Select Excerpts from a Write-up of Sri B.G. Raithatha, GS, UNION BANK RETIREES ASSN & OS, AIBRF
IV : LEADERSHIP OF BANK RETIREES’ MOVEMENT
10. In most of the Bank Retirees’ Organizations, the responsibility of Office Bearers are undertaken by retired Officers, as they possess better knowledge and organizing ability.
11. It is a matter of pleasure that some of the bank retirees’ organizations are led by the retired Executives of the Banks and they are leading the movement with their abundant ability.
12. The leaders who are retired from the fold of All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) are not found very active in retirees’ movement, since according to the policy of AIBEA, many of them are allowed to hold Officer Bearers’ posts in the Unions of working employees.
V: Strength & Weakness of Retirees’ Fedns
14.Almost 50% of the retired bank employees are not organized – they are not members of any Association of Bank Retirees. Retirees of Dena Bank in Surat and around deserve much praise and appreciation to be organized under the banner of “Dena Bank Retired Employees’ Welfare Association – Surat”. (It is essential to undertake membership mobilization mission on priority basis. If each member of an Association decides to persuade enrolling at least one retiree in a year, strength of retirees’ organizations will be almost doubled in a year !!! )
15.Apex / National Level Retirees’ Organizations have not been able to establish unity to a satisfactory level inspite of very sincere efforts put in by AIBRF and some of the leaders of SBI Pensioners’ Federation to for such a co-ordination. (Recent joint representation by several bank retirees’ organizations to the Government and the Indian Banks’ Association for certain common issues is a good initiation to exhibit unity. The bond of unity should be fasten further fast. If unity is taken in a larger perceptive, we should co-ordinate with Retirees of Insurance and other Financial Sectors as well as with the Pensioners of Central and State Governments).
16.The Government and the Indian Banks’ Association have so far not recognized Bank Retirees’ Organizations. Most of the Banks are also not holding formal discussions with the Retirees’ Organizations. ((i) Political lobbying (ii) periodical agitation (as it was organized by AIBRF at Delhi before of a couple of months) and (iii) good rapport / liaison with the Unions / Associations of the serving workmen / officers will certainly go a long way for our formal reorganization. Unification / co-ordination among the various bank retirees’ organizations may also fasten the process of reorganization).
17.Most of the retirees’ organizations are working under acute financial crunch.(The remedies are - increase amount of membership subscriptions from new retirees joining our Associations, as they are getting handsome superannuation benefits. There should be regular appeals for generous donations to the Associations at periodical intervals to the members and well wishers whose wallets and hearts are big. Some of the Associations have established good traditions of sending birth day greeting cards to the members every year. Appeals for voluntary donations are also printed in the cards. Marriages of members’ children and grand children are other auspicious occasions, when we may expect good donations. We should not shy or hesitate to solicit fund for the organizations).
18.The ‘poor’ General Secretaries of most of the retirees’ Associations are doing Associations’ work from their homes and that too with very little infrastructure. It is very difficult to call other Office Bearers / Activists to homes of the General Secretaries to assist them. Ultimately the work suffers. (Vigorous endeavors are needed to mobilize funds for purchasing or at least for hiring offices and there should be certain minimum required office equipments viz. computers, scanners, printers, telephone, internet, etc. to make the Associations efficient and to keep pace with the time).
19.Ours is a movement of the retirees. Obviously, with growing age, leaders are more susceptible to illness / disability, thereby hampering activities of the organizations. Many leaders – even the General Secretaries of the Associations go to other states or countries for long term / permanent settlement. But continue on the posts. (If their illness or settlement elsewhere is permanent / very long term, they should gracefully vacate the chairs for others who are able to run and run the organizations. If we look around, certainly there will be at least few recently retired – ‘young’ officers / employees who have got caliber and inclination to take responsibility of leading the organizations).
20. Several Bank Retirees’ Associations are practically doing more cultural / religious / social activities rather than taking proper care of or concentrating on the pensioners’ genuine grievances with the Banks ...
22. Members of several bank retirees’ organizations are complaining that they do not receive regular feed back / information from their Associations. (Publishing / issuing periodical circulars / bulletins and sending the same free of cost to the door steps of the members is the remedy. Due care should be taken to publish only reliable / authenticated information in the circulars / bulletins instead of becoming instrumental in spreading any rumour----
23. In nutshell, retirees’ movement should not be carried out in a casual manner. Its importance should be understood properly by the members and more particularly by the leaders and, where ever necessary and possible, a professional touch should be adopted in the functioning.
VI : VITAL ISSUES / PROBLEMS CONCERNING BANK RETIREES
24. Up-datation / Revision of Pension.
i. Pension is not up-dated / not revised since introduction of the Pension Scheme in public sector banks in the year 1993, though three salary revisions have taken place thereafter. Consequently there are vast disparities in pension of old and new retirees. Central Government is revising / up-dating pension of its employees atleast once in 10 years and giving almost equal percentage rise in pension, which is given in salary to the employees in service. There are certain other amendments also done for the benefits of the Central Government Pensioners viz. increased percentage of pension after the age of 80+, family pension to widowed / divorced / judicially separated daughters irrespective of her age, etc. The employees retiring from the Public Sector Banks largely owned by the Government of India also legitimately expect those improvements.
ii. It seems that for pensioners of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) the Government has given some green signal for considering pension up-dation every 10 years. In the meantime, by virtue of a confirmed stay order from Bombay High Court, all the employees retired during the period of 6th BP Settlement are getting up-dated pension on the pay scales of 7th BP Settlement in RBI.
