OUR STRUGGLE AGAINST ATTACKS ON COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND BILATERALSIM IN ASSOCIATE BANKS AND CALL FOR STRIKE ACTION ON 1ST & 2ND DECEMBER, 2015.
CONCILIATION MEETING HELD TODAY BY CLC, IN DELHI
MANAGEMENT AGREED TO KEEP THE OFFER LETTERS IN ABEYANCE AND NOT ISSUE ANY FURTHER OFFER LETTERS UNDER CAREER PROGRESSION SCHEME
BIPARTITE MEETING WITH SSBEA TO BE HELD ON 3-12-2015
OUR STRIKE/PROGRAMMES TEMPORARILY DEFERRED

Pursuant to our strike notice caused by the provocative decision of the managements of SBI and Associate Banks to foist SBI service conditions on the employees of Associate Banks, Mr. M K Choudhary, Dy. Chief Labour Commissioner (HQ), Ministry of Labour, Government of India had called for a conciliation meeting at his office in Shram Sakthi Bhavan in Delhi today. From AIBEA, leaders of SSBEA - Com Mahesh Mishra, Com N Venugopal, Com Sushil Gautam, Com. K S Krishna, Com Sreekanth Reddy, Com. S R Powar and Com Jagdish Sharma were present in the meeting along with General Secretary of AIBEA and Com D D Rustagi, Joint Secretary. Managements were represented by the Executives of SBI and all Associate Banks along with Mr. K S Chauhan, Sr. Vice President, IBA.

While presenting the issue before the Dy. CLC, we explained that as per the instructions and orders of SBI management, all the Associate Bank managements have pushed through the SBI’s Career Progression Scheme in the Board meetings despite the opposition from our unions and dissent by our Workman Directors and the Scheme includes additional duties and powers, increased working hours, enlarged mobility, abolition of entire posts of permanent sweepers and outsourcing them, etc. besides some extra allowances. We further pointed out that while SSBEA was always agreeable to resolve the demands raised by them through bilateral negotiations, SBI management was adamant by insisting on accepting CPS as a pre-condition to resolve any issue.

We also explained how demands like enhancement in staff house building loan, implementation of compassionate appointment scheme as per IBA/Government guidelines, etc are being unjustly denied by the SBI management and linked to the acceptance of CPS. We also submitted that trade union rights of representation, collective bargaining and bilateralism are being denied and negated by the managements and how settled service conditions under Bipartite Settlement are being meddled with overlooking the obligations under ID Act.

In response, representatives of SBI management tried to justify their actions and maintained that SBI has every right to give any direction to Associate Banks in view of Section 24 of the Subsidiaries Bank Act.

We contested their viewpoints and stated that the Settlement under the ID Act cannot be trampled with or superseded by SBI or by any decision of the Board of Associate Banks. We pointed out that issues like duties and powers of staff, allowances, working hours, mobility, etc. were discussed in the recent industry-level bipartite settlement and resolved mutually, and Associate Banks being a party to it by giving authorisiation and mandate to IBA, cannot violate the same.

In view of the postures taken by the managements, there appeared to be a stalemate. However, with the intervention of the Dy. CLC, there were further deliberations and SBI/AB managements offered to hold bipartite meeting with SSBEA on 3rd December, 2015 and agreed to our proposal to keep the offer letters served on the employees (wherever served) in abeyance and not to issue any further offer letters to the employees in the Associate Banks pending talks on 3rd December.

In view of this, it was informed to the Dy. CLC that our proposed strike action on 1st and 2nd December, 2015 will be temporarily deferred. All our units are advised accordingly to put on hold all agitational programmes in this regard.

Comrades, while every effort is being taken to resist the unilateral, unfair and unacceptable proposals of the managements and repulse the move to foist the SBI CPS in Associate Banks and to resolve the pending demands of the SSBEA amicably, no complacency, lethargy or lassitude should be entertained at any level. Our unity and preparedness for struggles against injustice will be the only guarantee for satisfactory solution to the issues. Keep the powder dry. Keep the spirits high. We shall keep our units informed of further developments.

We congratulate all our units, particularly our membership in the Associate Banks for their overwhelming response to the call of agitation but it is necessary to keep the tempo and alertness alive.