AIBOC CIRCULAR NO. 21 DATED 25.04.2013

AIBOC issued its circular No. 21 dated 25th April 2013 on 10th Bipartite. We are placing the same here for our readers.

10TH BIPARTITE – ROAD BLOCKS IN THE NEGOTIATIONS - AIBOC IS FULLY PREPARED TO OVERCOME

Our members are aware that the 2nd round of discussions on the Charter of Demands submitted by the Officers’ Organizations and the Workmen Union was scheduled on 22nd April after a gap of one month since the preliminary discussions on the negotiations during the last month by the Indian Banks’ Association. The members were anxious to know the developments since our last round of discussions with IBA and IBA informed us that they were yet to collect all the required data from the Banks to enable them to present the views of the IBA on the forthcoming salary revision talks. They also had expressed certain apprehensions about the delay in the matter of obtaining mandate from all the member banks to commence the negotiations.

 

When the IBA sent an invitation to resume negotiations all round hopes have been raised for a fair and reasonable settlement during the current negotiations on the charter of demands submitted by us.  When we met at Mumbai to resume negotiations, the IBA team was headed by Shri.T.M.Bhasin, the head of the negotiating team along with his other colleagues from the IBA to negotiate on behalf of the Indian Banks’ Association.  The Chairman of the negotiating team spoke overall view about the banking scenario and shared the data that have been collected by the IBA for the purpose of negotiations on the salary revision.

The AIBOC team was represented by Com.P.K.Sarkar, the President of the Confederation and also the Convener of the United Forum of Bank Unions along with Com.D.S.Rishabadas, the General Secretary of the Confederation accompanied by other senior office-bearers of the Confederation. The representatives of the Confederation expressed their genuine concern about the need for an early salary revision and also conveyed their unhappiness over the manner in which the negotiations are being carried forward while the other serious issues that were pending are being completely ignored by IBA despite our repeated representations for an exclusive meeting on all those issues. 

The IBA has also come out with a list of Management Issues which is totally unacceptable to us since it challenges the very root of bipartite relations as far as the salary revision for the officers’ are concerned. The issues that have been given as Management Issues are as follows:-

a)    Introduction of Cost to Company

b)    Introduction of Performance Linked Variable Pay

c)    Restriction on applicability of wage revision.

The collective bargaining which we could establish after a long drawn struggle and sacrifices are now threatened by the IBA with the proposal a restricted negotiations and also to change the concept of salary revision approach by suggesting the introduction of the cost to the company and also the introduction of variable pay in the guise of performance linked incentives. We have expressed our strong reservations about these initiative so that, the IBA should get clear message as to the hopes and aspirations of our rank and file across the country is concerned.

The IBA has also given similar Management Issues in respect of the Workmen as well. We have already communicated the details of the circular issued by the United Forum of Bank Unions in this regard. The UFBU will also take a collective view with regard to the issues given by the Management before we proceed for the next round of discussions.

Thus, the attitude of IBA appears to be a confronting one rather creating a favorable climate for a reasonable and fair salary revision. We have showed restrain on our part but have at the same time conveyed to the Negotiating Team that the Management Issues needs to be fine tuned to see that the time tested bipartite negotiations are not jeopardized in the process.

We have a long way to go. The roadblocks that may be placed by IBA needs to be tackled in an effective manner without hurting the interest of the Bank Officers’ fraternity in the country. We cannot allow the division of our rank and file in the name of restrictions on applicability of wage revision etc. Hence, there is a need to keep our organizational activities in full swing so that we are in a position to strike back to make the IBA to understand the sentiments of the rank and file across the country and come out with a comprehensive and acceptable salary revision proposals.

Comrades, it is therefore essential to keep ourselves in readiness to tackle these situation through sustained struggles if need be so that we would able to achieve yet another mile stone in the bipartite settlements when we conclude our 10th bipartite negotiations. 

All our members, State Units, affiliates etc., are requested to await further developments in the matter.

With greetings,

Sd/-

(D.S.RISHABADAS)

GENERAL SECRETARY