Keen to close wage negotiations in public sector banks by November 1, 2017, this is the first time that the Finance Ministry has asked the bankers to present status report on salary hike talks with their employee unions.The chief executives of PSBs have been asked to intimate the ministry about “the present status/action taken by them so as to conclude the negotiations/next wage settlement by the effective date i.e November 1, 2017 positively”.
In the past , bank unions used to make follow up with government of India to expedite finalization of wage agreement and it used to take normally more than two years to final agreement . Bank unions had to resort to strike after strike for pressurizing government as well as Indian Bank Association.
As advised by Modi government , Ministry of Finance asked bank unions to submit their charter of demand and suggested bank management to sign final accord latest by November 2017, which is due date for wage revision.
So far my knowledge goes, Bank unions have not submitted their Charter of Demand for next Bipartite Settlement till date. Or else they are keeping their COD concealed and hidden. There is lack of transparency and lack of discussion which may eventually lead to Inter Union dispute or revolt from staff members.
It is the duty of leaders of trade unions to collect opinion and views of each unit , discuss it , seek final opinion from members and then submit COD immediately. They should place their demand not for working staff but also for retired staff who have been raising demand for revision in pension since long.
It should be effort of all leaders to reach at an unanimous view and keep their differences confined to their mind and in closed doors only. Any message of disunity among leaders may jeopardize the interest of bank staff in general and give power to IBA and GOI to exploit banks and staffs of Banks.
It is the duty of staff as well as that of each unit of each bank to submit their written idea about Charter of Demand for next Bipartite Settlement to their central leaders. It is the duty of leaders associated with pensioners and retired employees to submit their demand list to central leaders in writing immediately so that there is clarity in demands raised.
I am submitting below the link related to news which says how Ministry of Finance is reminding for timely settlement and how past record of delayed settlement is broken.
I submit below link to my blog related to same subject which was published in January 2016.
Link to My Blog Dated 13.01.2016 on Wage Revision
==============================
Friends,
Dear Comrade,
Letter received from employer
Dear Sir/Madam,
It is evident that the present Medical Insurance Policy for retired employee expires on 31.10.2016. For continued benefit in the next tenure of the policy, commencing from 01.11.2016, all retired employees are required to pay the Insurance Premium well within the time, i.e. in the month of October 2016.
As per communications received from Insurance Company, the insurance premium for existing staff has been enhanced as follows:
01.10.2016-30.09.2017
| |||
| Premium | Tax | Total | |
| Clerk/Substaff |
10452
|
1567.8
|
12019.8
|
| Officer |
13935
|
2090.25
|
16025.3
|
It is expected that the insurance premium for retired employees will also be enhanced either similar to that proposed for existing employees or even more than that. The exact premium amount will be informed as soon as the same is intimated to us by Insurance Company.
You are therefore advised to maintain sufficient balance in your account to ensure deduction of premium and continued benefits under the Insurance Scheme.
Those willing to opt out of the Insurance Policy may inform the same by return mail immediately. For opting out of the policy, a letter/mail is to be sent by the retiree.
My Comments:
It is evidently a unnatural rise in insurance premium claimed by Insurance Company in one year of adoption of policy for covering medical facilities to bank staff. I hope, management of each bank covered by the scheme and IBA should take up the matter with Insurance company and insist for continuation of the same rate of insurance premium as agreed upon during Bipartite settlement . And if insurance company do not agree to it and insist for higher premium, bank should discard the scheme immediately .
If insurance companies do not agree to it, bank management should devise a similar policy to cover their staff and be ready to bear the expenses if all it goes above the amount of insurance premium charged last year and received by bank under the policy. Overall burden on medical expenses incurred by a bank per year in covering hospitalization expenses of bank staff as per scheme prevalent in banks before last Bipartite settlement was definitely more than total insurance premium paid by the bank last year to insurance companies.
As such officers association should demand restoration of hospitalization scheme as prevalent in banks before adoption of insurance scheme.
Or else, there are many other insurance companies in private sector which offer similar medical insurance policy at equal or almost same premium rate .
It is however a matter of pleasure that AIBEA has taken up the matter with IBA and I hope other trade unions will also join hands with AIBEA to build pressure on bank management. In any case premium has to be paid in time to cover the medical facilities in the current insurance year.
Medical Insurance Scheme
AIBEA in its urgent letter dated 29Sept,2016 to IBA expressed concern over not replied its earlier letters dt.25th and 28 September 2016 in regard to UICC Medical Insurance Policy which is ending on 30th September,2016.
