Courtesy : "Bank workers unity" online magazine

 

 

 PRESS RELEASE   

                                                                                                      

25TH August 2024

CITU DENOUNCES UNIFIED PENSION SCHEME!

ANOTHER DUBIOUS DESPERATE EFFORT DECEIVING EMPLOYEES!

URGES FOR RESTORATION OF OLD PENSION SCHEME!

Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) denounces the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) approved by Union Cabinet on 24.8.2024 as another dubious desperate effort to deceive the Govt employees of their due full right to Old Pension Scheme known as OPS. 

CITU urges for restoration of old Pension Scheme.

The Old Pension Scheme was non-contributory and with assured pension existing as per Central Civil Service Rules 1972 now 2021. A. B. Vajpayee led NDA Govt had introduced the National Pension Scheme (NPS) in 2004 surreptitiously through an Executive Order for those recruited from 1.1.20O4. 

The central and state Govt employees and central trade unions opposed it from that day and were on path of struggles against it urging for restoration of OPS. The Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority Act 2013 notified in February 2014 enabled statutory basis for the NPS.

The unprecedented struggles by the Govt Employees for restoration of Old Pension Scheme(OPS) and the whole hearted support rendered to such struggles by the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Federations could compel the arrogant BJP regime to shift from its arrogant stance of sticking to NPS, but the package offered by it in the name of so called UPS reflects the same deceptive ploy of depriving the Govt employees of their legitimate dues on account of pension.  

Several State Govts also reverted back to the OPS and were urging for their share of state govt Employees contribution to PFRDA to be refunded to their State Govts. Modi Govt had rejected all of such requests of State Govts which reverted back to OPS. It was countered by the relentless struggles of employees and trade Unions. Hence this dubious attempt of deceptive UPS is made by Modi led ND Alliance Govt. The Finance Secretary T. V. Somanathan Committee recommendations to study modifications in NPS, which was also boycotted by several Employees federations, are used for this desperate attempt of UPS - a cocktail of NPS and truncated OPS is approved by the Union cabinet.

The Modi led ND Govt with its neo liberal pursuit of safeguarding the interests of speculative crony capital has come with this UPS with some modification of benefits with additional contribution of 4.5% from the Govt only to further its investment of pension funds of Rs. 10,53,850 crores called Asset under Management (AUM) of total 99,77,165 employees under NPS as on by 31.7.2024 in the share market.

The previous Andhra Pradesh State Govt had proposed similar or somewhat better than UPS in place of NPS in the name of Guaranteed Pension Scheme (GPS) with 50% of last drawn pay as pension for minimum 10 years of service with defined contribution and purchase of 40% annuity, which was correctly rejected by all the State Govt employees of AP urging for nothing short of OPS. 

Now the Union Govt has come with similar rather less beneficial scheme with some modifications in NPS which should are also aptly rejected by vast majority of the employees urging for nothing less than OPS.         

UPS is based on the continuity of 10% contributions by the employees with the Government contribution increased to 18.5% from present 14%. 

While in NPS the subscriber can take 60% and has to invest 40% in an annuity and get pension, under UPS entire pension wealth will have to be foregone to the government. 

In lieu of which government will give 10% of the employee emoluments i.e., basic pay plus DA for every completed six months of service. For 25 years of completed service the employee will get 5 months emoluments and for 10 years of service will get 2 months of pay on retirement as benefit in addition to gratuity.

In UPS, employee will get 50% of 12 months average basic pay as pension on normal retirement at the age of 60 with the completion of 25 years of service, effective from 1-4-2025 that is for those retiring on 31-3-2025 but not applicable to those retired before it. In OPS for 10 years of service 50% of last month's pay is pension and for voluntary retirement after 20 years of service employee gets 50% of pay as pension.

Employees with service less than 25 years will get proportionately lesser pension in UPS. Employee with 20 years of service will get only 40% of 12 months average basic pay as pension. For 10 years of service employees will get only 20% of average basic pay as pension. In case of proportionate pension for less than 25 years up to 10 years a minimum pension of Rs 10,000 is proposed by government.

