Bank Strike -- Remained Fruitful OR Not

STRIKE BY BANK UNIONS! VYING FOR NATIONAL PROMINENCE WHILE OBSCURITY PREVAIL AMONG MEMBERS?------Written By--------Himadri Shekhar Bhattacharjee

A bird perched atop a tree needn’t be afraid of the branch cracking down,so long it has confidence on it’s wings”.

True,if an entity has confidence on the capability of itself to whisk it to safety in case of any eventuality,it needn’t cling to anything or issue, worrying all along about safety.

Most of those bank employees’ unions now seem to have lost all confidences on their capability to procure a place under the sun, for the bank employees of this country, on the strength of their own sinewy.

Though, there was nothing awry in bank employees supporting the countrywide strikes on 20th and 21st February 2013, to give voice to their dissent to 'anti people' strides of policy makers,it is high time, bank employees' unions should now start concentrating on improving the status of bank employees in view of the need to go for a through overhaul of the service conditions of bank employees, which is now 'scrapping the bottom' amongst all PSUs.

They should now develop the habit of looking at the 'eye of the pigion' only, to score a 'bulls eye' while taking aim to clinch as the best conceivable deal for about 10 lakhs of bank employees of this country.

But, alas, while their hearts wail at the wispiest of causes like, 'global warmings', 'rising instances of human right violations' etc. to name a few, they seem to have become totally oblivious to their members' pangs at their very own backyards, while vindictive bank managements have developed a pastime of tormenting or fiddling with bank employees' honour and dignity, at their own sweet will.

Off course, the stupendous success of the strike call, should give these unions, the much needed bulge,at those biceps, to take the cudgels on behalf of about 10 lakhs of bank employees, but ,bulges seem to have started protruding at all those wrong places, making their strides lowery with a false sense of self satisfaction and complacence.

While people stayed indoors, to show solidarity and employees bunked offices to enjoy those bolts, ahem, holidays from the blue, most of the bank employees' unions interpreted the downed shutters as peoples’ unconditional 'thumbs up' to their panache, little realizing that,”coups d'oeil” of about 10 lakhs of bank employees will be fixed on outcomes of 10^th bipartite exercise, going on at this moment and any wrong move across the table will turn their thumping approval into yowl of dissent.

Leaving political intent of all sorts, aside, let us delve deep into the crying need of the hour, at ensuring a smooth culmination into bank employees’ long pending demands of, a better workplace, a slightly humane and civilized handling, a better compensation structure and a more flexible work culture etc.

Did those strikes succeed in ensuring delivery in any of these fronts while doing a stupendous work in generating public ire against everything anti people? Absolutely not. Let us have a peek inside:

PAY PARITY WITH CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES: Bank employees’ unions tip toed along the path dictated by other national trade unions, without having any arrière -pensée, that, in spite of all those hullabaloo and show of camaraderie,bank employees’ unions did not succeed in ensuring pay parity with central government employees and while those central trade unions could get everything at the stroke of a magic wand called ‘SIXTH PAY COMMISSION 'to the chagrin of bank employees, despite all those slogan shouting, salary sacrificing and chest beating, bank employees, were left with sucking their thumbs in despair.

Then what was the strike for? While those central government unions resorted to ‘EKLA CHALO RE’ and procured all those grade pays and all, bank employees’ unions preferred to trudge along, merely to be a part of the crowd.

See the stark disparity in pay and perks, with central government employees, gawking teasingly at lakhs of bank employees, here:Link:

Protesting double digit inflation and price rise: “When you cannot catch the hare, just go on beating the bush, to show that, you are very much at it”.”.Bank employees’ unions, along with, other central unions,preferred to embark on a two day WIDE crippling of the economy, in a bid to find cures to regain it's bleached pink of health, very much like, killing a man beforehand, for researching on ‘what causes death’. But at what outcome since,IBA is back again, to it's age old tactics of dilly dallying with 10^th bipartite proceedings?

Inflation and price rise are caused by macro and micro economic factors. A better course would have been to sponsor nationwide brainstorming sessions over the issue and presenting resultant solutions, to the government, in the form of memorandum and publicizing it through adequate media exposure.

Protecting bank employees’ dignity and sanctity of the country’s banking sector: Bank employees’ unions vying for the sanctity of the country’s banking sector and dignity of the bank employees! There cannot be any issue more oxymoronic than this. In this regard, ‘musings of life’ would like to pose a few questions to bank employees’ unions, in the following lines, which are certain to be dodged by them as before:

• Do you care to know about PS bank officers,languishing in illegal suspension for more than 30 months and kept as such, for such a long period without stipulated periodical review?