The Letter further reads," we are hearing that banks are trying not to pay the premium before 1-10-2016in which case there is a possibility that policy will not continue or will not be renewed thus disconnecting the benefits available to the employees under the policy w e f 1-10-2016. We are also hearing that some of the banks are trying to opt out of the scheme and trying to switch over separate policy with some private Insurance companies.All these are serious developments and would endanger the credibility of IBA and the Unions besides being violative of the Settlement. We are constrained to view the matter very seriously and this may lead to serious strain and stress in industrial relations in the banking sector and we may have to resort to agitational steps."
ALL INDIA BANK EMPLOYEES' ASSOCIATION
Central Office: “PRABHAT NIVAS” Regn. No.2037
Singapore Plaza, 164, Linghi Chetty Street, Chennai-600001
Phone: 2535 1522, Fax: 4500 2191, 2535 8853 Web: www.aibea.in
e mail ~ chv.aibea@gmail.com & aibeahq@gmail.com
AIBEA/GS/2016/99 28th Sept. 2016
The Chairman,
Indian Banks’ Association URGENT/IMPORTANT
Mumbai
Dear Sir,
Reg: Medical Insurance Scheme
Ref: Our letter dated 25-9-2016
Further to our above letter on the issue, we observe that the IBA is advising Banks to take their own decision in respect of the continuation of the Scheme. The Scheme is a part of the BP Settlement and all Banks are bound by it as per the mandate given by them to IBA. There cannot be any question of discretion to any Bank to opt out. IBA has negotiated the scheme on behalf of the member Banks and now the burden of any problem cannot be put on the shoulders of the individual banks. IBA must address the problem and take a decision.
The insurance policy will come to an end on 30th September, 2016 and if it is not renewed before that, the policy may not continue and employees will be put into unimaginable hardship. When it was known that the policy will expire on 30th September, waiting till the end is unfortunate. Either UIIC is at fault or IBA is responsible. We regret to note the casual approach in this regard because the scheme covers lacs of employees and their family members.
While the hike in premium is no doubt disproportionate and needs to be sorted out between IBA and UICC, the policy cannot be allowed to be lapsed or discontinued. All Banks must continue to be covered by the policy by remitting the premium subject to resolving the problem later.
We wish to put IBA on notice that for any discontinuation of the scheme and lack of coverage for the employees, the IBA will be solely responsible and it may result in a serious and immediate industrial unrest.
We seek your immediate attention on top priority within 24 hours.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully,
C.H. VENKATACHALAM
GENERAL SECRETARY
Cc: Chief Executive, IBA
COIMBATORE, SEPTEMBER 29:
The 28th national conference of the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) is scheduled to be held in Chennai between January 8 and 11 next year.
Conference host, Tamil Nadu Bank Employees’ Federation, has said the opportunity to conduct the AIBEA conference in Tamil Nadu has come after 27 years. The earlier conferences of the association took place in Chennai in 1954, 1973 and 1989.
The Federation has begun preparatory works such as formation of task force sub-committees to take care of various arrangements and enlisted volunteers numbering over 600.
Subject: Insurance Premium for Policy commencing from 01.11.2016
UNION BANK RETIRED EMPLOYEES' ASSOCIATION
(Registered under Trade Union Act, 1926 : Registration No.G-6201)
(Affiliated to All India Bank Retirees' Federation
through All India Union Bank Retirees' Federation)
203, Navkar Commercial Complex, Near Syndicate Bank,
Near Para Bazar Chowk, Dhebar Road - North (one way),
Rajkot - 360 001 (Gujarat). Phone: 0-94272-07021
(Affiliated to All India Bank Retirees' Federation
through All India Union Bank Retirees' Federation)
203, Navkar Commercial Complex, Near Syndicate Bank,
Near Para Bazar Chowk, Dhebar Road - North (one way),
Rajkot - 360 001 (Gujarat). Phone: 0-94272-07021
E-mail < ubiretirees@gmail.com > < rajkot@ubiretirees.in >
==============================
Date: 29th September,'16
To
All the members of our Association,
Friends,
Renewal of IBA's Group Medical Insurance Scheme for Retired Employees of our Bank
Please see the e-mail received from our Bank's Central Office - forwarded herewith. Please ensure to keep adequate credit balance in your Bank Accounts to debit the premium.
