Delay In Wage Revision There is no doubt in it, that the steps taken by leaders of UFBU during last two years for wage revision of ban staff are not at all up to the mark and not upto the expectation of bank staff and not even 10 per cent of what used to happen a decade ago for expeditious settlement of wage revision. UFBU showed casual attitude in submission of Charter of Demand and it is they who abnormally delayed its submission to Indian Bank Association and/ or Ministry of Finance , it is they who remained sleeping for months together and it is they who remained casual , inactive and ineffective starting from first wage talk till last dialogue which took place on wage revision. Management of bank under the banner of IBA gave humiliating response during each wage talk which took place and showed disrespect to UFBU even in fixing a date for next wage talk. I need not enlighten elaborately on the progress which took place on wage revision during last two years. I have in the past too narrated how casual are leaders and how IBA is giving humiliating treatment to our so called militant leaders. Now after lapse of almost two years if bank staff demand for indefinite strike instead of one or two day strike, their demand is not unjustified. It is proper to mention here that it is only in banking industry that bank staff voluntarily opt for loss of pay for the period they remain on strike. Bank staff offer loss of pay even if they are on leave for some reason or the other. Matter of strike for indefinite period may appear to be lose venture but why such demand is vehemently and forcefully coming from bank staff themselves who have to loss their pay for such strike period is a matter of consideration and all leaders who think them as true and militant leaders must ponder over it and give valid reasons to Aam bankers to pacify their anger. If they have any genuine reason for such casual approach , they should place the same before Aam Bankers and try to act in more transparent way. .Anger of young bank staffs who joined banks with great expectations is genuine and reasonable . Image of Bank employees in seventies and eighties and to some extent upto nineties used to be excellent and educated youth used to be crazy for getting a job in bank. . Unemployed youth used to feel proud and elevated when they got a bank job either as an award staff or as an officer. I remember how many persons used to resign from the services of state government or central government or schools and colleges or other departments to join duty in a public sector banks. But the standard of bank staff has seen much erosion during last ten years not only in salaries and perquisites but also in respect and recognition in the society. It is unfortunate that the trend has reversed during last few years when bank staff think it better to join other services if they get an opportunity even at low package. Even in society bank jobs are no being treated as best job or as it was treated a decade ago. And undoubtedly it is trade union leaders who are responsible for such drastic fall in value, respect and recognition of bank staff in the society. It is these leaders who started functioning as if they are second side of the management. It is trade union leaders who started blackmailing with their members and threatening their own members if they do not accept unjustified orders , illegal acts and corrupt action of their bosses representing management. Union leaders started talking on issues of transfers and promotions of bank staff. It is they who started promising management that if they (leaders and top officials ) work as friends and look into personal interests of each other ) they (leaders of trade unions ) can manage their members easily and they can guarantee peaceful industrial relation. Top officials also feel that if there is no disturbance and there is no IR problems in the bank , they can win the heart of ministers and they can fill their pockets and that of their friends , relatives and selected colleagues peacefully as per their whims and fancies. Top officials use to remain safe and secure even if they were found indulged in bribery and corrupt practices. Top officials used to protected by non other than top leaders of Unions. When protectors of bank staff become protectors of top bosses of management , one can imagine the fate of members of unions. Such culture of sharing self oriented business among union leaders and top officials flourished at all levels, in branches , in Regional Offices which control branches and in central Offices where top bosses plan action , decide postings and promotions. In olden days union leaders used to fight with management for each right cause of their members and members used to have blind faith on their leaders. Why bank staff are now asking questions with their own leaders is a question to be answered by so called leaders. Bank staff pay monthly subscription for their Trade Union ranging from Rs.100 to Rs.500 so that their leaders may not face any monetary problem in dealing with the cause of bank staff. But now they do not want to pay this meagre sum to their Unions. Why? Because bank staff know that their leaders are not making full and desired efforts for the cause of bank staff but enjoying in tour and travel .They spend money on frequent travels to ensure exoneration of a few top bank officials or some of low or mid level bank staff who has been served charge sheet for committing fraud and who has been found to be indulged in bribe led lending. Aam bankers have to sit late and work on holidays and Sundays to complete their work due to manpower shortage. Leaders are not bothered at all. Rather they advise bank staff to ensure