12th Bipartite: IBA-UFBU Hurry, Solutions Blurry, Bankers Worry

In a late-night breakthrough on 7 December, the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) sealed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with bank employee unions represented by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), signalling a crucial step forward in the negotiations surrounding the 12th Bipartite Settlement (BPS). This development comes in the fifth negotiation talk as part of 12th BPS and holds paramount significance for employees and officers in the 12 Public Sector Banks(PSBs), and private and foreign banks which have given mandate to IBA. The core of settlement negotiations was bankers’ long pending concerns related to wage revision and employment terms.

However, the 12th Bipartite Settlement (BPS) has brought a mixed bag of relief and concerns for bank employees. Notably, the settlement entails a 17% increment in the pay slip, marking a positive development in wage structures. However, this falls short of the initial demand for a 30% increase, which was later revised to around 22% in the final round of negotiations. The loading factor, a critical component in determining the actual increment in basic pay of bank employees, stands at 3% in the settlement, a far cry from the initial demand of 15%. The UFBU eventually lowered the demand to 10% in the final negotiation stage, but the IBA never placed a better deal. While the settlement sees the merging of dearness allowance (DA) with basic pay, the demand for the merger of Special Allowances with basic pay followed by loading remains unfulfilled. In the 11th BPS, the bankers had secured a 15% increment in total wage slip and 2.5% loading factor. These nuances in the 12th BPS highlight both matters of relief and concern for bank employees.

Picture: UFBU representatives sign MoU with IBA late night on 7 December. 

What Do Unions Say?
The remark by Rupam Roy, General Secretary of All India Bank Officers Confederation(AIBOC), the largest organisation among bank officers, reflected the discontent among a large section of bankers. “I am not totally happy, with my expectations to take care of the issues of the officers, particularly on load, we wanted more. But when we come as UFBU and when we consider our retired officers, as IBA is thinking to improve their benefits, taking everything into account, we have no option but to accept the MoU (despite personal disappointment) with a positive frame of mind. We hope in the further negotiations, the issues will be taken in the right spirit so that the aspirations are met”, Roy concluded after signing the MoU.

Whereas, All India Bank Employees Association(AIBEA) – the largest union of the bank employees – maintained their position that the bank employees at large are content with the terms of settlement. Speaking to Kanal, Devidas Tuljapurkar, the Joint Secretary of the organisation, said “some sacrifices would be necessary when it comes to the negotiation table, many factors are to be considered while clinching the deal”. “The increment in total pay slip as per the signed MoU is the highest in history. As far as the loading factor is concerned, it may not match the loading factor we used to get before bringing 50% employees to the Old Pension Scheme(OPS). Expecting a better loading factor (or any other component which attracts superannuation benefit) is fair enough, but practically it has got a limitation while clinching the deal. Globally, the working class is fighting for sustaining the lifelong pension benefits. At this juncture, it is important to protect what we have”- Tuljapurkar added.

The Bank Employees Federation of India(BEFI), another prominent organisation of bank employees, had abstained from signing the previous settlement(11th BPS), citing IBA’s disregard for bankers’ concerns. Though they have signed the MoU this time, they are not completely satisfied with the 12th BPS either. S S Anil, the all India President of the organisation told Kanal that the bankers certainly deserved a better offer. “The current offer is below par in terms of total increment in wage slip and especially the loading factor. The demand for merger of special allowance to the basic pay was also not granted. We could have secured a better deal if all the unions unitedly came forward to the path of struggle. But the majority unions acceded to the IBA offer, leaving others with no other choice. This BPS is the one that hurried to an MoU in as early as the fifth round of negotiation”, he said.

Meanwhile the retirees have also raised their concerns over the ‘ex-gratia’ clause for pension updation included in the MoU.

Bankers Discontent Reflect on Social Media
The dissatisfaction of many bankers with the terms in the signed MoU reflected on Social Media as well. We Bankers- a registered trade union, who’s online activity has attracted a significant traction on platform X, came down strongly against the settlement negotiations between IBA and UFBU. The two greatest concerns they raise are - not merging the special allowances to the basic pay and the unsatisfactory loading factor. The relatively new trade union is not part of the UFBU.

(A popular post on X comparing Central Pay Commissions and Bipartite Settlements)

Comparisons Show A Different Picture
Discussions are alive on X regarding various aspects of the settlement, among which comparison with the 7th Central Pay Commission(CPC) takes centre stage. According to a widely shared post, “the basic salary of a scale 1 bank officer will go below CPC in a 10 year time frame, for the first time in history”. This post also points to the issue of not merging special allowance. Another talking point on Social Media is the demand for a 5-days work week that has not yet been assured as part of the negotiations. The matter is still under consideration of the Directorate of Financial Services.

Picture: Comparison with salary of insurance employees Credit: Social Media(verified).

Comparisons of the basic pay of bankers to that of the insurance employees and RBI staff are also widely shared on social media. Speaking to Kanal the BEFI president also stressed that the loading factor for insurance and RBI employees are way higher than that of PSB employees. He reiterated the need to go on the path of struggle, to win what bankers deserve. 

Amidst these voices of concern, the unions and the ordinary bankers hope the procedure picks up pace as they await more details and specifics of the revised terms of employment.