Vol. 38 No. 6 Total 12 Pages BANGALORE Single Copy Rs. 3/- SEPTEMBER - 2019 he nation has just celebrated 73 years of its independence. Independence brought dreams not just of individual freedom but also of the economy, social and political kind. 73 years later these ideals have undergone a transformation as India seeks to become a $ 5 trillion economy. Elsewhere in this issue, we shall share our thought as the campaign for generation of ideas and consultation till branch level has been initiated by the Government of India to involve the bank men from the grass root level in the national mission of reaching a $ 5 trillion economy. Growth in GDP and spurt in economic activity in a country with enormous potential will surely change the landscape as we are living today and may lift the Indian banking sector from the crisis state through which they are passing currently. But as we are dreaming to become a super economic power, disturbing signs have appeared in the economic horizon. News reports are appearing that instead of expansion, there is slowdown in economic activities. Unfortunately, such slowdown is not sector specific. What appears as a drop in car sales indicating a recessionary tendency in the auto sector has spread to other real sector of the economy like, coal, cement, steel and finally to fast moving consumer goods sector. Stocks are getting piled up, rupee is hitting new low against US$, pushing the cost of import centric production and creating further slowdown in the economy by pushing up the manufacturing price. A policy response to the crisis take the shape of a reduction in the Repo rate of the Reserve Bank of India based on the belief that a reduction TRYST WITH DESTINY AND OTHER STORIES in the rate of interest will automatically trigger an increase in credit off take and bring back life to an economy which is slowing down. The cut in Repo rate as admitted by RBI is not getting transmitted to the retail level excepting some cosmetic changes in the rate of interest on housing loan or other retail products. An obvious answer to this paradox is the rate of interest charged by the bank which depends on lots of factors like cost of funds, other expenses, need for provisioning with in-built mechanism to cover the provision from the operating income. So it is abundantly clear to a banker that the reduction in Repo rate cannot ensure automatic reduction in prices that the bankers charge in a borrower account. Further, the off take in credit is not only interest elastic but depends on a host of other macro-economic factors. It is in this back drop we have to appreciate that the real structural change by reforming our economic administrative system depends crucially in ensuring injection of real income in the hands of the people, the ultimate consumer. Such infusion of income in the economy is possible, if and only if, unemployed gets a meaningful job, farmer gets a remunerative price, workers in the organised and unorganized sector get adequate and logical compensation by way of fixing of minimum wage based on the recommendation of International Labour Organisation and linking it with the Consumer Price Index. In other words, it is not the motive of profit for a handful of corporates but a policy direction oriented towards equitable distribution of national wealth that can only lift the sagging national economy. It is here the bank officers’ movement under Editorial T FACTS ARE MANY BUT THE TRUTH IS ONE
Transcript
Vol. 38 No. 6 Total 12 Pages BANGALORE Single Copy Rs. 3/- SEPTEMBER - 2019
he nation has just celebrated 73 years ofits independence. Independence brought
dreams not just of individual freedom but alsoof the economy, social and political kind. 73years later these ideals have undergone atransformation as India seeks to become a $ 5trillion economy. Elsewhere in this issue, weshall share our thought as the campaign forgeneration of ideas and consultation till branchlevel has been initiated by the Government ofIndia to involve the bank men from the grassroot level in the national mission of reaching a$ 5 trillion economy. Growth in GDP and spurt ineconomic activity in a country with enormouspotential will surely change the landscape as weare living today and may lift the Indian bankingsector from the crisis state through which theyare passing currently.
But as we are dreaming to become a supereconomic power, disturbing signs have appearedin the economic horizon. News reports areappearing that instead of expansion, there isslowdown in economic activities. Unfortunately,such slowdown is not sector specific. Whatappears as a drop in car sales indicating arecessionary tendency in the auto sector hasspread to other real sector of the economylike, coal, cement, steel and finally to fastmoving consumer goods sector. Stocks are gettingpiled up, rupee is hitting new low against US$,pushing the cost of import centric productionand creating further slowdown in the economyby pushing up the manufacturing price.
A policy response to the crisis take the shapeof a reduction in the Repo rate of the ReserveBank of India based on the belief that a reduction
TRYST WITH DESTINY AND OTHER STORIES
in the rate of interest will automatically triggeran increase in credit off take and bring back lifeto an economy which is slowing down. The cut inRepo rate as admitted by RBI is not gettingtransmitted to the retail level excepting somecosmetic changes in the rate of interest on housingloan or other retail products. An obvious answerto this paradox is the rate of interest chargedby the bank which depends on lots of factors likecost of funds, other expenses, need forprovisioning with in-built mechanism to cover theprovision from the operating income. So it isabundantly clear to a banker that the reductionin Repo rate cannot ensure automatic reductionin prices that the bankers charge in a borroweraccount. Further, the off take in credit is notonly interest elastic but depends on a host ofother macro-economic factors.
It is in this back drop we have to appreciatethat the real structural change by reforming oureconomic administrative system depends cruciallyin ensuring injection of real income in the handsof the people, the ultimate consumer. Such infusionof income in the economy is possible, if and onlyif, unemployed gets a meaningful job, farmergets a remunerative price, workers in theorganised and unorganized sector get adequateand logical compensation by way of fixing ofminimum wage based on the recommendation ofInternational Labour Organisation and linking itwith the Consumer Price Index. In other words,it is not the motive of profit for a handful ofcorporates but a policy direction oriented towardsequitable distribution of national wealth that canonly lift the sagging national economy.