 While Minimum pension in OPS is Rs 9000 plus DA (which as on 1-4-2025 will be 57% that is Rs. 5130) so minimum pension as on 1-4-2025 will be Rs.14,130. Hence the proposed Rs.10000 pension is half of that of OPS. For less than 10 years of service at the time of superannuation employee is not eligible for any pension

Under UPS family pension is 60% of pension i.e., 60% of 50%. It means 30% of last pay for 25 years of service at the time of superannuation.  For employee with minimum pension of rupees 10,000 it will be 60% of it, i.e., Rs 6000. Minimum pension of rupees Rs 10000 applies only to superannuation and not for family pension. But under OPS family pension is 50% of last pay if the pensioner dies before 7 years after retirement or before 67 years of age. There after family pension will be 30% of last pay. Minimum pension as on 1-4-2025 will be Rs.14130. But in UPS minimum family pension will be only Rs 6000.

DA/DR will be given to assured pension or minimum pension or family pension based on the Consumer price index as in the case of serving employees. Whether they will start a new base index from 1-4-2025 or they will grant the same percentage of DA/DR as for serving and OPS pensioners are not yet spelt out. In OPS if the pensioner or family pensioner completed 80 years of age additional pension of 20%, for 85 years 30%, for 90 years 40%, 95 years 50% and 100 years 100% is given with Same DA for additional pension also. In UPS this additional pension is not available. 

In OPS pension/family pension/minimum pension is revised whenever pay commission is implemented while there is no such assurance under UPS. Commutation of pension i.e., withdrawal of 40% pension in advance available in OPS is not available in UPS. For those employees who die or become invalid becoming all class unfit in NPS, OPS is applicable to them already. Employees can opt to UPS or NPS, once opted will be final.

There may be many more shortcomings in UPS which may be known after the full text of UPS is notified. 

Hence the CITU denounces the UPS and urges the Union Govt to restore the non-contributory defined assured Old Pension Scheme.  CITU calls for extending full support to the Govt employees struggle for restoration of OPS. 

Issued by,

Tapan Sen

General Secretary

 

 What’s happening in Kotak Mahindra Bank?

May 4, 2024

Bank Workers Unity 

The fourth largest private sector bank viz. Kotak Mahindra Bank is in the news, recently, for all the wrong reasons.

It is an institution which is always in the good books of the Union Government.   In March 2017, Kotak Mahindra Bank launched an online digital savings account called Kotak 811, the number denoting the date on which Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation in 2016, which according to Uday Kotak was “the day that changed India”.  Uday Kotak is the promoter and single largest shareholder of Kotak Mahindra Bank, with a 25.71 percent stake.  The Mumbai based Infina Finance promoted by the Bank donated electoral bonds worth Rs.60 crore to the BJP in three years from 2019 to 2021.  In 2018 the Bank dragged the RBI to Bombay High Court on the issue of shareholding of the promoter which ended in 2020 with the RBI yielding to the pressure and allowing the promoter to hold 26 percent of shares (to own a higher stake than what the regulator had stipulated earlier), but had voting rights capped at 15%. 

Presently, the RBI, on April 24, 2024 has prohibited the Bank from on boarding new customers through its online and mobile banking channels and issuing fresh credit cards, citing supervisory concerns.  According to the regulator, serious deficiencies and non-compliance were observed in various areas, including IT inventory management, patch and change management, user access management, vendor risk management, data security, data leak prevention strategy, business continuity, disaster recovery rigor and drill.  For two consecutive years the Bank was assessed to be deficient in its IT Risk and Information Security Governance and was found to be non-compliant with Corrective Action Plans issued by the RBI.  The compliance submitted by the Bank were found to be either inadequate, incorrect or not sustained.

The stricture of the RBI on the Bank would result in the inability of the lender to on-board new customers through its online and mobile banking channels and could severely impact the new retail customer additions for the bank, given its smaller branch network compared to peers and higher reliance on digital channels. 

The Bank’s overdependence on digital channels for on boarding new customers gets seriously affected due to the RBI’s stricture with its Kotak 811 zero balance digital savings accounts unable to add new customers.

All is not well within private banks which are known for their flamboyancy and adventurism.  Four years earlier Yes Bank, the new generation private bank, was on the verge of collapse and it was the SBI under advice from the RBI steadied the Bank with adequate investments and quality man power.  There are many such instances like the present one in Kotak Mahindra Bank which are overcome with the timely intervention and correction by the RBI and Public Sector Banks and, some people of India, advocate privatisation, oblivious to the ills of privatisation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The General Insurance Council on Wednesday announced a drive aimed at making cashless hospitalisation available for policyholders even in non-empanelled hospitals. 

