An Appeal

ir@nic.in

For kind attention  of  Shri.  Vijay Shankar Tiwari (Section Officer), Department of Financial Services

 

I inform the following in connection with my grievance vide registration No. PMOPG /D/2022/0201565 forwarded to you on 05 September,2022 for resolution by Office of the Prime Minister;

 

1.                 The entire show is managed by Department of Financial Services [DFS]. Neither   the banks nor Indian Banks' Association [IBA], has any role in the atrocity perpetrated so far as they are aided and abetted by the DFS alone.

 

2.                 DFS is aware that in terms of clause 6 and 12 of the memorandum of settlement dated 29.10.1993 between IBA and All India Bank Employees Association pursuant to Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 the amount of pension, updating and general conditions for pension in nationalised banks is to be on the same lines as obtaining in Reserve Bank of India,

 

3.                     DFS knows well that it can withhold updating of pension in nationalised banks only so long as it does not allow the updating of pension in Reserve Bank of India as is evident from its own statement in its letter F No.11/5/2001-IR dated 26^th February, 2018 to RBI that 'As regards update of pension, any change in the manner of calculating pension is likely to result in similar demands in Public Sector Banks and Financial Institutions, most of which are currently experiencing financial difficulties'.

4.                 Whereas DFS has granted permission for updating of pension to employees of RBI with effect from March, 2019 vide letter F No.11/5/2001-IR dated 5^th March, 2019, withholding of pension to employees of nationalised banks is in breach of the settlement cited in item 2 above.

 

5.                 Whereas the Hon'ble Supreme Court has laid down on 01.07.2015 in Civil Appeal No. 1123 of 2015 viz. State of Rajasthan and Another VS. Mahendranath Sharma And Ors.  that pension shall not be less than 50 percent of the running pay bands corresponding to the pre-revised scales of pay, non – updating of pension to the level of 50 percent of emoluments from time to time in nationalised banks under the total control of DFS is in contempt of the Hon'ble Supreme Court.

 

6.                 Whereas Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon'ble Minister for Finance had exhorted IBA at its 73^rd Annual General Meeting that considering the invaluable services the retired bank employees have  done to the banks during their heydays, they shall not be forgotten and left to themselves post retirement and shall be given OROP [One Rank, One Pension], the reluctance on the part of DFS in updating the pension in nationalised banks goes to tarnish the image of the Hon'ble Minister for Finance.

 

7.                 Whereas the Bank Employees Pension Regulations, 1995 governing payment of pension to retired bank employees has been notified in the Gazette of India by the DFS, it is ludicrous on the part of DFS to say that payment of pension is based on bilateral settlement between IBA and unions of employees/ Associations of Officers.

 

Kindly consider the above factors while disposing of my grievance, to be fair.

 

 

C N VENUGOPALAN

AGGRIEVED