SBI strike holding the government and the country to a ransom
The SBI strike initiated by communist unions have paralysed the banking system in our country. Communist sabotage honed to an art. May the government employees who get their salaries credited to SBI go to dogs, so seems the contention. The demands raised by the employees(Communist unions) is preposterous. Please go through the following link:
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=122673
Edits & Columns
Unbankable!
Government must not give in to SBI employees
The government must be commended for standing firm despite the employees of State Bank of India (SBI) going on indefinite strike in protest for not conceding their demands on pension. The strike, which began on Monday, is particularly indefensible as SBI employees are a privileged lot. They are the only ones among public sector bank employees who enjoy three benefits—pension, gratuity and contributory provident fund.
The employees’ contention that their pension is not comparable with other public sector banks (PSBs), where it is 50% of the last pay drawn, unlike in the case of SBI where there is fixed ceiling based on 1992 salary scales, conveniently overlooks this fact. In all other PSBs, when pension was first introduced in the 90s, employees were asked to choose between pension and PF. They could have one or the other, not both. SBI employees alone were allowed to retain their triple benefit on the grounds that they are governed by a separate law, the State Bank of India Act.
On paper, then, the genesis of the present problem may be traced to this Act. In reality, it is essentially a consequence of government ownership. The reason why SBI employees have gone on strike so readily and why government has come into the picture is because SBI, like the other PSBs, is predominantly government-owned. Service conditions in ICICI Bank, for instance, are vastly superior to those in PSBs, including SBI. Yet, no one thinks of comparing ICICI salaries and perks with those in PSBs. Nor do ICICI Bank employees themselves contemplate going on strike to settle real or imaginary grouses. The government, on its part, does not concern itself with the details of the compensation package given to ICICI Bank employees. It is purely a function of what the bank can afford, based on its profits and the individual employee’s performance. This is not the case in SBI. In the circumstances, a higher pension outgo means lower profits and, hence, lower dividend to government. Moreover, there is always the real possibility that if pension is indexed to inflation, which is what it would mean if it were brought on par with PSB pensions, the government (read taxpayer) may finally end up picking the tab.
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=122673
Edits & Columns
Unbankable!
Government must not give in to SBI employees
The government must be commended for standing firm despite the employees of State Bank of India (SBI) going on indefinite strike in protest for not conceding their demands on pension. The strike, which began on Monday, is particularly indefensible as SBI employees are a privileged lot. They are the only ones among public sector bank employees who enjoy three benefits—pension, gratuity and contributory provident fund.
The employees’ contention that their pension is not comparable with other public sector banks (PSBs), where it is 50% of the last pay drawn, unlike in the case of SBI where there is fixed ceiling based on 1992 salary scales, conveniently overlooks this fact. In all other PSBs, when pension was first introduced in the 90s, employees were asked to choose between pension and PF. They could have one or the other, not both. SBI employees alone were allowed to retain their triple benefit on the grounds that they are governed by a separate law, the State Bank of India Act.
On paper, then, the genesis of the present problem may be traced to this Act. In reality, it is essentially a consequence of government ownership. The reason why SBI employees have gone on strike so readily and why government has come into the picture is because SBI, like the other PSBs, is predominantly government-owned. Service conditions in ICICI Bank, for instance, are vastly superior to those in PSBs, including SBI. Yet, no one thinks of comparing ICICI salaries and perks with those in PSBs. Nor do ICICI Bank employees themselves contemplate going on strike to settle real or imaginary grouses. The government, on its part, does not concern itself with the details of the compensation package given to ICICI Bank employees. It is purely a function of what the bank can afford, based on its profits and the individual employee’s performance. This is not the case in SBI. In the circumstances, a higher pension outgo means lower profits and, hence, lower dividend to government. Moreover, there is always the real possibility that if pension is indexed to inflation, which is what it would mean if it were brought on par with PSB pensions, the government (read taxpayer) may finally end up picking the tab.
posted by Shrivathsa at 3:49 AM
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