What Does Press Note Says

Factual Position

(a) The major gains apart from this are in the form of getting two Saturdays off in a month and Medical Insurance Cover to the employees, including the retirees”. 

(a) No body knows from which date will second and fourth Saturdays will be off.  Joint Note merely says that changes will be effective after approval of RBI and notification of change issued by the GoI.   There is no surety that it will be approved by GoI.

Merely a month back, Mr Singh in a circular dated 18/4/2015 has boasted as follows :

“We also made it very clear in the UFBU meeting that we will NOT SIGN  any agreement till the time the second and fourth Saturday off in the Banking Industry is ensured or a firm commitment is signed by IBA in this regard giving a time line for its implementation”

Where is the firm commitment or a time line given by IBA?  Where is the militancy shown by GS of AIBOC merely a month back?  As we have written earlier, it is only a recommendation which may or may not be accepted or may be kept on pending  for months / years.   Thus, AIBOC has no moral authority to declare at this stage that they have already got two Saturdays off.   This should be part of the Press Release only when it actually happens.

It is also only half truth that Medical Insurance cover has been made available to retirees.   The scheme is still to finally approved and IBA has clearly mentioned that it can be extended to retirees subject to condition that the cost of the insurance premium will be paid by the retired bankers.   Why AIBOC is trying to show it as achievement when the whole cost will be paid by the retired bankers. 

(b) Since AIBOC expressed its dissatisfaction on non settlement of retirees’ issues viz. DA neutralization, pension updation and revision in family pension, IBA incorporated the issues in the Record Note and assured to resolve the issues at the earliest.

This part of the Press Note is also a pure lie. 

 The Record Note signed by UFBU and IBA, which gives the details as to why IBA is not finalizing the issues relating to retired bankers, nowhere says that it will either agree to any of the issues or resolve the same at the earliest.  

Actually, the Record Note clearly says IBA has found the same unaffordable at present but will examine the feasibility of these issues at a future date.