:::::SRI S.B. RODE, OUR BELOVED PRESIDENT, AICBOF AND OFFICER DIRECTOR ON THE BOARD OF CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA HAS BEEN COOPTED AS GENERAL SECRETARY, AICBOF IN E.C. MTG. HELD AT MUMBAI ON 24.02.2014:::::MR. S.C. GUPTA, GEN. SECRETARY OF OUR AHMEDABAD UNIT HAS BEEN COOPTED AS PRESIDENT, AICBOF::::::WE CONGRATULATE THEM AND WISH THAT THE OFFICERS' MOVEMENT IN CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA WILL BE TAKEN TO NEW HEIGHTS:::::LONG LIVE CBOA:::::LONG LIVE AICBOF::::::LONG LIVE AIBOC:::::

CBOA-AP CIRCULAR NO. 011 DATED 07.04.2014

CBOA-AP issued its circular No. 011 dated 07.04.2014 reproducing the circular issued by AICBOF on “Unilateral Directives on Restructuring of Zones/Regions resorted to by the Management.” We are placing the same here for our readers.

CIRCULAR NO.: GS: 2014: 011                                        Date: 07.04.2014

TO ALL OFFICERS                                                             PLEASE CIRCULATE

Dear Friends,

We reproduce hereunder the Circular No. CIRCULAR/GS/2014/11 dated 07.04.2014 received from our Federation for your information.

With best regards                                                                   
           
Yours sincerely
Sd/-
(C.A. MALLIKARJUNA RAO)
GENERAL SECRETARY
.....................................................................................................

UNILATERAL DIRECTIVES ON RESTRUCTURING OF ZONES/REGIONS -
NEED FOR AGITATIONAL PROGRAMMES

Members are aware of the unilateral decisions of the management in merging Nagpur zone with Pune zone, Agra zone with Lucknow zone, Muzaffarpur zone with Patna zone, shifting Sambalpur Region of Odisha state to Raipur zone of Chhatisgarh state and shifting Dehradun Region of Uttaranchal state to Delhi Zone. As a responsible organization, we have been showing lot of patience and restraint in order to reach amicable solutions. Unfortunately, our top management’s reaction is one of apathy & indifference. Trade unionism and Officers and employees welfare are considered to be unwelcome features as far as the management is concerned. Therefore it is time, we react.

The core committee meeting of our Federation held at Mumbai on 20th Mar 2014, had a detailed discussion about the attitude of the management and it was unanimously decided that our management’s unreasonable and unilateral attitude should be resisted in Toto. The committee felt that the following issues/developments warrant our immediate reaction: 
  1. Attempts to thwarting the bilateral mechanisms
  2. Failure to draw up a proper manpower planning exercise
  3. Unilateral changes in the Transfer policy
  4. Deunionization & distruption of organized workforce
  5. Cultural shock to officers & employees by merging the zones/Region
Friends, all of you are aware that the present Zonal set up in our Bank is in existence without any hitch for the last 3 decades. What has been existed and practiced through them all along cannot be pooh-poohed as unsuccessful.

How can we tolerate the management’s unreasonable and unwarranted approach in merging the zones and Regions, which will yield only cosmetic change and leads to multiplication of only higher level executives?

Can we ignore such unilateral attitude of the management?

Friends the trend is a clear indication of the challenges before the trade unions in our Bank. The directives on merger of zones are arbitrary and against the bilateral sprit prevailing in our Bank. It is therefore necessary to raise our voice of protest. We must defend our right of bipartite mechanism. Hence all round awareness is necessary amongst the membership about the challenges before us and also prepare ourselves for a greater struggle and sacrifice, if need be.

WITH WARM GREETINGS

Yours Sincerely,
Sd/-
(S.B. RODE)

GENERAL SECRETARY

CBOA-AP CIRCULAR NO. 010 DATED 26.03.2014

CBOA-AP issued its circular No. 010 dated 26.03.2014, reproducing the circular issued by AICBOF on “Opening of Bank Branches on Sundays and Holidays & extended working hours on Saturdays and also on “downsizing the controlling mechanism – proposed merger of some zones”. We are placing the same here for our readers.
  
CIRCULAR NO.: GS: 2014: 010                                  Date: 26.03.2014

TO ALL OFFICERS                                                         PLEASE CIRCULATE

Dear Friends,

We reproduce hereunder the Circular No. CIRCULAR/GS/2014/10 dated 25.03.2014 received from our Federation for your information.

With best regards                                                                        
           
Yours sincerely
Sd/-
(C.A. MALLIKARJUNA RAO)
GENERAL SECRETARY
............................................................................................................

OPENING OF BANK BRANCHES ON SUNDAYS AND HOLIDAYS
& EXTENDED WORKING HOURS ON SATURDAYS

We reproduce hereunder the contents of Letter No.16 sent by the General Secretary, AIBOC for your information.