It is here the bank officers’ movement under
Editorial
T
FACTS ARE MANY BUT THE TRUTH IS ONE
2 Common Bond, September - 2019
the leadership of AIBOC is playing its vital roleby educating and re-educating the membershipabout the social commitment that we have inthe national economy. The bank has to play themost important catalytic role to realize thedream of a trillion dollar economy. This cannotbe achieved by simply interacting with the frontdesk officers, without providing the requiredmanpower, ensuring proper trend, addressing thetechnology related issues, removing the irritantsthat affects the work-life balance, stoppingthe humiliation of officers and host of otherissues that are preventing them from dischargingtheir duties with the level of diligence andperfection that a growing economy demands. Thismay be true of other formal and informal sectorsof the economy. It is pertinent to mention thatseniors also form a large part of the nationaleconomy and a truly welfare state cannot functionwithout addressing the problems and aspirationsof the senior section of the citizenry.
When the nation made its tryst with destiny inthe midnight of 14th August, 1947, the countrydreamt of a society of having freedom fromhunger, malnutrition, religious and caste hatredand a social system which is inclusive in nature.Common Bond joins the entire country as itcelebrates 73 years of that momentous event;it also commits to use its own space to upholdthe principle of an egalitarian society by fearlesslyopposing all moves of the crony capitalist toplunder the economy. Common Bond will also upholdthe positive role of public sector banks andcontinue to emphasis the role it has to play inour dream run to a $ 5 trillion economy by keepingat bay the sharks from the private sector whoare out to usurp the national resources whichthe economy and the banking system has soassiduously built over the years. This is not onlyour tryst but commitment to the destiny of thisgreat country which belong to all of us irrespectiveof caste, creed or religion.
THERE IS NOTHING PERMANENT EXCEPT CHANGE
SHARED ARTICLE
ank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) haspublished a special issue of their organ BEFI
NEWS to commemorate 50 years of BankNationalisation where Comrade Soumya Datta, Editorof Common Bond and General Secretary, AIBOC hadshared his thought on “CHALLENGES OFPERSONNEL MANAGEMENT IN NEO-LIBERALISED ERA”. We are reproducing the editedexcerpts of his article for the benefit of our readerswith due acknowledgement to the publishers of theSpecial Volume of BEFI NEWS. (Editorial BoardCommon Bond)
Personnel or Human Resource (HR) management isknown to encompass various activities relating torecruiting, inducting, training and developingemployees. Appraising, compensating and providingthem the benefits, to motivate them, having goodrelationship with employees and trade unions as alsoto ensure the safety & welfare of its human assets toachieve the larger objective of an organization.
But in banking industry, it has been different. HR hastraversed a long path. Officers and employees haveundergone trials and tribulations. Yet, the situation is
not different from what it was 5 decades ago. Thecurrent challenges on HR front in banks cannot beisolated or understood in its entirety if we do not lookat the changing banking scenario sinceNationalization. HR in banking industry has seenupheavals over the past 5 decades. It is worthwhileto recollect banking from the period aroundnationalization of banks, till date in chronology.
BANK NATIONALIZATION:
There is no better occasion than today to rememberBank Nationalization. The decision of the thenGovernment to nationalize 14 Banks during 1969 wasnot only a brave and bold decision, but stands out tobe monumental attempt to show to the world thatthe banks can be vehicle to change the socio-economic status of the citizenry. The pains and agonyof the citizenry in being have-nots, non-availability ofaffordable credit, suffering peasants and small scalebusinessmen and artisans, atrocities of moneylenders, and local “sahukars” and a picture that Banksare only for rich were the strong drivers to nationalizethe Banks. By doing so, Banks were liberated fromthe riches, to reach the poor. As such, the decision to
B
Common Bond, September- 2019 3
LEARNING NEVER EXHAUSTS THE MIND
credit in the rural areas has stagnated since 1991and is one of the major reasons behind agrariandistress possibly leading to farmers’ suicides that wehave witnessed over the past two decades. Thedilution of the priority sector lending norms to enablethe new generation private banks to generate greaterprofits have a telling effect on rural credit. Even today,rural and semi-urban bank branches account for only26% of all deposits and 20% of total creditoutstanding of the scheduled commercial banks inIndia. Only a further expansion of public sector bankscan enhance the flow of credit to the rural and semi-urban areas and ensure genuine financial inclusion.
CHANGING FACE OF BANKING – NEO LIBERALERA – ASSET QUALITY WOES
During late 1980s, misconceived concept ofliberalization, privatization and globalization (alsoknown as LPG) started sneaking in. The directivesand signals from two pythons - Bretton Wood twins(IMF and World Bank) were to open up the economy.Developing countries have always been the target ofdeveloped countries. Huge market, illiterate andsemiliterate populace, poor governance in suchcountries always made them captive market todeveloped countries. With this, the corporatizationof business also started taking shape. Businessmen& Capitalists started looking at the western world andaped them, in isolation. LPG fueled their ambition.Government and the powers that be also encouragedthem.
