The National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) has decided to disaffiliate itself from the National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE) due to differences on using the amount allocated for the benefit of bank retirees as a ‘special balancing allowance' for employees of State Bank of India. With the special balancing allowance, the salaries of State Bank of India employees are higher than other bank employees.

Mr L. Balasubramanian, General Secretary, NUBE, told Business Line , “The union of State Bank of India has used Rs 277 crore, the amount allocated for employee's pension as special balancing allowance.” This works out to be a hike of 6.5 per cent in basic pay of SBI employees. According to the 9th Bipartite Settlement, the pension cost was estimated at Rs 6,000 crore of which 70 per cent will be borne by the management of banks and the remaining 30 per cent will be contributed by the employees. The Indian Banks Association (IBA), which represents the management of banks, offered Rs 4,201 crore as its contribution towards the cost of pension payment for employees. Mr Balasubramanian said, of the Rs 4,201 crore, about Rs 277 crore which was paid as pension to SBI employees, has been used as a ‘special balance allowance'. With the pension scheme already available for SBI employees (apart from provident fund and gratuity), the union of SBI did not sign the memorandum, he said.

Such appropriation of pension amount for a special allowance is a “flagrant violation of the trade unions' cardinal principle, ‘same work same pay”, he said. Mr Balasubramanian said the All India State Bank of India Staff Federation has “betrayed” the other members of NCBE by getting more salary hike for SBI employees alone.

NCBE largely comprises All India State Bank of India Staff Federation and has about 1.58 lakh employees as members. NCBE is the second largest union after All India Bank Employees Association which has about 2.1 lakh members as on March 31, 2010.

Published on June 20, 2011