Yours sincerely,
B.G.Raithatha,
General Secretary
My Comments:
It is a matter of pleasure that AIBEA has taken up the matter related to medical insurance scheme for bank staff in true spirit at right time to avoid lapse of policy and loss to bank staff in case they need medical help on or after 01.10.2016 .
This is to be kept in mind that existing insurance policy has already lapsed on 30.09.2016 and bank has not paid renewal premium as per available information and Insurance company has unilaterally more than doubled annual premium and not ready to continue the policy at old rate even for a month as begged by banks.
If any of readers has any latest news in this regard, he or she may send the same to me by email dkjain49709@gmail.com so that it can be shared will all associated with this page or on Facebook. Please update the information for the benefit of all staff.
GS 2/103/16 27th September 2016
To,
General Secretary,
AIBEA,
Chennai.
Dear Comrade,
Sub : Renewal of Insurance Policy under Medical Insurance Scheme.
We refer to your communication on the captioned subject along with the IBA’s communication to Banks as well as the data on premium paid and Claim Settled etc. we would like to appraise as under:
- The data on Premium Paid and claim settled is little misleading. The Premium paid does not include the premium paid by banks subsequent to the start of the Policy for new comers who joined the Bank. For example Union Bank has paid total premium of 24.65 cr and the same is shown as 21.31 Cr. Similarly all the pending claims will not be settled in Toto and as per data available there is likelihood of 5 to 7% of amount of claim stand rejected. Under the above circumstances the claim ratio will be lesser than 182% that is being conveyed by the UIIC.
- IBA merely furnishing the data and asking individual Banks to take a call will amount to shying away from its responsibility arising out of the scheme devised by it. This should not be permitted as the same is against the legal obligations arising out of the settlement. IBA being the signatory to the settlement should have taken a call by calling for additional quotations from other companies if necessary to ascertain the position and force all the Banks to adhere to its decision. This can precipitate a situation of some Banks preferring to opt out of the scheme and the same may lead to no uniformity in service conditions.
- The UIIC has decided to charge the premium in 2015 based on certain Matrix level at Claim Ratio of 140%. But the proposed premium is not in consonance with the actual increase in percentage of Claim. Hence premium has to be reduced by UIIC.
- It appears that the decision of UIIC to increase the Premium and the communication of IBA to Banks are all part of a well engineered last minute Exercise without giving any time to the Banks to assess the position. In fact the exercise of renewal of policy should have begun long Back when the UIIC was aware of the fact that the Claim ratio was on higher side compare to the estimated matrix level. This should have given sufficient time to Banks to work on it.
- Cost Analysis of new revised premium payable as sought by the UIIC (that should include the interest cost around 7 to 8% due to upfront payment of the Premium) and the likely claim to be settled in next year of operation shows that Many Banks will opt out of the scheme. Further considering huge amount of outgo no Bank Management will be able to decide without taking the matter through its Board. This means that there might be a situation where employees will be without any medial coverage for such time till the Bank decides and that is fraught with great risk.
- In the above situations, we feel that the IBA should extend the existing scheme by paying prorate premium at existing level for a minimum period of 2 months. During the period IBA should decide firmly and direct the Banks suitably to cover all the Banks even by paying the revised premium to be decided for the extended period of 2 months also.
- As regards the difficulties faced by the employees we at Bank level held tri partite discussions with the Bank TPA and Association to sort out following issues. The outcome of such discussions is under for your information. This is already circulated among our members.
Sr No
|
Our Issues
|
Response of TPA/ Bank.
|
1
|
Cashless treatment should be allowed to our employees on production of Bank’s I card at the hospital as was being done on the tie up arrangement.
|
TPA is issuing identity cards to the employees and their spouses and admission will be done on production of the same in the hospital which is in the approved list of TPA/ Insurance co. In absence of TPA’s I CARD admission is found difficult. Many Employees are yet to load the photographs due to which TPA is unable to issue cards to them. List of such employees will be given to the Association to follow up with such employees to complete the task.
|
2
|
Simplify the procedures to avail cash less treatment so as to make the scheme more user-friendly towards sub staffs.
|
As per TPA the procedures are simplified. The hospital normally admits the patient on production of ID card and starts the treatment and the approval for cash less treatment is conveyed within few hours of receipt of estimates of treatment from the hospital. The forms to be filled in require only certain vital information and not all the details. Still if Association has suggestions to further simplify the procedures it may submit for TPA’s consideration.
