The woeful tale of bank pensioners

Salaries in public banks are far less attractive than in private banks.

The only consolation is the provision of pension

which too has now been reduced to a measly sum.

           Public banks have played a historically stellar role in financial inclusion and the development of the social sector. They have been the backbone of the government’s socio-economic agenda and have made a transformative impact on the country’s development landscape. But sadly, the contribution of their employees has not been adequately recognized. The government has paid little heed to their worsening service conditions. While there have been paltry raises in salaries, there has been virtual stagnation in pensions for over two decades particularly when inflation has been soaring to such high levels.

           Salaries in public banks are far less attractive than in private banks. The only consolation is the provision of pension which too has now been reduced to a measly sum by a strange and unjustifiable logic of the government. This logic doesn’t meet the test set out in several judicial pronouncements as also the stipulations of several publicly recognized welfare codes for senior citizens.There may have been some black sheep in the industry that have tarnished the image of banks, but the entire fraternity cannot be made to suffer and atone for their misdeeds. We must understand that even government departments have suffered periodical scams but that has never detracted us from the remarkable work of some of our outstanding civil servants. The bureaucracy forms the bulwark of India’s public administration and the misconduct of some employees has not prevented the government from doing justice to the sector as a whole. So is the case with the public banking sector. The employees have always delivered on official policies and programs. In the absence of competitive salaries, the only motivation for keeping their morale intact is fairness with them in their service conditions. Their overall compensation should be commensurate with both the volume of work and the nature of risks involved in the operational roles. 

Salaries, leaves, and other service conditions of public sector bank employees are decided by bilateral agreements entered into between management and employee representatives once every five years.

              pension  is not revised/updated in line with the periodical revision of salaries as is done in the case of government employees where both salaries and pensions are simultaneously revised when the periodical Pay Commission’s wage revision take effect. While the lowest grade government pensioner gets a proportional raise at every such revision, this is not so in the banking sector. Here, even a retired top-grade executive has to make do with a fixed pension throughout his entire life. He might have been at the helm of affairs of a large bank, enjoying attractive perks, but his post-retirement life is made miserable by the government logic that makes his plight worse when he is likely to be most in need of assistance and care. In fact, the government is so magnanimous with its pensioners that it gives a few percentage points increase for those who have completed 75 years of age. This is further enhanced in higher age bands. This in indeed a laudable gesture and demonstrates not just policy wisdom but reflects the enlightened thinking of modern societies. All this logic is lost when the rules for bank pensioners are formulated, even though their case is identical. This contradictory approach smacks of bias and unfairness.