COUNT DOWN BEGINS..A cob of corn can knock down a giant.

Dear Pensioner Brothers & Sisters, War is war, neither big nor small, nor easy to win. Don't take your enemy in lighter vain. Be more careful, cautious and vigilant, particularly, when your enemies are from within your turf and are erstwhile friends turned foes. Here, you are in varying role. You are both as a commander and a soldier, You are one man army, no doubt, a difficult assignment at a crucial phase of life, but you are left with no option, but to do or die, choice is yours: to do something to survive or let die in shame & isolation. All your working days, apart from doing well to your Bank job, you did your best part in your Unions very sincerely and diligently. Now, Banks as well as erstwhile Unions, both, are your estrange fellows. For you, they are one, united bent upon to scuttle your rights and privileges, totally unmindful of your miserable economic conditions & precarious health problems. In series of their acts, the Banks & Unions, jointly, have robbed your rights to Welfare Funds, despite Government sanctions. The Banks & Unions, jointly, deprived you uniform DA compensation, whether 100% neutralization or increase/ decrease on quarterly average. The Banks & Unions, scuttled your right to 50% pension under 1616/1684, which they called as aberrations, rectified from 2005, but not from retrospective effect of 1.4.1998. The Banks & Unions entered in an agreement for 2nd option with obnoxious terms & conditions in contravention of Pension Regulations, 1995 with regard to refund of Provident Fund share with accrued interest of Banks + additional interest @6% & pension from date of retirement, the settled principles in Regulations, 1995 had been unsettled. The Banks & Unions agreed to scuttle Pension by segregating 7.5% of basic as Special Allowance in 10th Settlement, which doesn't qualify for Pension. From 2010 Old Pension Scheme had been abandoned by Agreement, on plea that NPS is implemented in Government services, so in PSBs old scheme hold no justification. Who have been in center of all these decisions? For sure, it were and are pensioners. Old friends might remember Bhoothlingam Committee Recommendations, which formulated DA formula for Government employees. These new age buys, perhaps might be aware that the Government wanted to implement Bhoothlingam DA formula in Banking. The then Unions fought against that obnoxious move and defeated government fiat to impose Bhoothligam DA in Banking by preserving our prevalent DA system. But, these Unions succumbed to Banks' pressure agreed to abondon old pension scheme by peaceful agreement. And, in return they could not bargain any improvement as available in Central Pension Rules. What to say of any bargain, they imposed huge financial let out for 2nd pension opted. we lead a campaign in the past (Post Card to Hon. Prime Minister), not only for your pension revision, but to restore the lost status of Banking fraternity. In 1970s Bankers were having the status of high wage islander. Then what happened in just last 2 decades that bank men have had lost all glitters? The Idiots have many arguments as professionals cheats to term settlements as historical, landmark, milestone etc. If these are historical, landmarks, milestones then what can be the worst one?. On shows of these clowns, innocent banking fraternity has been clapping and cheering, unaware of graves that these clowns had dug for them. These idiots haven't done one single achievement in last 20 years. They only manipulated the things to the best advantage of Banks. These people have been used by IBA to provide it's member Banks cheapest manpower across the board. IBA could enable Banks to extract at the cost of exploitation, best performance from employees & officers. IBA has proved it's mettle to scuttle wage bills and compensation etc hugely. Huge percentage drop of wage bills during 2012-17, ( 13+% to 10%), bear the best testimony of fact. It happened, because now there has been none to point out or raise accusing fingers on faults. All blocks are sitting at one place and sycophants rule over them. Employees and officers are head down under work pressure. If our observations are anywhere wrong or exaggerated, we are ready to apologize and bear reprimand. Root cause is, there is no unity among Unions at first point. They have different constituencies, conflict of interest, vested interests and they work for cross purposes. They are worst sycophants, self seekers and egoists. It's rightly said, "There is strength in unity and weakness in division." They have lost all sense of aims and objects for which they formed UFBU. All are engaged in tense fight to establish hegemony. Simple thing, they are inimical to each other. Secondly, nowhere they stand equipped with need based knowledge of banking, finance, professional and expertise intricacies of Negotiations as against well versed, articulated and professionally well equipped IBA from within and outside experts. None of union leaders have guts to admit their pigmy status. They acclaim themselves as master of all. It's their high headedness and nothing beyond. The best math you can learn is how to calculate the future cost of current decisions." This is what they have failed to adhere in last about 2 decades of UFBU formation. One point more, this situation has come up as bonanza to banking fraternity, from UFBU. However, lost is lost, can't be recouped. Those who died of diseases or economic distress, no justice can be achieved for them. Yes, we hold the Organizations responsible in unambiguous terms for the sins they have been committing all these years. They are the real culprits and killer of their own veterans. Let us consolidate ourselves with all might with our command to expose ills and unethical acts of omissions and commissions of these Unions' leaders with regard to Pensioners rights and privileges. Unions have left us in turmoil to die of economic distress and diseases, is an undeniable fact. Leave no stone unturned to achieve our goals. Wait for the next action in near future. Regards, (J. N. Shukla) National Convenor, Forum of Bank Pensioner Activists Prayagraj.