|
3
|
Delay in sanctioning the domiciliary treatment bills’ reimbursement. Requirement of original prescription to be submitted along with every claim is to be done away with.
|
The delay is due to non submission of details by the employees. In case of claim with all required details and documents (clean Files) the average time taken to reimburse the claim is 4.6 days and in case of deficient Claims where documents and detail are in complete the average time taken is 26 days. However TPA assured to improve the TAT and reduce the complaints. For submission of original prescription in case of claim under domiciliary treatment it was clarified that one original prescription at the time of 1st claim followed by zerox copy for every subsequent claim is enough for the entire period for which it is prescribed. But in case of the prescription where no period is stipulated it is considered to be valid for 90 days after which new original prescription is required.
|
4
|
Original reports of tests undertaken and other relevant documents are to be returned to employees and only zerox copies to be held.
|
In case of treatment for bone fracture and accident cases the original x ray and reports are not returned back due to their audit requirements. For other cases of treatment the original reports will be returned to the employees after the claim is settled and on the specific request that has to be approved by personnel department.
|
5
|
In case of employees’ quantum of medical bills exceeding the ceiling of Rs 3lacs / 4 lacs during the course of treatment the buffer policy availment should be extended automatically. Bank should ensure that the employee is discharged from hospital as it was on tie up arrangement.
|
Association has already submitted its suggestions to the Bank for framing the policy for availing buffer policy and the same are under consideration. For critical illness where the estimated cost of treatment exceeds the insured amount of RS 3 lacs by large amount it was agreed to grant upfront sanction of buffer policy
|
6
|
The forms to be filled are to be simplified to make them useable PARTICULARLY BY SUB STAFF .
|
It was clarified that TPA does not require all the details to be filled in the forms. Only certain vital information required need to be provided in the form. TPA will furnish the model/ sample form with required details and the same will be circulated among units by the Association.
|
7
|
The TPA should convey the process note and sanction advice with break up of all items with amount sanctioned.
|
For cash less treatment the Break up is given to hospital and the same can be derived from web site of the TPA after the bill is settled. For reimbursement cases the break up is given and any improvements if required can be suggested to TPA.
|
8
|
Continue the bank’s ex gratia Scheme to extend assistance to employees over and above the utilization of Buffer Policy Limit.
|
Bank agrees to continue the scheme.
|
However the above issues need emphasis at Industry Level also to bring in better TAT in settling the claims.
Yours Comradely,
(N. Shankar)
General Secretary.
ALL INDIA BANK EMPLOYEES' ASSOCIATION
Central Office: “PRABHAT NIVAS” Regn. No.2037
Singapore Plaza, 164, Linghi Chetty Street, Chennai-600001
Phone: 2535 1522, Fax: 4500 2191, 2535 8853 Web: www.aibea.in
e mail ~ chv.aibea@gmail.com & aibeahq@gmail.com
AIBEA/GS/2016/100 29th Sept. 2016
Chairman,
Indian Banks’ Association URGENT/IMPORTANT
Mumbai
Dear Sir,
Reg: Medical Insurance Scheme
Ref: Our letters dated 25-9-2016 and 28-9-2016
Vide our above letter we have brought to your notice our deep concern about the developments in regard to the UICC Medical insurance Policy which is ending on 30th Sept. 2015. We are sorry that so far we have not received any acknowledgement of our letters nor any reply to the same.
In the meantime, we are hearing that Banks are trying not to pay the premium before 1st Oct. 2016 in which case there is a possibility that the Policy will not continue or will not be renewed thus disconnecting the benefits available to the employees under the policy w.e.f. 1-10-2016.
We are also hearing that some of the Banks are trying to opt out of the scheme and trying to switch over separate policy with some private insurance companies. All these are serious developments and would endanger the credibility of the IBA and the Unions besides being violative of the Settlement.
We are constrained to view the matter very seriously and this may lead to serious strain and stress in industrial relations in the banking sector and we may have to resort to agitational steps.
Given the sensitivity of the issue involved and covering lacs of employees and family members concerning their health and treatment, we strongly feel that the policy must be continued forthwith pending discussions with UIIC to resolve the issues with them. The apprehensions raised by the unions at the time of introduction of the scheme are perhaps coming true and the assurances of the IBA in response thereto are perhaps evaporating in thin air.
Please intervene immediately and ensure continuation of the Policy pending discussions.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully,
C.H. VENKATACHALAM
GENERAL SECRETARY
Cc: Chief Executive, IBA
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