Now Bank Employees get 17.5% hike

New bank wage agreement will give staff Rs 4,816 cr

Our Bureau

Mumbai, April 27

After bargaining hard for over 30 months, the Indian Banks' Association and bank unions on Tuesday signed a new bipartite wage pact.

Under this new wage agreement, the basic pay scale of officers will be Rs 14,500 at the entry level and Rs 52,000 in the general manager grade. In the case of the clerical staff, the new scale will range from Rs 6,200 to Rs 23,900 (at the end of the scale) while in the case subordinate staff it will be Rs 5,500 to Rs 13,800.

Following this, banks' total wage bill will go up by 17.5 per cent. Besides hike in salary, employees (existing and retired) who had opted for Provident Fund, have been given the option to get pension benefit.

The pension option was given subject to the condition that non-pension optees will bear the burden of pension cost to the extent of 2.8 times of their basic pay as of November 2007. Earlier, this burden was sought to be loaded on to existing pension optees also.

The total number of employees who are covered under the settlement include 5 lakh workmen employees and 2.5 lakh officers working in 26 public sector banks, 12 old private sector banks and eight foreign banks.

All part-time employees (lump sum) will be brought to one-third scale wages with effect from May 1, 2005.

The wage revision is effective for five years from November 1, 2007. The total wage increase of Rs 4,816 crore represents 17.5 per cent increase on banks' establishment expenses of Rs 27,520 crore as on March 31, 2007.

Another option of pension will be given to all existing employees who did not opt earlier and also who have retired or died after pension regulations 1995-96, IBA said in a statement.

A defined contributory retirement benefit scheme as governed by the "contributory pension scheme introduced for employees of Central Government with effect from January 1, 2004" will be introduced for workmen or officers joining the services of banks on or after April 1, 2010. There will be no separate contributory provident fund in respect of these workmen/officers.

All the existing special pay posts are rationalised and only three categories will remain - (i) Single Window Operator - A and Single Window Operator-B; (ii) Head Cashier and (iii) Special Assistant.

Dearness Allowance will be payable for every rise or fall of 4 points over 2,836 points in the quarterly average of All India Average Working Class Consumer Price Index (General) Base 1960 = 100 at 0.15 per cent of Pay.

According to Dr S. L. Das, General Secretary, Central Bank Officers' Union, bank officers of other public sector banks will have to bear the burden (Rs 291 crore) towards the pension of SBI officers out of the total wage increase of Rs 4,816 crore.

"This will effectively reduce the wage hike of other public sector bank officers to 16.5 per cent and increase that of SBI officers to 18.5 per cent.

"The employees contribution of Rs 1,800 crore towards pension load should have also been borne by the Government," he said.

Mr Vishwas Utagi, General Secretary, All India Bank Employees Association, said the one more option for pension will help 2.72 lakh existing employees and 65,000 retired employees.

I have said it earlier and I am saying again, what is the need to fatten the already fat pigs.
The present wage bill for 75 lakh bank employees is Rs 27520.00 crores, i.e average pay is 36700.00 per month
Their wage bill will now become Rs 32336.00 crores, i.e average Rs 43115.00
i.e an increase of Rs 6415.00 per month.
We have about 60% of our population who come under the BPL category.
They earn hardly Rs 600/- per month and here we are giving an increment of rs 6415.00 per month.
Tell me, why we should not have more Maoists?
You are not doing anything to control your population. It is the poor and illiterate who multiply manifold and when their basic needs are not fulfilled, it is natural they will take to the gun.
Government employees are already given DA which takes care of inflation . Then why this extravaganza when 60 % of your population do not even get a square meal?
THESE PAY COMMISSION AWARDS AND NEW WAGE AGREEMENT HAVE TO BE STOPPED.
The government cannot afford it but by printing notes and creating further inflation and discord in the population.