The country’s banking fundamentals were strong,systematic and methodical till late 1980s. In theaftermath of LPG, there was a radical change inbanking system of the country. Well laid down normsand stipulations encompassing the banking credit,were diluted in the name of bringing flexibility.Regulator was closely supervising the large creditdispensation with its invaluable tool - CreditAuthorisation Scheme (CAS). CAS was diluted withfast track CAS and was later totally dispensed with,bringing a different credit appraisal system in theform of Credit Monitoring Arrangement, handing overthe discretion to the Banks’ Boards. Banks were freeto determine their appraisal norms, which can betermed as the first blow. Rise in number of
nationalization was on strong social-economicfoundation, and an unconventional one, towardssupporting and uplifting the masses of the country,entwined with the very objective of Constitution ofthe country. It is pertinent to note that PSBs wereessentially public-service oriented and never thoughtout to be pure commercial organizations.
Post nationalization in 1969, the scenario within thecountry kept changing at faster pace. Huge branchexpansion reached the banking services to all cornersof the country. Easy, dependable, affordable credithad its due impact. Coupled with this, Government’ssocio-economic programmes like village adoption,rural credit, thrust towards lending to agricultural andallied activities, small/village/cottage industries,became more pronounced. Bank credit played acatalytic role in the success of various revolutions –be it green, white, blue; integrated development ofrural and semi urban areas. Result was building upnecessary infrastructure, backward and forwardlinkages, irrigation facilities, increase in arable landand naturally all led to overall growth of the country,including self-sufficiency in food grains. It is a matterof truth that Bank Nationalization was a strongcontributor towards this progress. Banks, which werein the hands of few rich business houses, becametool of transformation of the country, and massescould access the banks, liberated from the clutchesof money lenders. Banks offered employment tomillions of youth. There is no exaggeration if we saythat Public Sector Banks (PSBs) are the architect oftoday’s economy. Banks touches the life of everyperson, every day in one form or the other. Havingregard to the colossal contribution of the PublicSector Banks, Government again took another leapand nationalized six more Banks in 1980.
The entire period since 1969 to 1991 witnessed anexponential growth bank branches- from 8262 in 1969to 60220 in 1991. It is pertinent to mention that thenumber of rural bank branches increased from 1833to 35206. However, the opening of bank branches inrural areas slowed down with the shift in policies asthe total number of bank branches in FY’16 was134858, out of which the number of rural brancheswas 50102.
As has been evidenced, the expansion of institutional
4 Common Bond, September- 2019
THE JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGINS WITH ONE STEP
opportunistic corporate houses, misplacedenthusiasm on the part of Banks, lack of long-termcredit appraisal skills, liberalized economy had its ownnegative impact on the credit portfolio of the Banks.Without having put in place the safety mechanismthat was built in western countries, the banks in Indiatried to ape them with insufficient defence gear. Onthe other hand, few accredited, experienced long-term/infrastructural credit appraisers like ICICI, IDBIwere converted as Universal Banks. With this, the skilland acumen to appraise long term loans was alsolost. Added to this, Regulator has started thrustingunsuitable norms of identifying the large credits asstressed, its recognition and providing for thempushed Banks further into deeper red. The result ishuge mounting of stressed assets (NPAs) over lasttwo decades. Arbitrary Capital Adequacy andProvision Coverage norms were forced. Banks, oncethought as loss-proof, safe and secured, werereduced to loss-ridden, unsafe and dilapidated. Thishas its own effect on personnel and HR managementin the banks.
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN BANKS:TRADE UNIONS
Prior to nationalization (1960s), bank branches werelarge in number. The administration was arbitraryand imperialistic in nature. The officers and staffbelow the Agent (Branch Manager) were harassed.Service conditions were worse than that of a slave.Casual leave was a gratis. Hours of work wereunending. Personnel worked from dawn to dusk.Weekly off, though was recognized as right ofworkmen in other industries contemporarily, was amirage as the Agent and Management had unabatedpowers to fire cadre below them and the threat oftransfer was a very commonly used weapon.
These atrocious behaviors beyond a point oftolerance gave birth to militant, passionate tradeunions. During 1960s, trade union movement withinthe Bank gained momentum. Officers and AwardStaff formed strong unions and associations. Theyresorted to agitations for improvement in serviceconditions. Result was various Awards for Staff andimprovement in working conditions for Officers. It ispertinent to note that officers in State Bank of Indiawent on indefinite strike seeking improvement inworking environment. Banking in India came to a
halt. This can be identified as golden movement inthe history of supervisory trade union movement. Thestrike ended after 17 days, resulting in improvementin every area of working environment of officers. Thisalso had its impact on the supervisory trade unionmovement in other Public Sector Banks. HR was bitdisposed towards officers/employees.
BRANCH EXPANSION RESULTS IN LARGE SCALEAPPOINTMENT
Soon after nationalization, the thrust of theGovernment was clear and visible. The priority wasexpansion of bank branches across the country. Thisopened up huge opportunities for the youth of thecountry. Large number of officers and staff wereemployed. Most of the bank employees were fromthe background of humble society. A secured job madethem happy and loyal. They had put their heart andsoul and served the citizenry across the country. Banksopened in remote corner of the country and were fullyalive to the customers and served the society. It is trueonly in Indian banking system that employees andofficers worked with a missionary zeal to serve thepurpose of nationalization.
