KAMALESH CHATURVEDI-SWATANTRA BANK KARMACHARI SANGH FROMFACE BOOK FW ERI BOI

  An important question which must peep the mind of every reasonable bank employee must be as to why the determination of wage achieved better results when entrusted to third party as compared to wage determination by our own leaders through the process of collective bargaining of bilateral negotiations?

Sastry Award negated the plea of paying capacity of the banks and formulated pay scales after making comparisons with Government Employees and other Industries. It also considered risk factor which bank employees bear while performing duties. This happened again in case of employees of Regional Rural Banks when Government of India constituted National Industrial Tribunal with Justice Obul Reddy as Presiding Officer. The NIT did not accept pleas of RRBs that many of them are in loss and would not be able to bear the cost of increase in salaries of employees. It granted employees of RRBs parity in Salaries with employees of their sponsored banks. RRBs got agitated over the issue and the matter went up to apex Supreme Court which also upheld the logics and reasons of NIT.

When we try to find out a rational answer to the above question, it appears that the system of collective bargaining through Bilateral Negotiations concentrates power to bargain in representatives of employees who may not be possessing needed convincing power, courage and other qualities which an ideal negotiator must have or else it becomes easier for employer banks to use undue pressure or influence on these selected representative. The collective bargaining system closes the doors for others. Whereas when the issue is entrusted to third party, it invites suggestions from all. It gives equal weight age to views and opinions of even minority. The third party decides the issues objectively after discussing rival contentions and then giving its conclusions supported by reasons as to why contention of one party appealed to it as just in comparison to the contention of others. Such approach gives an insight to employees to know as to why they lost in the matter of particular demand. Such logical explanation is unfortunately absent in collective bargaining.

The underlying idea of post is to generate discussion and debate on the eve of eleventh Bipartite Settlement. Should we depend on present system of Collective Bargaining which has utterly failed to guarantee us Equality and Parity instead the gap has widened over the years or should we reject it by pressurising our own leaders to stop negotiating on our behalf and demand inclusion in CPC ?

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Regards, E.R.Iyer