The All India State Bank Officers’ Association (Bengal Circle) will pitch for a separate bank level wage negotiation, in view of its resentment over the recently signed ninth bipartite agreement between the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) and the Indian Banks Association (IBA) on 27th November 2009.
The association has been opposing the agreement, for denial of the benefit of additional cost being paid to other banks for the payment of pension as second option by the IBA.
Sakti Kumar Haldar, general secretary, SBI Officers' Association (Bengal Circle), said in the recent wage agreement, IBA had deprived nearly 300,000 SBI employees from their legitimate rights.
“The IBA had recently signed an agreement with the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) to benefit around 700,000 public sector bank employees. The agreement proposes a 17.5 per cent hike for the employees. The employees of SBI had demanded the increase should be at par with the salary of the Central government employees.
Haldar said that employees of SBI were denied the benefits of the the wage hike, as under the proposed pension scheme they would be denied legitimate pension, gratuity and family pension benefits.
“This time around the IBA had refused to extend the hard earned benefit to SBI. The other bank unions too had covertly supported the IBS to deprive nearly three lakh SBI employees from their legitimate rights, It was time that SBI officers should emerge from the bondage of AIBOC/UBFU to fight for a separate bank level structure like RBI officers, considering the eminence of SBI.” he said.
The All India State Bank Officers Federation and All India State Bank of India Staff Federation leadership has already held initial discussions with the SBI management to resolve the issue of pension, compassionate appointment and improvement of the quantum of gratuity, according to Haldar.