This large scale recruitment not only enabled thebanks to spread its wings and serve the citizenry, butalso strengthened the trade union movement in thebanking industry. Having seen the strength, objectivesand achievement of trade unions, the employees andofficers identified themselves with Trade Unions. TradeUnions emerged as the strongest work force in thecountry. Collective bargaining power gained strengthover a period, working environment became more andmore congenial and so also the service of the bankemployees towards the society. Bank employees wereheld in high esteem in the society. The pay and perkswere enviable. The officers pay was more than thepay of Grade I Officers (IAS) of Central Government.This, naturally, caught the attention of sore eyes. Inthe name of equality, Officers’ salaries were clippednot to exceed the Grade I officers of the Government.With all these, Public Sector Banks remained usefulelements of the Society, serving the citizenry.
PERIOD OF FAST-TRACKED REFORMS –COMMERCIALS OVERTAKE SOCIAL OBJECTIVE
Post LPG era, in early 1990s, reforms in Banks werefast tracked. Reforms in Banks were found to be low-
Common Bond, September- 2019 5
A MAN CAN BE DESTROYED BUT NOT DEFEATED
hanging fruits to show to the world, more specificallyto pythons like IMF & World Bank, that the countryis embarking upon reforms. This started with theNarasimham Committee recommending limiting thenumber of Banks. The beans of mergers andacquisition were spilled, along with concept likeNPAs. Attempts were made to change the socialface of PSBs. PSBs were projected more and moreas commercial banks, than the vehicle of socio-economic change. Profit, Profitability and variousparameters were thrust upon the Banks. Arbitraryscales of efficiency were created to rate them. Bankswere brainwashed to think that they were nowcommercial entities than the extended arm of theGovernment, to help society, the down trodden andthe needy. Commercialization of financial resourceswas implemented. Towards this,“Disintermediation” was forced upon them. Theimportance of the Banks as a bridge between saversand users, was attempted to be reduced. Manycorporate houses emerged to seize the opportunity,taking cue from LPG and the liberalized approachof lending, garnered huge loans from the Banks.Overambitious projects were embarked upon.Banking industry, having lost the long-term creditappraisers like ICICI, IDBI etc became easy prey. Theseeds of today’s humongous stressed assets weresown in late 1990s. These decisively harmed banksover subsequent two decades. Banks posted losses.This was moot point of making attempts to link pay,allowances & perks etc to profit.
NPAS SURGE - PROFIT/PROFITABILITY/PARAMETERS OCCUPIES CENTRE STAGE –ATTEMPT TO CONNECT SALARIES TO PROFIT
Government and Regulator forced upon PSBs manypolicies and programmes without assessing thegenesis of the problems and the situation in whichthey were placed. Misplaced Asset QualityRecognition coupled with norms of recognizing themfor action under Insolvency Bank Code, pushednearly all banks into crimson red. The tendency ofmeasuring the efficiency of PSBs underwent a seachange. Several parameters were brought in. Profit/ Profitability / Capital Adequacy / Provision CoverageRatio, ROA, RIO became yardstick.
Here is a pertinent point to be noted. Constantlyattempts are being made to connect theseparameters, in a way or the other, with the pay,allowances and the management of human resourcein the Bank. Forgetting the objectives and aspirationsof nationalizing them, banks were equated with anyother corporate whose sole aim was to earn profit.Here again, there was paradoxical action. PSBscontinued to be saddled with less profitable or not-at-all-viable activities like Aadhar Seeding, DBT, Jandhan,Demonetization and similar various socially desirableactivities, which did not earn anything to the bank.Banks were not augmented with staff for nearly 4decades, excepting trickles here and there. This was adisaster, aggravating the issues in PSBs. In fact, thefirst aspect of HR Management – i.e. Recruitment wasnearly stopped altogether.
With profit/profitability occupying the centre stage, HRmanagement in banks also started revolving aroundit. In order to show the profit/profitability, banksresorted to downsizing the personnel. Outsourcingbecame norm. This had flipside effect of dilutedmonitoring and compliance activities, rise in the levelof operational risks, causing deeper problems. Pressurestarted mounting on the personnel.
HR management in bank rendered nearly meaningless.Rather than making the employees and officers apartner in decision making; they were made theobjects of reform. This was clear when the burden ofimplementing irrational, ill-designed and over the topscheme like demonetization was forced upon the bankemployees with devastating physical and psychologicalconsequences for many. Undoubtedly, the rapidlychanging business environment and the entry of newbanks are posing new challenges for the banks. Themain objective of HR policy is to create a congenialatmosphere where people get the opportunity toshowcase their potential and receive adequatecompensation, which was not meaningfully present.
WAY FORWARD TO PUT HR ON TRACK, TOENSURE WELLBEING OF PSBS AND PERSONNELWITHIN IT
There is a necessity for Government and Regulator tointervene immediately to put the affair of PSBs in order.
