NCCPA Writes to Chairman United Forum of Bank Unions on Pensioners of Banks!

 

NCCPA Writes to United Forum of Bank Unions!

NCCPA CHQ has preferred a letter to the Chairman of the United Forum of Bank Unions that negotiated the wage settlement with the Indian Banks Association and signed a settlement recently. As per the settlement the serving employees of Banks are getting 17% wage increase but the Pensioners as usual not given any Pension Updation. As the Kerala Bank Retirees Forum wanted the NCCPA to write to the UFBU in the similar way to the letter of AKBRF to the Chairman UFBU, we have responded. Kindly go through the copy of that letter placed in MS Word and in PDF Format for the information of all – KR SG NCCPA

National Coordination Committee of Pensioners Associations

NCCPA/Banks/1                                                                                            Dated 28.12.2023

 

To

 

Comrade Sanjeev K.Bandish

Convenor,

United Forum of Bank Unions.

 

Dear Comrade!

 

We are National Coordination Committee of Pensioners Associations (NCCPA), the Apex body of various Central Government Pensioners Associations and Bank Pensioners Associations like the All-India PNB Pensioners / Retirees Association and All Kerala Bank Retirees Forum etc.

 

We find the acceptance of “Ex-gratia” by the UFBU in the wage negotiations with the IBA is not sorting out the long pending issue of Pension Updation of Bank Pensioners. We know well that ex-gratia means, it will not be calculated for any other purpose including the grant of Dearness Relief. It will be a separate element without any other benefit and therefore, the Ex-gratia is not Pension Updation. More over the ex-gratia is only for the current wage settlement period and not for future. This ex-gratia quantum too to be discussed further in future according to the agreement! The Updation of Pension has been denied to Bank Pensioners from the time of acceptance of Pension as a separate benefit decades ago by the Unions in Banks.

 

We also find that the Bank Employees Unions used to raise the issue of Pensioners during the negotiations always but only to give up the demand and settle the issues of serving employees of Banks only. This time also during the negotiations, 17% of wage raise is achieved for the serving employees of both nationalized Banks and Private Banks but no Pension Updation to Bank Pensioners as usual. This NCCPA is not wrong if we surmise that the acceptance of ‘Ex-Gratia” by the Bank Unions in the UFBU is in nut shell, is a sellout of the Bank Pensioners by the Bank Unions.

In contrast, the Central Government Employees and Pensioners are settled for the identical fitment formula through every Central Pay Commissions, except for the fact that CPCs are constituted once in 10 years instead of once in 5 years as in wage settlement in PSUs including Banks. Moreover, the wage settlement made in RBI and NABRAD are involving Pension Updation of Pensioners of that industry too and we know very well that these institutions are akin to Banks only. Any settlement for Pension updation should cover both PSU and Private Bank Pensioners also, which is clearly absent in the present wage settlement. The habit of including the issue of Pensioners in the Charter only to surrender at the time of wage settlement with the IBA by the UFBU is detested by the millions of Bank Pensioners and others.

 

We request you to respond to our letter and also to reject the wage settlement leaving the Pension updation of Bank Pensioners for decades. Your clear stand should be welcomed by both the Pensioners of Nationalized Banks and Private Banks. NCCPA trusts that the UFBU will take such a stand to satisfy the ex-employees of Banking Industry also.

 

Thanking you,

 

Yours fraternally,

 

(K,Ragavendran)

Secretary General