AIBEA PRESS RELEASE FROM BANKING UPDATES FW ER IYER BOI
ALL INDIA BANK EMPLOYEES' ASSOCIATION
Central Office: "PRABHAT NIVAS" Regn. No.2037
Singapore Plaza, 164, Linghi Chetty Street, Chennai-600001
Phone: 2535 1522, Fax: 4500 2191, 2535 8853
e mail ~ chv.aibea@gmail.com & aibeahq@gmail.com
20-1-2016
PRESS RELEASE
BY C.H. VENKATACHALAM
GENERAL SECRETARY, ALL INDIA BANK EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
AIBEA to continue agitation by further strikes against unilateral service conditions in Associate Banks and demanding settlement by discussion
After the nationwide protest strike on 8th January, 2016 which paralised the banking activities in many parts of the country, All India Bank Employees Association has decided to continue its protest since there is no positive response from the managements of Associate Banks.
The meeting of National Office Bearers of AIBEA was held in Chennai on 13th instant when the decision has been taken to chalk out further strike actions since the managements' standpoint is not acceptable to us.
AIBEA feels that any issue can be sorted out and settled amicably across the table by mutual discussions and negotiations and that has characterized the industrial relations in the banking industry for the past five decades and that is how 10 successive industry-level bipartite settlements could be signed by AIBEA with the bankers body, Indian Banks' Association (IBA) even when different Governments were there at the centre. The first industry-level Bipartite Settlement was signed in 1966 and the 10th Bipartite Settlement was signed last year in May, 2015 covering 43 public sector, private sector and foreign Banks.
We wish to point out that these collectively bargained bipartite settlements covered not only the economic demands pertaining to the employees like pay scales and allowances, but many concerns of the managements were also redressed and resolved.
Issues like use of technology, improvements in customer service, transferability of employees from surplus to deficit centres, maintaining discipline, regulating the conduct of the employees, outsourcing of technology based services which cannot be done in-house, etc. were all demands raised by the bankers and amicably settled by discussions. These were essentially and primarily management issues and yet we discussed and included them in the settlement. AIBEA cannot be accused of being one-sided and everyone knows the role being played by AIBEA.
We regret that the managements of the 5 Associate Banks have chosen to go unilateral at the behest of SBI management while the Unions in the Associate Banks were always open to negotiate and settle. Their attempt is to scuttle any discussion and foist their own decisions and adverse service conditions on the employees. This is the crux of the issue and cannot be acceded to by AIBEA or its affiliates.
We wonder that if in SBI, the management could negotiate with their union and sign a settlement on Career Progression scheme that is suitable to SBI, why can't SBI allow a negotiated settlement in the Associate Banks as per their specific needs and requirements ? In the negotiations for the recent 10th Settlement, neither SBI or the Associate Bank managements raised any such issue with the Unions. And accepting the uniform industry-level Settlement, now they want to unilaterally change and violate the Settlement. It defies logic and rationale. Even the Chief Labour Commissioner advised them on these lines to resolve the issue through discussions but it was rejected by the management.
What is more disgraceful is that the managements are blackmailing the Unions that unless their unilaterally decided service conditions are accepted, even the genuine demands like enhancement in staff house building loan are being denied when the employees and officers in the entire banking industry have been extended the benefit. Similarly, the management is refusing to implement the Government approved scheme on compassionate ground appointment to the widow of an employee who dies in harness even though IBA/Government guidelines were issued as far back as August, 2014. Is it the way public sector managements should behave ?
Questions are being raised about possible dislocation of banking services by repeated strikes, but we would like to clarify that it should be the equal responsibility and concern of the Government, bank managements and the unions to avoid a strike and Union alone cannot be blamed. The chief authority of the labour ministry advised the management to resolve the issue by talking to the union and advised us to co-operate so that strike can be averted. We expressed our readiness to abide by his advice. The management rejected his advice. When we are ready to talk out the issue, and if the management would not come forward, what is the choice before us except going to the streets. The Government could not prevail upon the management. The IBA could not ensure proper implementation of its own Settlement. Can AIBEA be blamed for it ?
Meeting with FM/LM: Yet we will take initiatives and AIBEA has decided to meet the Finance Minister and Labour Minister to find a negotiated solution to this impasse created by the management and further programmes would be announced only if these attempts fail. We want a negotiated settlement of the issue and hope Government would intervene accordingly.
C.H. VENKATACHALAM
GENERAL SECRETARY
Regards, E.R.Iyer