6 Common Bond, September - 2019
WHOEVER IS HAPPY WILL MAKE OTHERS HAPPY TOO
Few issues which require quick fix solutions are:
* Augmentation of employees and officers. Bank isbasically a service industry. However strong may betechno-banking, it cannot substitute the human touch.Reckoning the level of business, initiatives and thevaried components within the banking, the staffposition obtaining in Banks is awfully low comparedto three decades ago. Human Resourceaugmentation is continuous process towards buildingknowledge capacity in the banks. In next 3-5 years,30-40 percent of seniors will be superannuating. Whowill hold the mantle? Will the subsequent generationhave necessary wherewithal in terms of depth ofknowledge and experience to shoulder suchresponsibility? Banks have been driven to the situationby the very Government, which has not allowed orencouraged recruitment in the garb of efficiency/turnover per employee etc.
Compared to clerk to officer ratio of 4.5:1, threedecades ago, now it has reached an abysmal lowranging from1.3:1 to 1.1:1 in various banks. Thisclearly shows that clerical posts are not being filledup. This also shows that officers have beenoverburdened with the residual work. In fact, in thelast fiscal, 14 Banks have declared zero vacancy forProbationary Officers; while the vacanciesannounced for clerical is abysmally low.
Any further delay in recruiting staff and officers inadequate numbers will prove catastrophic to bankingindustry.
* Make pay and allowance attractive enough toattract and retain talent: Once enviable pay of bankemployees become a fraction of what is being paidto Central Government employees/officers. This needsa serious attention.
* Transparent transfer and placement policy –enable officers/staff to understand the situationbetter and plan. Each of employee and officer in theBank has right to know about his next posting. Fairtransfer policy is right of an employee.
* Staff Accountability: Banking is the only sector
which expects precision, every time. Even a machineis allowed to malfunction and a margin of error ispermitted, whereas Officers/staff in bank are alwaysexpected to be correct. Each mistake is treated aslapse and punished. Sword of accountability hangsalways, even after retirement. Service Rules have tobe amended to instill confidence in personnel to takedecisions.
* National Litigation Policy /Bankers’ AdministrativeTribunal - Grievance of employees are rising. Bankseither ignore them or turn their deaf ear. With this,staff will be constrained to resort to legal remedy,spending hard earned money as also exposing thebank also the reputational risk. Many a time, justiceis delayed, which tantamount to denial of justice.Classic examples are the cases filed by our veterans(pensioners). The cases are so dragged, in theinterregnum, before judgement comes out, manywould have breathed their last, or in a position noteven to enjoy the benefit.
Solutions to this problem are two-fold. NationalLitigation Policy, which is still in draft stage, shouldbe announced by Government. Organizers should bebarred from appeal, if a lower forum/court gives ajudgement in favour of its employees, unless there isa point of law, and that to after clearance by aCommittee of Board. This will be deterrence to casualattitude of employers to appeal against judgement.
Secondly, an exclusive Bankers’ AdministrativeTribunal needs to be instituted to handle HR relatedissues.
* Making Boards and senior officers’ accountable–Steps of ladder should be cleaned from top: Althoughboards are supposed to be independent and ultimatedecision making bodies of the bank, the decisions ofGovernment are being forced upon them, by armtwisting the executives. Corporate governancenecessitates autonomy of the board free from allextraordinary influences and more specifically politicalinterference and the board should be madeaccountable for all decisions. There are instanceswhen political appointees in the board influence the
Common Bond, September - 2019 7
INDEPENDENCE IS HAPPINESS
decision especially concerning credit. Committeemodel of decision making has been formed to obviateaccountability of board/senior level officials. Butunfortunately, the accountability always devolves onlower level officers and staff letting go the seniorsand top management. There is a need for seriouslook on this.
* Work Life Balance – This has drawn considerableattention over the past few years. Work life balancesignifies a satisfactory level of involvement betweenthe multiple roles in a person’s life. Work shall notbe at the cost of personal life. Work life balance ishaving the right combination of work (defined byhours and working conditions) and other aspectsof his/her life. Long work hours and highly stressfuljobs not only hamper employees’ ability to harmonizework and family life but also are associated withhealth risks and depression. There have beenumpteen numbers of reported suicides andincreasing deaths due to life-style disease thatemanate from absence of work life balance. Worklife balance, if implemented meaningfully, helps inreducing the stress level at work and increases thejob satisfaction. Banks should not forget that anofficer is a spouse, father, mother, grandparent, son,daughter and a useful element of the society. Whileit is obligatory on the part of employer to ensure atotal disconnect of his employee from office workafter certain hours of work and on week-ends, it isincumbent on the part of the Government to ensurethis through a legal frame work.
* Re-orient HR structure - Bank should re-orientand re-invent itself in negotiating the challenges ofhuman resources management in the post-liberalised era. We have to appreciate that alternativehuman resources management policies should bedeveloped by all of us in a participative manner andensure its implementation. HR machinery so thatthe perceived idea of minimizing the employees’ roleand outsourcing of banks job can be reversed.
* Participative Management – Harness theexpertise of the workmen and officers’ directors onboard of the banks. A participative management isbeneficial to all the stake holders.
WE HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY:
We also have role to play to improve HR (workingconditions) in the Banks. We should be aware thatnothing comes out of thin air. Nothing will be servedon a platter. Nothing can be realized unless demanded.Nothing can be demanded unless our ownorganizations are safe, up and running. Nothing willbe conceded, if not fought at right time! Towardsthis, trade unions and members within have a hugeresponsibility.