Hospitals with 15 beds, and registered with the respective state health authorities under the Clinical Establishment Act can offer cashless hospitalisation now. 

In the event of hospitalisation, policyholders need not pay for treatment out of their pockets as the expenses would be covered by the insurance companies concerned. This is subject to the claim being admissible, as per the council.

Under the drive 'Cashless Everywhere', efforts will be made to ensure that policyholders can get treated in any hospital they choose with a cashless facility, subject to certain conditions

The conditions include that the policy of the individual concerned is admissible and the insurance company should be informed 48 hours before hospitalisation in the non-empanelled hospital. There will also be the option of informing the insurance company within 48 hours of hospitalisation.

The council's Chairman Tapan Singhal said that if a policyholder chooses a hospital without such a pre-agreement, the cashless facility is not offered, and the customer has to go for a reimbursement claim, which further delays the claim process. This will be a thing of the past, he said, adding the objective is to ease the burden of policyholders who get treated in a hospital, not in the insurer's network.

Currently, cashless facilities are available only at about 40,000 empanelled hospitals, he said.

Singhal, also the chief executive of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, said it has been the constant endeavour of the council to simplify the lives of policyholders and bring positive changes that benefit them.

 Bank Workers' Unity

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Enhancement and expansion of the duties of Clerks would impact!

January 23, 2024

Bank Workers Unity

Gautham

It is learnt through social media that the two Unions of workmen i.e. AIBEA & NCBE have entered into an understanding with the IBA (Indian Banks Association) in the meeting of working group to enhance the duties and responsibilities of the clerical cadre indiscriminately and disproportionately making them vulnerable and accountable. All the clerks including the probationers are to be assigned supervisory job right from day one and that too independently.

It has already been pointed out in the earlier article of Bank Workers’ Unity on 4th November 2023 that in the case of officers, all the three organizations participating in the negotiations namely AIBOC, INBOC, NOBO take part in all the meetings of the working groups which deal with the service conditions like leave, disciplinary action etc. Whereas in the case of workmen, only two Unions namely AIBEA and NCBE participate in the meetings of the working groups leavingout the other three other Unions namely BEFI, INBEF & NOBW.  

Enhancement of Duties and Responsibilities of Clerks

According to that understanding 

Single Window Operator A’s duties are proposed as under:

Passing power of cash cheque / other like instruments independently proposed to be increased from Rs. 10000/- to Rs.50000/- (5 times)

Clearing / transfer vouchers / other like instruments independently proposed to be increased from Rs. 15000/- to Rs.100000/- (more than 6 times)

Issuance of pre-signed DD etc. independently proposed to be increased from Rs.15000/- to Rs.50000/- (more than 3 times)

Cash receipt and authorization independently proposed to be increased from Rs. 15000/- to Rs.50000/- (more than 3 times)

Receipt of cash (Dedicated Cash Counters) – No limit

Clearing / transfer vouchers / other like instruments jointly with another Clerk / Officer more than Rs.1,00,000/- and less than and equal to Rs.2,00,000/- (New concept)

From this, it can be easily understood that the duties and responsibilities of Head Cashiers and Special Assistants would have also been steeply increased.

From the proposal, one can understand that out of the whole transactions more than 90% would fall within the powers of the Clerks either independently or jointly. Thus, the Clerks will have to perform supervisory job henceforth and manage the entire counter work either independently or along with another clerk.

Maker – Checker concept gone

The strength of the flawless Banking system is due to the Maker-Checker concept adopted since inception. That is, the Clerk used to initiate (make) the transactions and the Officer used to check and authorize them. The possibility of mistakes/frauds would be greatly eliminated due to this system.  Presently the independent power is limited from Rs. 10000/- to Rs. 15000/-. Now as per the new proposal, if a Clerk is independently assigned with huge powers, he/she alone has to post (make) and authorize (check).  Thus, the decades-old time-tested practice which led to flawless banking is given a go-bye for a large number of transactions. This will make the Clerks very much vulnerable.  Due to the pressure of time and volume, mistakes are likely to happen exposing the Clerks to disciplinary action besides instant recovery of money that may be lost due to inadvertent credit to a wrong account/ excess credit etc.

