Demands include 5-day banking, PF to be calculated on total salary and allowances, not only on basic
At a time when the government is contemplating cutting employee benefits at 10 laggard public sector banks, bank officers have demanded that they be given the revised basic pay at par with central government officers on the principles of the Seventh Pay Commission.
Negotiations have not started because not all banks have given the mandate to the Indian Banks’ Association to talk on their behalf.
The United Forum of Bank Unions, the umbrella organisation of the unions, is yet to appoint a coordinator for negotiations. But standalone unions have started demanding higher emoluments.
At the end of December 2016, gross bad debts of the banking system crossed Rs 6 lakh crore and stressed assets are estimated to be more than Rs 9.5 lakh crore.
The government on March 16 wrote to 10 banks, stating that capital infusion in those would depend upon achieving quarterly milestones and only after these banks signed a memorandum of understanding with unions to sacrifice employee benefits in case there is a need for that.
The Seventh Pay Commission had recommended a 23.55 per cent hike in the basic pay plus allowances. The government had accepted a 14.27 per cent hike in the basic pay, while the allowances would have to be decided later.
According to reports, allowances could be decided this month. The current wage pact comes to an end in October. The last wage negotiations were settled in May 2015 with a 15 per cent hike.
This time the government wanted to finish the process early and so it started prodding the banks to start negotiations in January 2016, but the latter delayed things.
Finally, in December 2016, the government sent its fourth letter to banks to start the process with the unions. Still not all banks have given the mandate to the IBA.
Photograph: Ajay Verma/Reuters