Pension updation and Mass Casual Leave: RBREA

Pension updation and Mass Casual Leave: RBREA

Excellent! You have given good rebuttal to what respected Governor said. I may add that 

in this unfortunate India there is no value to human beings but to greener pasture, at the cost 

of pensioners/retirees. Thousands of pensioners & family pensioners have died during last 28

years but for them no sympathy? It is a sin committed by them. One or the other day they have 

to pay for it.

 

Parab L R 31-8-2018

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11)To: "governor"<governor@rbi.org.in>,"Urjit Patel"<urjitpatel@rbi.org.in>
Subject: Pension updation and Mass Casual Leave

Respected Shri Governor,
As a super senior pensioner of the Bank now, who had diligently served the Bank for nearly forty years including as Regional Director, I wish to thank you for inviting the representatives of the United  Forum of Reserve Bank Officers and Employees on 24th August, 2018 and for expressing your views on their proposed Mass Casual Leave, the  call for  which the United Forum was forced to issue under circumstances beyond their control, the circumstances which are well known to you. It is true that the proposed action, which has been foisted on the United Forum, for reasons much beyond their control, by an obdurate and insensitive bureaucracy in New  Delhi and by the unwarranted submission by the Bank to the unlawful dictate of the Finance Ministry, would be a sad thing. The concern that you have expressed to the United Forum representatives on the effect of the proposed Mass Casual Leave in the context of  the present international  financial situation and the economic challenges of our own beloved country are indeed well taken. However, may I remind you, Sir, that it is exactly because of the due recognition of these factors that the highly responsible body of the United Forum refrained from taking resort to such agitational programme during the past well over one decade, despite the totally unsatisfactory but even provocative situation created by the non-updation of the pension of the RBI pensioners since 1997.
You are well aware of the facts that   --
Hundreds of appeals and representations and memoranda to the Central Board submitted by and on behalf of the pensioners have remained unresponded and without positive result.

The repeated representations made by the Bank, fully backed by the Central Board of Directors of the Bank,  to the Ministry of Finance have not been treated with any respect by the Ministry of Finance.
The Ministry of Finance on the other hand has been riding roughshod on the issue, despite the UNANIMOUS recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Subordinate Legislation, by citing untenable  and  illogical and shifting grounds for not conveying their concurrence. 

While the Ministry has been denying their concurrence for the updation (that their concurrence is unwarranted is another matter) only in the case of28,000 odd pensioners of the RBI, it has had no compunction in doling out such updation to more than fifty lakh Government pensioners, University staff, Steel workers and BSNL pensioners (even though BSNL has been making gigantic losses for the past seven years continuously and the Government itself has been struggling to meet deficit finance syndrome). To term these as being sector-specific is to  oversimplify the matter and the Government's actions cannot be defended.

The Parliamentary Committee on Subordinate Legislation has considered the Ministry's dictate in this regard as illegal and even complimented the Reserve Bank for showing undue restraint (patience). Such restraint is indeed evidently unwarranted. 

The Bank itself has mentioned about this unresolved issue in the last three statutory annual reports of the Bank submitted to Government.  So, what is the response of the Government to such appeals made by the Bank in their communications to them and in the Annual Reports? Has the Government shown any respect for this?

You have rightly mentioned that the proposed Mass Casual Leave would affect the prestige of the Reserve Bank of India. The prestige of the Reserve Bank of India  was indeed greatly  affected the moment the Reserve Bank made the reference to the Government for their "concurrence" for updation of the pension - surrendering the Bank's autonomy and independence in the purely administrative matter, despite the legal opinion obtained by the Bank from highly eminent lawyers of national and international reputation that the Bank has full powers to update the pension without  the need for concurrence from Government for  such updation  and further that such updation is  essential in the interests of social justice. The prestige of the Reserve Bank stood affected the moment the Government forced the  of the Reserve Bank to sadly retract from the solemn assurances given by the Bank to its employees regarding the periodic revision of pension on the lines of the Central Government pension revision. Such inability to honour its own assurances to the employees undermines the credibility of such assurances and this situation is created by the Government. The prestige of the Reserve Bank was affected when the Government refuses to recognize and respect the unanimous recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee for giving exclusive authority to the Bank on all matters relating to Staff, Salaries, pension, etc.
No doubt, the proposed Mass Casual Leave programme, if comes about unfortunately but unavoidably, would bring to the notice of the public the sad situation of industrial relations within the Bank, but would it not be advisable for the Bank itself to tell the public as to how this situation has been brought about by an unreasonable attitude and approach of the Ministry of Finance and thereby to protect the Bank's prestige and image?.  

Respected Shri Governor, instead of, or in addition to,  appealing to the representatives of the United Forum about the Mass Casual Leave, it would  have been better if the Bank asserted its own prestige and image before the Ministry of Finance and stood up to the bureaucrats who seek to unwarrantedly interfere with the powers of the Reserve Bank and its Central Board of Directors. On the other hand, the proposed action of the officers and other staff  of the Bank should only strengthen your hands in every way for telling the Government as also members of the public that had the Government shown the much needed sensitivity, logic, respect for justice and fairness, the staff of the Bank would not have been forced to take to this unfortunate action.

 

It is the Government which is showing no respect to the image and prestige of the Reserve Bank of India and therefore it is high time that the Bank tells the Government that the latter should take full responsibility for this situation. It is time that the Bank and its Central Board take the decision to update the pension and tell the Government that it cannot any longer wait for the concurrence. The Reserve Bank have had several Governors in the past who have zealously upheld and protected the prestige, independence and authority of the Reserve Bank. It is time to follow in their footsteps, following the wisdom of Yudhishtira who said " Mahaa jano yena gatha sa pantha"

I do hope that the Governor and the Central Board would give effect to the updation of pension and family pension accordingly, instead of looking to New Delhi for their concurrence. Along with this, it is also essential to introduce enhanced pension to super senior pensioners as obtaining in Government.

With high personal regards
Yours sincerely -----------------C V Subbaraman 

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