* Ensure and enliven trade unionism– Each of bankemployee/officer is militant and passionate individually,but do not congregate and demonstrate together.While the passion, militancy is always demonstrated insocial media, we should ensure that it descends onthe street. Trade Union battles are fought and wononly on streets. While we are with our comrades thatsocial media has to be used aggressively, with weighedwords, phrases and sentence to express our unity,solidarity and trade unionism, we should also makeup our mind to join gate-meets, street-end gathering,demonstration and strike programmes.
As long as our actions are meant to secure ourinterest, our esteemed institutions, nothing should stopus to holding our flag high. This can send strongsignals to the powers that be. We should rememberthat PSBs achieve the objectives of Constitution of thecountry. We should be proud to safeguard the publicsector fabric of PSBs under any circumstance.
* Demand ratification of ILO Conventions No.87(Freedom of Association and Protection of the Rightto Organise) and No.98 (Right to Organise andCollective Bargaining Convention). This should be themother of all demands of trade unions. The restfollows.
A good HR can bind us emotionally and passionatelyto the Bank. We have committed ourselves 50 yearsago, to uphold the social banking and serve thecitizenry of the nation. This can only be achieved if wecan have an employee centric HR Policy.
8 Common Bond, September - 2019
COMING TOGETHER IS BEGINNING, WORKING TOGETHER IS SUCCESS
Banking
WORKSHOP ON USAGE OFSOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM
ocial Media viz., Twitter,Facebook et al., have
become an integral part of thesociety and a gateway to getconnected to the world at large,apart from an opportunity forquick dissemination ofinformation. These have becomethe power tools which can impactand influence the society and alsocreate opinion.
In this backdrop, AIBOC decidedto revamp its social media wingfor dissemination of informationas well as highlighting issues confronting theindustry, economy and more particularly, the issuespertaining to officers fraternity of the banks, to grabthe due attention of all concerned. Towards this, inorder to empower the affiliates to make best use ofsocial media, a workshop was organised at Kolkataon 29th July 2019.
The programme was inaugurated by ComradeSoumya Datta General Secretary, AIBOC in thepresence of State Secretary, AIBOC West Bengal, and
Jt. General Secretary, AIBOC,Comrade Sanjay Das. Ouraffiliates, across the country haddeputed their best tech-savvyactivists to the workshop.
Shri Ritobroto Maitra, a young, outof box thinker and ArtificialIntelligence engineer, who is alsoclosely and passionately associatedwith AIBOC, handled the sessions;explained the nitty-gritties ofhandling social media and impartedtechnical inputs in effectively
utilising social media to propagate our concerns,action programs and developments . All participantsappreciated the contents and the way the skills wereimparted. Each of them actively participated and manyprofessional-level graphics, relevant to banking andeconomy, were conceptualised and exhibited in theworkshop, which was highly appreciated by ShriMaitra. This brought out the tremendous potentialand ability of our participants, which vindicated thedecision to organise such a workshop.
COMRADE SRIJAN KUMAR PAL TAKES OVER ASGENERAL SECRETARY OF AIRRBOF
he 67th Central CommitteeMeeting of AIRRBOF was held at
Hotel Orient Taiba, Nagpur on 28th July,2019. The meeting was extremelysignificant as during the course of themeeting Com. S. K. Bhattarcharyatendered his resignation as GeneralSecretary, AIRRBOF citing personalreasons. With a heavy heart, themembers of the Federation accepted hisresignation and requested him to gracethe Federation in an advisory capacity.The entire house unanimously placed on recordtheir appreciation for his immense contributionto the growth and development of the Federation.Thereafter, house unanimously resolved to co-optComrde Srijan Kumar Pal as General Secretary
of AIRRBOF.
Common Bond extends its greetingsto Comrade Srijan Kumar Pal on histaking up the challenging assignmentand hope that under his dynamicleadership issues like a) Career pathof officers of RRB b) Change ofService rule to bring them at par withthe sponsor banks, reframing of thepromotion rules in RRB and the mostimportant issue of recruitment of
officers and award staff will get resolved. CommonBond also requests the leadership of all AIBOCaffiliates to extend their helping hand as hithertoto the new leadership for further consolidation ofAIBOC foot print in the RRB sector.
Organisational Issues
Congratulations
S
T
THE ONLY JOURNEY IS WITHIN
Common Bond, September - 2019 9
ndia’s second lunarjourney and its first-ever
mission to be spearheadedby two women got a boostafter the ambitiousChandrayaan-2 mission,headed to the moon’sSouth Pole, achieved anorbit 6,000 km more thanwhat was targeted.
ISRO achieved a perfectlaunch at 2.43 p.m. on22.07.2019 from the second launch pad at SatishDhawan Space Centre, SHAR, in what was the GSLV-MKIII’s first operational flight.
From the scientists at the Mission Control to those atthe Viewing Gallery, the media centre, and millionswatching on television across the nation, the launchseemed like a nail-biting sports match. The cheers,whistles and claps every time a launch objective wasachieved, at the Viewing Gallery and the Media Centre,gave the launch a semblance of the reception normallygiven to film stars or excellent sportspersons.