More than an officer’s job

With the independently assigned huge powers to the clerical cadre, they have to perform more than an officer’s job. Presently officers are not at all required to perform both the jobs of posting and authorizing cash/clearing /transfer/other like vouchers. They are required to only authorize whatever job initiated by the Clerks. But in this proposal Clerks are assigned with such an enormous power forcing them to perform more than an officer’s job with the clerical salary.

Expanding duties of Clerks

The duties and responsibilities of Clerks do not end here.  They further expand:

Capturing account holder signature

KYC, e-KYC (Know Your Customer)

Recovery

Marketing including digital marketing and sensitizing customer about digital products/lending, Alternative delivery channels

Feeding data of credit proposals and loan products

Clearing, filling up ATM, Cash Deposit Machines and other similar machines and other related Alternate delivery channels

It was agreed to clarify and reiterate that the workman entrusted with duties attracting Special Pay is required to perform routine duties of his cadre.

Many of the duties hitherto assigned with the Officer cadre are now likely to be shifted to Clerical cadre according to this understanding. If this comes into force, hereafter the Clerks would be forced to go outside the premises to perform their jobs like marketing, recovery of loans etc. In that case, the counters will be left with no other person severely affecting the customer service. Further Clerks would be forced to complete the left-over jobs while they were away on duty. When the Clerks are in no way responsible for the loan sanctioned, they would be forced to go for recovery making them vulnerable.

Increased work load

With the heavy shortage, already the Clerks are suffering from huge work load.  With the expansion of their duties and increased powers and responsibilities, they would not be able to complete their job on time.  With the implementation of five-day banking, the working hours on all days are likely to increase by 40 minutes each day. Even today when they are forced to sit beyond their working hours by half-an hour to one hour, the extra 40 minutes will force them to stay further.  This would put the Clerks into greater strain and stress.

AIBEA CC seeks enhancement of the duties and responsibilities of workmen cadre

The Central Committee meeting of AIBEA held at Guwahati on 10th and 11th September 2023 has on the one hand observed that in many branches employees are unable to complete their daily routine work within the office hours and are compelled to sit late resulting in work-related stress and on the other hand decided that efforts should be made to make the workmen cadre more and more utility oriented with suitable enhancement of the duties and responsibilities. Normally only IBA used to place the demand for enhancement of the duties and responsibilities. But this time strangely the leadership of a particular Union is placing this demand.

Work-life balance of Clerks would be disturbed

The 12th Bipartite Settlement has many positive features like 17% increase in the pay-slip component, 5 days banking, improvement in leave rules, allowances etc. as understood.  The basic issues like merger of Special Allowance (this time with the accepted load of 3% in Basic Pay, Special Allowance is likely to increase from 16.4% to more than 25%), updation of pension, bringing all employees and officers covered by NPS (National Pension System) under defined Old Pension Scheme, merger at a higher point of Consumer Price Index etc. remain to be addressed.

Additionally, the increased powers & responsibilities and expansion of duties of Clerks, as proposed, will have serious negative impact.  The work-life balance of Clerks would be disturbed and is likely to increase their work-related stress multi-fold. If this would be the state of affairs of Clerks, the position of the Officers would be more pathetic. Hence, we appeal to the UFBU leaders to resist increased duties & responsibilities and expanded duties of the Clerks in the interest of all.

===============

Contact:

bankworkersunity2021@gmail.com

 Without 5 days banking announcement from Govt,

Bipartite settlement will not be signed.

S.K.Bandlish

Convenor UFBU

 *The Cost Sheet for 9th Joint Note/12th bipartite settlement was signed between Officers Associations, Workmen Unions and Indian Banks Association today i.e 12/01/24 at IBA office.*

Rupam Roy

GS AIBOC

**********************

Yes, 12th B. P. S negotiation is over.

Only Documentation part is remaining .

Full fledged settlement may be signed shortly.

Arrears for 15 months only🤪🤪

I know you will ask the popular question on "5 day banking".

Answer is the same. It is pending with G. O. I/DFS.

Hope they will give their approval at the earliest.

Let the details come out.

Will review later on.

 Dear Comrades,

Core committee meeting with workmen unions was held on 9th jan and with officers associations on 11th Jan. 

Today a meeting with the Negotiating committee was held. 

Most of the issues including pay scale have been finalised. 

Cost allocation to various components are being worked out and the final cost sheet will be signed in the next few days. 

We will furnish the details after signing the cost sheet. Units and members are requested to await till then. 

We are moving towards signing the final settlement.  Maintain your unity. 

Covenor UFBU