2017 onward. But, you agreed to 15% wage rise on 11.11.2020 and paid arrears for over 36 months. Thus, please do not play follies of financial constraiants. Moreover, you don't share the financial constraints at all. Despite losses, neither your pay, allowances, perks were put on hold anytime or reduced. It's government task to see financial matters, which it has been seeing from time to time.
We are extremely sorry and disappointed as well that thousands of Pensioners have had died with revision as their last desire. Pension once fixed on retirement from 1.1.1986, has not once been revised. The GMs retired after 1.1.1986 onward to 2000s get lesser pension than a subordinate Pensioner retired after 1.11.2017. It's very pathetic condition ashaming entire banking industry when fat salaries, allowances, perks are paid to working hands, but no attention is paid to retired staff. Hon'ble FM's talking of Defense culture, where working and retired are taken due care, seem to have lost in thin air.
Please don't make mockery of Hon'ble Finance Minister, who conveyed her words of assurance on number of occasions. Please don't make her wrong, particularly in Bank men eye. Please don't bring a disgracing situation of her gentlehood. Decide Pension revision on RBI line, which is lawful contractual obligations of Banks and release from March, 2019, as done in RBI case.
Hope, this letter is taken with great sense of magnanimity and Pensioners plights are addressed forthwith.
Respectful Regards,
(J. N. Shukla)
National Convenor
3.6.2021
9559748834
Copy to:
Sister Nirmala Sitharaman,
Hon'ble Finance Minister,
GOI, New Delhi
-for her kind information. Every day death tally of Pensioners swells on. Rest, you are well versed, how pitiable living conditions of former bankers are!
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