Pensioners caught off guard

SBI STRIKE IMPACT

The continuing strike at the State Bank of India (SBI) has thrown life out of gear for many people. The strike entered the third day today.

"May be if you know somebody, all of us could still get our pensions," says a tired 70-something Pramilabai Bante as she squats outside the gates of the imposing SBI zonal office building with a motley bunch of elders, most of whom bump into each other only when they visit the bank to collect their monthly pension.

It is close to 41 degrees Celsius and there is no water to be had on the footpath where these pensioners wait. A police jeep is parked in a corner and policemen have gone across the road to have a glass of sugarcane juice.

Even the striking SBI employees and officers who were demonstrating at the gate in the morning are exhausted and have given up on slogan shouting.

"This is the third day that I have come here. My grandson told me about the strike and also that the bank would be working on Saturday and Sunday. My pension had not reached the bank till Sunday evening," said Sardar Pargat Singh, a former employee of the Indian Railways.

"On Sunday, they told us that the server at Mumbai was down and that they couldn't release our pension. They wouldn't even let us in," said 40-year old Tareek Hussain who had come to check up on his father's pension. "My father would have fainted in this heat," he said.

Rajamma Pillai, a freedom fighter is over 80 and knows all about strikes. "The strike is a weapon to be used only in extreme situations. Bankmen have made it a habit," she lamented.

"The least that they could have done was offered us some water and some shade. Look at them, they are cracking jokes," Rajamma said as she waited for her grandson to return from work and take her home. "I don't know the bus number and route and neither do I have any money on me," she said.

A large number of pensioners were inconvenienced throughout the city due to the strike. Most of them draw measly pensions of a few hundred rupees but the money is dear to them.

"I have to pay the milkman and buy books and pencils for my grandson. His exams are about to start," said Gangubai Mondhe, whose deceased husband worked as a driver with some state government department.

Bank employees worked overtime on Saturday and Sunday to disburse pensions but still thousands were left out. V D Deshpande, president of SBI Officer's Association (Maharashtra and Goa), said most central government retirees could be paid.

"We were aware of the problems they could face and had made arrangements, but even we cannot do anything if money has not reached their accounts," he explained. Deshpande said, some branches had not received advises from the state government for effecting the payouts.

Officers at other branches too reported pensioners having to return. Ironically, the striking employees are themselves fighting for an increase in their pensions.

Many being paid under the employees pension scheme (EPS) of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) too could not get their pension. The EPFO routes pension for 17,000 accounts in the region through the SBI.