History Of Five Workman Unions In Bank

HISTORY OF ALL FIVE WORKMEN UNION (PART OF UFBU)
Formation of UFBU ( collected from Facebook "Sangharsh Karo Group)
part one

On the 14 February, 1997, all the 9 Unions, both workmen and officers, in the banking industry met at Mumbai and decided to fight against the Government's proposal under the banner of United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) in which process , as one which believes in the philosophy of trade union unity did play a very active and positive role. 

All India Bank Employees Association

the oldest and largest national trade union centre of bank employees in India, was founded in 1946 on the 20th of April in Kolkata. They were being paid paltry wages with no regulated service conditions at all. It was a rule of hire and fire. Bank employees were groaning but did not have the necessary courage to form unions. They saw the workers in the factories fighting and making some progress in terms of wages and betterment in service conditions. Bank employees also gathered some courage here and there and started to organise themselves into unions in a sporadic way. Some protest actions and strikes were undertaken but the disputes were referred to tribunals and employees did not get justice or satisfaction.

Hence unrest and dissatisfaction amongst the employees were brewing and many Unions were formed during the period. With the advent of AIBEA on the scene, this gave a fillip to the formation of unions in different banks. With the formation of the Unions, there were innumerable agitations, struggles and strikes in the banks. Banking was a State subject at that time and hence there were number of Tribunals and Awards. The growing discontentment amongst the bank employees was sensed by the management and the authorities and banking was made a central subject. 

Consequently, there were All India tribunals. The unduly long periods of awaiting, the unsatisfactory awards and the bias of the authorities made the AIBEA in 1964 to demand direct bilateral negotiations and settlement. AIBEA succeeded in this effort when in 1966 the first ever industry level Bipartite Settlement was signed between the AIBEA and the bank management's across the table. Today this bilateral agreement constitutes a landmark achievement in the banking industry and 7 Bipartite Settlements have been signed so far by the AIBEA. 

NCBE

We consider it highly essential for the young generation of Bank employees to be conversant with the history of Bank employees' Trade Union Movement and the evolution and growth of NCBE so that the reviling critics are forcefully answered back and the boastful claims of adversaries are rebutted adroitly. It is a matter of pride that pioneers in the history of Bank Employees' Trade Union Movement, the first and foremost among the Bank: Employees' Trade Union Movement are the predecessors of the All India State Bank of India Staff Federation - The Imperial Bank of India Indian Staff Association that was formed in 1920 much before the advent of Indian Trade Unions Act in 1926.

The pioneers of Trade Union Movement worked with missionary zeal, sacrificed their lot to build up the Trade Union Movement of Bank employees and, in their pursuit of the twin-goals of Nation's independence and amelioration of Bank employees, led crusades of Bank employees and were instrumental in formation of AlBEA in 1946. But, unfortunately, the united movement of the Bank employees was shattered by the political stooges within AlBEA. In their pursuit to further their partisan interests, they resorted to undemocratic functioning, throttling of genuine voice of
dissent through deceit, trickery, double dealings and double talk. An honest pursuit of Bank employees' interests assumed lesser role than the pursuit of party politics.

National Organisation of Bank Workers,

popularly known as NOBW, was formed on the 5th February 1965, at Nagpur. National Organisation of Bank Workers has completed 47 years on the 5th February, 2012. Before the birth of NOBW, the Bank employees were largely united under the banner of AIBEA. There was one other centre of bank employees’ movement viz. AIBEF. But it was INTUC controlled. Many of the ...
National Organisation of Bank Workers, popularly known as NOBW, was formed on the 5th February 1965, at Nagpur. National Organisation of Bank Workers has completed 47 years on the 5th February, 2012. Before the birth of NOBW, the Bank employees were largely united under the banner of AIBEA. There was one other centre of bank employees’ movement viz. AIBEF. But it was INTUC controlled. 

All INDIA BANK EMPLOYEES FEDERATION (AIBEF) 

There is a general impression amongst many of us that INTUC is a late starter into the Banking Industry. But in reality it is not so. If one goes through the history of various Bank-Awards, which determined the service conditions of the bank employees then, one would find that the INTUC's affiliated union entry into the banking industry is almost five decades old. Yes, from the Sen Tribunal (1949-50) INTUC unions have entere their appearance and fought for better wages and other service conditions.

Shri.C.L Dudhia, Barrister at Law represented INTUC unions. From that period whether it is Divatia Tribunal (1951) or Sastry Tribunal (1952-53) or Labour Appellate Tribunal (1954), INTUC unions were represented by their Federation viz. Bank Employees Federation. In the year 1959, the INTUC Federation in the name of All INDIA BANK EMPLOYEES FEDERATION (AIBEF) submitted its Charter of Demands on behalf of employees of banks, which was referred to along with the demands submitted by AIBEA and AISBEF (SBI) to Desai Tribunal, constituted by the Government of India on the 21st March 1960. Shri. V. N. Sekhari was then the General Secretary of AIBEF.

Bank Employees Federation of India,

which was founded in 1982, is a Trade Union organization of Indian Banking Industry, comprising of 100,000 employees of commercial banks, Reserve Bank of India, NABARD, regional rural banks and co-operative banks. The federation espouses the causes concerning service conditions of bank employees, development of the banking industry, defense of public sector banking in India and exemplary service to customers including the marginal and neglected. It fights for the betterment of the working class as a whole, and for economic and political independence of India in an age of globalization. BEFI is not affiliated with any political party, but the leadership has close ties with CITU.