QUOTE:
You must have come across from various media reports that RBI has instructed the Banks to open branches for full days on 29th March, 30th March, and 31st March, 2014 for the purpose of tax collections. Taking cognizance of these reports, your General Secretary immediately sent the protest letter of the Confederation to IBA, M.O.F. and Reserve Bank of India on 20th March, 2014, a copy of which was sent to you for information.  We simultaneously took up the issue with UFBU and other three officers’ organizations in order to bring unanimity on the issue.

We are pleased to inform you that convenor of UFBU, has also sent a communication to IBA, D.F.S. and Reserve Bank of India in this regard. Meanwhile all four officers’ organizations also have sent a common communication to IBA resisting opening of the Bank branches as envisaged. The communication sent by the Confederation is appended hereunder for your information. We are closely keeping a watch on the situation and appropriate decision will be taken in this regard. Meanwhile, we request you to keep ready for any eventuality, including direct protest/action plan.

                  LETTER OF THE AIBOC TO IBA, M.O.F AND RBI

“We invite your kind attention to our letter Ref. 2013/DFS/18 dated 13.09.2013 and letter Ref. GS/2013/IBA/20 dated 03.10.2013, on the captioned subject, expressing our concern over directive to keep bank branches open on Sundays and Holidays and extending working hours on Saturday to facilitate Tax collection/Advance Tax collection.

Though both above cited communications remained unresponded but when last date of tax collection in December, 2013 was extended by a couple of days, we took the move in a positive stride and felt happy that our representation has been understood in right perspective. Now, to our utter dismay, we understand that the Govt. of India has initiated the steps to facilitate Direct/Indirect tax collection through Banks by keeping the bank branches open for full day on Saturday, the 29th March, 2014 on Sunday, the 30th March, 2014 and 31st March 2014, which is a holiday as declared by some of the State Governments.

It is pertinent to mention that establishment cost of running the branches for few tax payers is highly un-remunerative. It would not be out of context to mention that the Government of India is linking the profitability of the banking system while deciding wage revision of its staff and such repeated moves have directly been affecting the earnings of the Banks adversely, thereby, depriving the staff further of their rightful wages. We would like to reiterate that extending working hours and opening of branches on holidays is undue accommodation to undisciplined tax payers and injustice to the staff, which is not even compensated for working on, holidays/extended working hours. Following this practice on regular basis is just not acceptable as it inflicts tremendous strain and pressure on bank employees by making them to work for extended hours/Sundays/religious holidays. This affects the morale of the staff by causing embarrassment in the family and is highly  undesirable. All this has been causing acute mental agony to the workforce and aggravating discontent as they already feel discriminated.

We lodge our strongest protest to any move of the IBA advising the member banks to open the branches on holidays/ extended working hours on the normal days. We request you to kindly avoid issuing any such instructions to the member banks, which will further instigate our members who are already agitated and disappointed over delay in wage negotiation process and also on this practice of calling them on Sundays/holidays”.
                                                                                          UNQUOTE

DOWNSIZING THE CONTROLLING MECHANISM –
PROPOSED MERGER OF SOME ZONES

We furnish hereunder the communication sent to OUR management for the information of all officers.

“At a time when morale is sagging and spirit is dampened, many new things like restructuring in the name of merger of some zones, unwarranted provocation in attempting to slight and gag the voice of trade unions by Deunionization and disruption of organized workforce are fancied only to further demoralize, frustrate and disenthuse the sincere officers in our Bank.

All Banks are busy in the business growth and particularly our Bank requires more concentration. At such a juncture, the management of our Bank is busy in forcing confrontation with the Trade unions on various staff related issues. On one side the management talks of business growth and on the other indulges in provocative action, where bilateralism is given a silent burial and replaced by arbitrariness and unilateralism.

In no other bank in the industry any policy/norms as well as restructuring concerning officers has even been taken for modification without reaching consensus through bilateral negotiation with the majority officers Federation. But in our Bank the management is determined to show total disregard to the accepted system of bilateralism.

Hardly two sittings have taken place in which the negotiation of restructuring of some zones & Regions could be taken up that also remained inconclusive. It was evident from these meetings that the management is determined to proceed with their unilateral agenda of merger of some zones/Regions without concluding the negotiation with the Federation and without reaching consensus.

Surprisingly and more shockingly the management desires the Federation should accept the dictates without change keeping aside the justification put forth by the Federation. How can it be possible? In nut shell the meetings have been held simply to create a record and not for any meaningful negotiation.

The Office bearers of the Federation have met recently to discuss the attitude and approach of the management towards the officers & their problems and it was decided to resist the moves of the management with full strength of the Federation. It has also been decided to launch an action programme immediately if the management goes ahead with the unilateral steps of restructuring of Zones and Regions and deciding the man power planning without reaching consensus with the Federation through bilateral negotiation.

The consequences of the same shall be squarely on the management.”

Further developments would be informed in due course.

Yours Sincerely,
Sd/-                                                      
(S.B. RODE)                                         
GENERAL SECRETARY