Another round of Bipartite meeting was held between IBA and our UFBU constituent unions yesterday In Mumbai. IBA was represented by Shri R.K. Takkar (MD/CEO, UCO Bank), Chairman of the Negotiating Committee along with Smt.

Common Charter of Demands by the Workmen Unions and Officers’ Associations respectively were submitted to the IBA. IBA representatives informed us that they would go through the Charter of Demands and would endeavour to complete the process of negotiations expeditiously within the time frame to reach the Settlement before October, 2017.

From our side, our representatives emphasised the need to hold regular and frequent meetings to negotiate the demands and to complete the Settlement in time.

IBA also submitted list of Management Issues as under:

1. Framework of Compensation Package on Cost to Company and Fixed and Variable Pay concept for Officers/ Workmen

2. Rationalisation of Special Pay carrying posts

3. Review of two graduation increments to workmen employees

4. Transfer and deployment of workmen employees - Para 536 of Sastry Award

5. Simultaneous conduct of disciplinary and criminal/ judicial proceedings in case of workmen in PSBs

6. Continuing departmental proceedings post-retirement in case of workmen employees

7. Premature Retirement of a Workman in Public Interest

8. Outsourcing any activity as per business needs within RBI guidelines

9. Review of existing provisions of automatic movement of officers from Scale I to II and from Scale II to III in pay scales without any promotion in those grades.

10. To mark lien on NPS fund of employees to recover loss to the Bank on account of their proved misconduct.

As regards the standpoint of IBA that the negotiations relating to Officers would be confined and restricted upto Scale III Officers, we conveyed our strong protest and demand that the Officers’ Wage Revision pact should cover upto Scale VII as hitherto.

We also reiterated some of the important issues that need to be focused during the negotiations. It was agreed by IBA that these issues would be addressed during the course of negotiations.

IBA informed us that the data and statistical information required for the discussions are being collected from the Banks and the same would be furnished to the Unions at the earliest.

After further discussions, it was agreed that the next round of discussions would be fixed at the earliest around the end of this month.

UFBU meeting: Thereafter, a meeting of the UFBU representatives met and discussed the important issues before us viz. pursuing the charter of demands on wage revision, increasing attacks and challenges in the banking sector, etc. It was decided to call for the full-fledged meeting of the UFBU shortly to discuss these issues in detail and to chalk out our programmes.”