Sixteen minutes after the rocket rose into the cloudyskies leaving a trail of bright orange plumes and itsengines let out a majestic roar before vanishing behind
REACHING FOR THE MOON
the clouds, the spacecraftwas injected into orbit at aperigee of 169.7km andapogee of 45,475 km, theapogee more than whatwas targeted.
“The GSLV-Mark III vehiclehas successfully injectedChandrayaan-2 in thedefined orbit. In fact, theorbit is 6,000 km more thanwhat was intended. The
satellite will have more life, more fuel and more timeto play with the manoeuvres. It is the beginning of ahistorical journey of India towards Moon and to landat a place near the South Pole to carry out scientificexperiments to explore unexplored [areas].
It is great to hear that the Chandrayaan-2 is on theright track and has entered the orbit of the moon.The success of ISRO, its dedicated scientists andengineering team has made every Indian immenselyproud. It confirms that sky is the real limit for theIndian aspirations and with right dose of supportand encouragement we can scale any heights.Common Bond compliments the satellite team forliterally burning the midnight oil to get the satelliteready for launch.
BANKING NEWS
he Department of Financial Services (DFS) in theMinistry of Finance has decided to conduct
a bottom-up consultative process from the branchlevel upward involving discussion at regional, SLBC/State level and National level. The consultation willreportedly cover eight thematic papers prepared bythe domain experts and will also include review ofthe bank’s performance during the last 5 years anddetailed discussion thereon. The aim of theconsultative process is to ensure alignment of bankingwith national priorities, stimulating ideas andinculcating a sense of involvement among bankersdown to the branch level.
It is understood that the expectations of thegovernment from the bankers meet inter alia ascovers a host of subject, both internal to the bankas also relating to the role the banking system canplay regarding national priorities. While the internalissues referred to review of the performance of thebanks during the last 5 years based on certainpredetermined parameters, alignment of bankingwith national priorities will be assessed in thefollowing broad areas:
i) Credit support for economic growthii) Credit support for infrastructure
News we Cherish
Banking News
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10 Common Bond, September - 2019
NATION FIRST, ORGANISATION NEXT, INDIVIDUAL LAST
iii) Doubling farmers incomeiv) Jal Shaktiv) Support for green economyvi) Housing for Allvii) Swachh Bharatviii) Empowering womenix) MSMEs/Mudrax) Stand-up Indiaxi) Education loansxii) Blue economyxiii) Export creditxiv) Less cash/digital economyxv) Technologyxvi) Financial inclusionxvii) Direct Benefit Transferxviii) Ease of livingxix) Alignment with local priorities, andxx) Corporate social responsibility
Common Bond is extremely happy to extend wholehearted support to the well-intended initiativeundertaken by the Ministry of Finance with the noblepurpose of converging ideas to find optimum solutionthrough consulting officials of the bank across thehierarchy on various parameters that will ensuredispelling loop holes and weakness in the bankingsector to reinvigorate credit growth and improvingaccounting standards and nurturing competitiveefficiency alongside niche competencies in thebanking space while aligning its future course ofaction in tune with the government initiatives.
It is heartening to note that the expected outcome ofthe initiative as has been envisaged aims atextending Credit to Micro, Small and MediumEnterprises (MSME) sector, Retail lending, AgricultureCredit, Export Credit and Digital Payments among
many other parameters by adopting review exerciseon performance of banks during the last five years.It also encompasses alignment of banking withnational priorities, synchronization with area-specificissues and growth potential, role of PSBs as activepartners in the Indian growth story, generation ofideas for creating a roadmap for the future,comparative ranking of banks, enhanced ease ofliving by making banks more responsive tocustomers, challenges before banks and theirpreparedness in areas such as cyber security anddata analytics, multi-layered analysis of comparativeperformances at regional, state and national levels,both within and across banks, etc.
All will agree that the success of the proposedinitiative will depend much on the activeparticipation of all the stake holders and therefore itis imperative that the process certainly takes care ofthe overall characteristics of the participants and theirimmediate preparedness while responding to thesituation. Further adoption of one jacket which suitsall weather might not bring desired result.Accordingly, it will be just and fair that therepresentative organisations of the bank employeesand more specifically AIBOC being an apolitical tradeunion without any affiliation to any political party ordoctrine and fiercely independent in expressing itspragmatic opinion should be given an opportunityto share its thought on various tenets of banking.Such involvement of the organisations likeAIBOC will make the process more meaningful andmay go a long way in ensuring the desired alignmentof the banking system, the main fulcrum onwhich the national financial system depends,with the national priorities as set forth by thegovernment.
CIRCULARS
41 dated 27th July, 2019: DisciplinaryProceedings Workshop for Office Bearersorganised by AIBOC Tamil Nadu State Unit
42 dated 30th July, 2019: Workshop on Usageof Social Media Platform
43 dated 31st July, 2019: Circular on DearnessAllowance
44 dated 14th August, 2019: Copy of text ofletter to the Secretary, DFS - Banker’s Meet –“Converging Ideas” - Request for participation.