That too, after the honorable high court has appreciated the role of the concerned officer, in furthering the investigation and took due note of the fact that, the actual perpetrator has duly confessed and deposited a sum to compensate the bank against his misdeeds. But the authorities care a dime and are bent on implicating and tormenting the innocent officer at any cost, whether he has done anything or not.

The hapless employee has been running from pillar to post and appraised union functionaries of every hue and stature for justice but, none helped in real sense, except lip service from a powerful few. Could they not put the matter before the top management to rectify this gross injustice to an employee, who has been made to languish in unnaturally long suspension at half pay, putting the very subsistence of his entire family, including his old ailing octogenarian mother, to jeopardy? 

BUT NETAS CONTINUE TO BE NETAS AND THEY SHOULD ONLY HAVE ALL THE FUN, AT LEAST, IN THE BANKING SECTOR.

And they continue to be 'hyperopic', fixing their gazes on nationwide and international presence leaving no time to peep into their own backyards. “Charity begins at home” let those leaders make their own backyards shipshape and free from injustice, the broader scenario will automatically fall in place.

”APNA GHAR ME CHAT NEHI, CHALE DESH KA MAZDOOR KA SURAKSHA LEKAR SOCH-NE. SHAME ON THESE LEADERS, WHO AIL FROM “HYPERMETROPIA” AND SEE NOTHING OF THE INJUSTICE WHICH GALORE ALL AROUND THEM WHILE FIXING THEIR GAZE ON NATIONAL PROMINENCE.

• RULES AND GUIDELINES THROWN TO THE WINDS: Do these union leaders care to know that,PS bank officers have been victimized at will, all norms and guidelines have been thrown to the winds and the entire process of departmental enquiry being conducted in most careless manner?

• Charge sheets are served after a long period of 1year 10 months and 20 days.
• Unparliamentarily language like, “ it seems that Mr. so and so has indulged in parallel banking” etc. when the relevant case shows that, the action was full justified on the part of the charged officer and according to banking norms.
• Charge sheet was full of vague allegations, like, “ during the tenure of Mr. so and so there was a complete mess of all systems at the concerned branch”.
• Charge sheet was full of baseless and ‘wrong prima-charges’ charges.Attempts have been made to implicate the officer for incidents happening long before he was even promoted as officer and joined the branch and long after he got relieved from the branch.

But, rules are for the weak and fledgling entities, for highly placed officials, these make little sense and the forum which has been mandated and empowered to see that, authorities tread along bilaterally arrived at guidelines and rules, are now busy building their national images and seldom take active interests in telling delinquent authorities, “ stop! you have overstepped your domain”. Then, who will save the poor, suffering employees while the protector and the perpetrator appear to be in ‘hand and glove’??

• SALARIES OF OFFICERS HELD UP IN SHEER VIOLATION OF OFFICERS’ TRANSFER GUIDELINES:
• The matter was reported in this blog:
• http://mitalismusings.blogspot.in/2012/01/bank-officers-transfer-guidelines.html).
• But, no union leader could muster enough courage to ask for details and take cudgel in assuaging the hurt sentiment of the employee, who had to suffer due to the monumental ego of his zonal manager and his entire family had to suffer, including his old and ailing octogenarian mother.

STRIKES, AN EXCELLENT TOOL TO DEPOSIT CRORES TO GOVERNMENT COFFERS?

Actually, in banking industry, these strikes attract the draconian ‘no work no pay’ regulations, totally absent in many government organizations,whose unions deserve all the kudos,for keeping this draconian provision at bay.

These are nothing but excellent ploys to do some impromptu deposit to government coffers, by deducting salaries of about 10 lakhs of bank employees, who, blindly follow their union leaders, through these strikes, in search of the ‘utopian dream’ for a hunky-dory banking arena.

So, now ‘musings of life’ put forward another appeal to all the union leaders, cutting across, union lines, to leaders ofAIBEA, AIBOA, BEFI, AIBOC, AIPNBOA, NCBE, AIPNBOF, to take cudgels and approach ‘musings of life’ for all relevant documents and bank employees’ struggle will go a long way, if proper justice can be meted to the concerned officer.Please be specific and don’t be vague in your approach,while working for 'working class’ welfare.

Please don’t try to go for the bird’s eye view from safe ensconce of leather upholstered seats, cruising in the clouds, while people toil in braving calamities, down under.

Be specific and fight for members’/employees while marching ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with your comrades, to exist.

Else,that day is not far when ‘attrition’ plaguing nationalized banks, will start paring the membership registers to relegate these entities, known as unions, to pages of history.