iii. In State Bank of India (SBI), though the pension is a third retirement benefit, owing to certain ceiling on maximum amount of pension, the officers retired from higher ranks are getting pension at the rates of 30/35% instead of full 50%. On this issue and for up-dating pension, a writ petition filed by SBI Pensioners in Supreme Court is transferred to Delhi High Court and pending there.
iv. The issue of pension up-dation is there in the Charter of Demands of UFBU for 10th BP Settlement. However, while initial discussions took place, the Indian Banks’ Association expressed its difficulty to accede to the demand because of the cost factor. In subsequent talks, however, IBA told UFBU to put forward some proposal which may be considered if it does not entail much monetary burden. It seems that if the up-dation of pension will be agreed up on, it will be limited to merger of dearness relief up to index of 4440 in the basic pension – keeping the same total of pension + dearness relief. If this happens, there may not be much immediate financial benefits to the past retirees, but it will surely increase Dearness Relief component significantly in future.
v. If nothing is done in the industry level negotiations in this matter, the bank retirees will have to look to legal remedies, which are not properly and fully explored for this issue by anybody up-till-now.
25. 100% neutralization of dearness relief to pensioners retired prior to 1st November, 2002
i. Bank Employees retired prior to 1st November, 2002 are getting dearness relief at tapering rates and those retired thereafter are getting 100% neutralization of dearness relief.
ii. Retirees of Canara Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, etc., after getting an adverse judgment from the Division Bench of Madras High Court, have filed an appeal in the Supreme Court. The Division Bench held that tapering dearness relief was according to the bipartite agreement and hence the judiciary can not rule against it.
iii. However, after the afore-said verdict by the Division Bench, there is an important favorable development. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted 100% neutralization of dearness relief to all its pensioners. Our bipartite settlement stipulates that dearness relief to our pensioners will be at par with the pensioners of RBI. There is, therefore, every possibility that taking this plea, the Supreme Court will reverse the judgment in our favor.
iv. In the meantime, during on-going Bipartite Talks, the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) informed the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) that the IBA is convinced with the genuineness of the issue and the matter is recommended to the Government for favorable consideration. But whatever improvement will be there, it will be as a part of 10th B.P.Settlement and not separately.
v. Ofcourse, most probably the anomaly will be removed as a part of the 10th B.P. Settlement – not before that and it will be with prospective effect. Therefore, we should not expect any retrospective effect or arrears.
vi. If the demand of 100% neutralization of dearness relief is ultimately acceded to, the pensioners retired from various cadres prior to 1st November, 2002 will get approximate monthly rise in their gross pension as under.
26. Family Pension
Family Pensions of deceased bank employees are worked out at tapering rates (30%, 20% & 15%) of last drawn basic salary of the employees. In most of the cases of officers and clerical staff, practically it comes to 15%. The Central Government and Reserve Bank of India are paying family pension at 30% flat rate. There is no reason to deny it to us. However, the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has told to the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) that cost factor will have to be worked out before deciding the issue and ultimately if any improvement is made, it may be in a diluted form – not at par with pensioners of Central Gov ernment and RBI !27. Pension Option to left over retirees
Compulsorily retired and resigned employees are still not allowed pension options. Recently the Supreme Court has ruled in cases against Andhra Bank that compulsorily retired employees are entitled to pension option. Resigned employees are agitating in various High Courts for the purpose – not yet succeeded.
LITIGATION BY BANKS:
36.It is our bitter experience that even if a legal issue very is very well decided by the Supreme Court, other similarly situated pensioners are compelled to seek legal remedies afresh. Some kind National Litigation Policy was recommended, but not yet accepted by the Government. Ofcourse, in this context following recent citations of judiciary are worth reading.
In the case of Gurgaon Gramin Bank Vs Smt Khazani(Civil Appeal No. 6261 of 2012 @ Special Leave Petition (C) No. 8875/2010),the Hon’ble Apex Court has held:
“Number of litigations in our country is on the rise, for small and trivial matters, people and sometimes Central and State Governments and their instrumentalities Banks, nationalized or private, come to courts may be due to ego clash or to save the Officers’ skin. Judicial system is over-burdened, naturally causes delay in adjudication of disputes. On more than one occasion, this court has reminded the Central Government, State Governments and other instrumentalities as well as to the various banking institutions to take earnest efforts to resolve the disputes at their end. ”
Dismissing the Appeal filed by the Appellant Bank with costs amounting to Rs.10,000/-, the Hon’ble Apex Court has further observed:
“Assuming that the bank is right, but once an authority like District Forum takes a view, the bank should graciously accept it rather than going in for further litigation and even to the level of Supreme Court. Driving poor ‘gramins’ to various litigative forums should be strongly deprecated because they have also to spend large amounts for conducting litigation. We condemn this type of practice, unless the stake is very high or the matter affects large number of persons or affects a general policy of the Bank which has far reaching consequences”.
Echoing similar concern, the Hon’ble Supreme Court in a recent judgment pronounced in the case of Subroto Roy Sahara Vs Union of India [Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 57 of 2014] has observed:
“The Indian judicial system is grossly afflicted, with frivolous litigatios. Ways and means need to be evolved, to deter litigants from their compulsive obsession, towards senseless and ill-considered claims. One needs to keep in mind that in the process of litigation, there is an innocent sufferer on the other side of every irresponsible and senseless claim. He suffers long drawn anxious periods of nervousness and restlessness, whilst the litigation is pending, without any fault on his part. He pays for the litigation, from out of his savings (or out of his borrowings), worrying that the other side may trick him into defeat, for no fault of his. He spends invaluable time briefing counsel and preparing them for his claim. Time which he should have spent at work, or with his family, is lost, for no fault of his. Should a litigant not be compensated for, what he has lost, for no fault?”
EXTRACTED by R.B.KISHORE,VP,AIRIEF: 20/12/2014