Circulars
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Common Bond, September - 2019 11
A. Industrial disputes act, 1947 – Sections 25F, 25G and 25H – Termination illegal – Workman was terminatedwithout notice or notice pay or retrenchment compensation – he raised an industrial dispute – Managementfailed to prove its defence either of abandonment or non-completion of 240 working days in a calendar year,since no supporting document was placed on record – MW admitted that records were maintained andemployment of workman was admitted as a daily wager – Industrial Tribunal passed award in favour of theworkman – Management challenged the award in writ petition but failed – Management failed to producerecord to prove either abandonment on the part of the workman or non-completion of 240 working dayscontinuous service by the workman, finding of the industrial Tribunal has been affirmed by the LearnedSingle Judge – Hence, appeal fails since there is no plea that the award is not based on misreading ofevidence or are vitiated for non-consideration of any material piece of evidence.
B. Continuous service – 240 working days – Burden of proof – Onus on workman when shifts upon management– Once MW admitted factum of maintaining records and employment of workman, may be on daily wages,onus shifts upon management to demonstrate relevant records to falsify the plea of 240 working dayscontinuously taken by the workman.
C. Abandonment – Burden of proof upon employer – abandonment being a plea taken by the employer is tobe proved by the employer by producing attendance and wages records and efforts made to direct theworkman to resume duty.
2019 LLR 617Punjab and Haryana High CourtHon’ble Mr. Krishna Murari, CJ.
Hon’ble Mr. Arun Palli, J.LPA No. 367/2019 (O&M) & CM No. 824-LPA/2019
Termination of services of a workman in violation ofSections 25F, 25G and 25H of the Industrial DisputesAct, 1947 is illegal justifying reinstatement with backwages and continuity of service.Adverse inference against the management is justifiedwhen production of records of attendance and wagesbeing maintained by the employer is not made beforethe Court.Burden of proof to prove 240 working days initially isupon the workman but the onus of proof shifts uponmanagement when the records and employment ofworkman, to demonstrate relevant records to falsifythe plea of 240 working days continuously taken bythe workman.Abandonment being a plea taken by the employer byproducing attendance and wages records and effortsmade to direct the workman to resume duty.
CM NO. 824-LPA OF 2019Krishna Murari, CJ. – 1. Heard. For the reasonsmentioned in the application, delay of 65 days in re-
filling the appeal is condoned. Application standsdisposed of.
LPA NO. 367 OF 2019This intra-court appeal filed by the State of Haryanaunder Clause X of the Letters Patent is directedagainst the judgment and order dated 03.10.2018passed by the learned Single Judge dismissing thepetition challenging the award of the Labour Courtmade in favour of the respondent-workman.
2. In brief, the facts required to be noticed foradjudication of the controversy can be summarizedas under:-
Respondent-workman was appointed as a Mate on01.01.1991 on daily wages and his services wereabruptly terminated on 30.12.2000 without assigningany reason. An industrial dispute was raised on theground that the termination is bad in law as it is notpreceded by the notice or payment of retrenchment
IMPORTANT POINTS
Judicial Verdict
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compensation and thus was in violation of Sections25F, 25G and 25H of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
3. A reference was made to the Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court. The appellant-State set up a plea beforethe Tribunal in defence that the workman wasappointed on temporary basis on daily wages and leftthe job of his own and did not report on duty after30.11.1991 and thus it was a case of abandonment ofservice. Another defence set up was that the workmanhas not completed 240 days in preceding calendar year.Both the defence set up by the appellant managementbefore the Labour Court were negated for want of anyevidence being brought on record to substantiate thesame. A categorical finding in respect of the plea setup by the appellant with respect to abandonment ofservice has been returned that there was no materialbrought on record by the appellant herein that therespondent-workman had abandoned the job. Thusthere was no iota of evidence available on record tosubstantiate the plea set up in defence.
4. In so far as the issue of having not completed 240days continuous service by the employee is concerned,the Tribunal relying upon the statement of MW1 theSDO of the appellant employer who admitted in cross-examination that relevant record was not produced toestablish the factum that there was any break in service.
Since the record of employment was maintained bythe appellant-employer and once the factum ofemployment was admitted, the onus was upon theappellant-management to demonstrate by producingrelevant record that the respondent-workman failedto satisfy the test of 240 days of continuousemployment in the preceding calendar year. On thisissue also the Industrial Tribunal has returned a findingthat the employer management failed to discharge theonus.
5. Learned Single Judge after analyzing the record hasaffirmed the findings returned by the Industrial Tribunalwhich in effect are the findings of fact based onappraisal of material on record. During the course ofarguments, learned Assistant Advocate General,Haryana failed to satisfy that the findings returned bythe Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court and affirmedby the learned Single Judge of this Court are eitherbased on misreading of evidence or are vitiated fornon-consideration of any material piece of evidence.
6. In view of the above, the learned Single Judge rightlydismissed the writ petition and we find no infirmity inthe impugned judgment so as to interfere in the matter.
The appeal being devoid of merits stands dismissed.
Printed & Published/Edited by Shri Soumya Datta on behalf of AIBOC. at State Bank Building, St.Mark's Road Bangalore- 560 001.Printed by Shri. Ranga Reddy, at L. V. Graphics 3968, 7th Cross, 2nd Main, Gayathri Nagar, Bangalore - 560 021.