completion of work at any cost and they do not think it necessary to plead before management for adequacy of bank staff in all branches and offices. Leaders sit in AC offices with officials of the bank during IR meetings to have friendly chats, teas, and snack or lunch and dinner in five star hotels. They do not talk on genuine demands of their members but talk on how to protect a staff who have been caught in fraud or in bribe led lending .They do not protect the genuine and normal human mistake of the staff but they definitely provide umbrella to corrupt bank staff who commit fraud and who accept bribe for sanction of loan or write off of bad loans. And for this purpose these leaders (barring some exceptions) talk on phone right from a Regional Head to Top CEO of the bank. They manage false report and they manage Inquiry officer and vigilance officer to give a favourable report to protect corrupt staff. They do not talk for respectful wage hike but try to please their members by telling management to give free newspapers to all members or slight rise in entertainment expenses or petrol expenses. It is proper to mention here that when a trade union leader retires from a bank he or she is paid lacs of rupees as farewell gift. On the contrary after serving for three to four decades honestly and sincerely in a bank , a bank staff is offered a gift of hardly Rs.5000 by the management of the bank. Anger of bank staff is growing only due to such condemnable acts of leaders of trade unions . There may be some genuine leaders too but the image of leaders is formed by not a few good leaders but by average nature and character of trade union leaders. Image is formed in years and based on usual activities of trade union leaders and not based on few freebees given to bank staff or by saving a few corrupt staff or by promoting some bank staff superseding other better colleagues. A few offices who get out turn promotion or who get choice posting may become blind supporter of their leaders but the image in the minds of Aam banker is formed by the treatment they get in general from their leaders . Bank staff paid Rs.1000 to Rs.3000 to their Trade Unions for ninth Bipartite Settlement signed by trade union leaders This time many of bank staff has decided not to give levy. Why? Because they expect worse wage agreement this time and that too after abnormal and unbearable delay. During ninth Bipartite Settlement it is the faulty decision of leaders of UFBU which caused loss to lacs of bank staff when they were forced to pay thousands of rupees out of wage arrears to buy 2nd option of pension. Ninth Bipartite settlement will be reckoned with as historic blunder committed by so called Militant Trade Union leaders of bank employees. There is no parallel in the history of trade union movement when half of bank staff had to pay for opting pension and other half without an payment. Fault of management and that of trade union leaders was compensated by as many as four lac bank staff who had to sacrifice entire arrear which they were entitled out of Ninth Bipartite Settlement.. I therefore do not agree with the statement of some bankers that young bankers are only angry over inefficiency and intention of UFBU leaders , but the fact is majority of old as well as young staff are totally annoyed with the progress taken place in wage talk during last two years. There may be a few hundred or a few thousands blind supporters of their trade union leaders or their immediate bosses who got out of turn promotion and who got posting as per their choice or who got no punishment or little punishment even after committing several blunders while working for the bank. It is wise to mention here that if 100 bank officers become blind supporters of their leaders when they are given out of turn promotion or choice posting or acquitted from grave charges, 1000 other colleagues officers become hostile of leaders due to such biased act of leaders and that of top officials because it good performers who have to suffer due to bad acts of their leaders .I therefore do not hesitate to say that trader union leaders have digged their own grave by their tactics of appeasement to few officers at the cost of large section of good officers. Some of bank staff are now demanding that bank staff should be tagged with Central Pay Commission only because they find that their leaders are no more reliable and militant and not loyal to their cause. They are loyal to top officials of the bank at the cost of welfare of Aam bankers. Some of old trade union leaders oppose acceptance of tagging of bank staff wages with CPC only because in the past they used to advocate keeping bank staff out of CPC. Here it is proper to say that in seventies and eighties , wage standard of bank employees used to be much better than that of public seventies associated with state government or central government services. Now when the wage of bankers have faced continuous erosion after seventh Bipartite Settlement, the position of wage structure of bank staff has reached its bottom. And to add fuel to fire , bank staff in general do not trust their leaders and hence they think it better to leave their fate in the hands of leaders who are associated with Unions of state and central services and who represent crores of employees. There is no doubt in it that once the entire workforce including bans staff go on strike even for a day , entire government will be disturbed. Of course outcome of such strike and agitation will be better than to be dependent on leaders of UFBU. Posted by Danendra Jain at 8:51 PM
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 11:19:41 +0000
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