AIBOC COUNTERS THE VIEWS OF BBB CHIEF
DEMANDS INDUSTRY LEVEL WAGE SETTLEMENT FOR ALL SCALES
The five-yearly exercise of wage revision through bipartite discussions, due on 1st
November, 2017 has not been started despite clear directions of the Ministry of Finance
and its three reminders. Though the Ministry had given directions to the Bank
Managements and IBA to initiate the process one year ago on 12/01/2016, no perceptible
action is visible at the ground level. AIBOC is ready with the Charter of Demands which
will be submitted to IBA as soon as IBA invites us to do so. Wage revision has been a
process of negotiations between the Unions representing the employees/officers and IBA
representing the individual bank managements. In this regards, AIBOC demands:
1. The wage revision negotiation – as hitherto - shall cover all member banks in the country
– those in Public Sector as also the old generation Private Sector. There are attempts on the
part of a few in the Government, IBA as well as the recently constituted BBB to pursue bank
level settlement. AIBOC is strongly opposed to this anti-labour and de-unionization move.
For the past more than 5 decades, the salary structure of bank employees and officers was
negotiated at the industry level without any major hiccup and with reasonable equity. This
process must be respected by all the concerned parties. Any attempt to introduce the bank
level settlements will be opposed and thwarted collectively by all the Unions.
2. Similarly, the Officers’ Organisations were negotiating with the IBA wage revisions
covering officers in all Scales – i.e. from Scale I (Assistant Managers or Officers) to Scale VII
(General Managers). This has been necessary to keep parity and relativity in pay, inter-scale
differentiation with due respect to experience. A few banks are ploughing the mundane idea
of dividing the officers on the basis of Scales which will not be acceptable to AIBOC. We
demand that the existing practice of negotiating the salary structure and other allowances
should cover all the scales including the top most Scale.
3. Recently, there has been another move to incentivize the bank employees/officers
through Performance linked pay/incentives. This will be a prelude to introduce differential
pay as also the concept of CTC at a later stage. Setting performance parameters at various
levels of banking functions does not fit well into the banking environment as there are
multiple functions for a few and specialist functions for another lot. Moreover, such
parameters may not work well with the functionaries in controlling offices who undertake
jobs of evolving and implementing policies and guidelines at the back office. The unilateral
introduction of such practices are aimed at bypassing the bipartite machinery and casting
employees against their own colleagues. This exercise will lead to inequality, favouritism and
discrimination. Instead of enthusing and encouraging the workforce, it will lead to
demotivation in the industry and suspicion amongst the workforce. AIBOC demands, instead,
to finalize a better and satisfactory wage packet which has to be superior to 7th C.P.C.
through the bipartite machinery already in force, in the best interests of the banks and the
economy.
AIBOC, the largest union of the supervisory cadre in the banking industry, calls
upon the Government to immediately direct the IBA to ensure to start wage
revision negotiations in right earnest on the above lines. Such an action will be
pro-active and rewarding to the bank officers who have relentlessly toiled day
and night since 2014 for implementing various Govt. policies like ‘PMJDY’, Jeevan
Bima Yojana, DBT, MUDRA and Subsidy disbursements etc. and the latest being
demonetization process. Officers expect that the praises and appreciations of the
Prime Minister, Finance Minister and the Ministry of Finance translate into action
through a hassle free, well deserved and decent early wage settlement.
New Delhi (HARVINDER SINGH)
10/01/2017 GENERAL SECRETARY