A section of bank officers have voiced concerns over rumours that workmen organisations are prepared to sign on the dotted line for a 12 per cent hike in the wage bill.

Terming the 12 per cent hike as “insufficient” and “not in line with their demand”, a source told BusinessLine that the indication by workmen organisations that this offer “is better than the previous bipartite settlement is not true”.

To substantiate his claim, the source explained: “Of the total establishment expenses of ₹56,255 crore (as per the 10th bipartite settlement), the payslip component accounted for 56 per cent at ₹31,503 crore. In the proposed settlement, the payslip component would rise to 65 per cent of the total to ₹52,600 crore. But the total headcount (both officers and workmen, between the last settlement and the present) has also risen from 7.56 lakh to 8.47 lakh, with the number of officers increasing by about 4 per cent, while the number of workmen fell close to 5 per cent.”

The resultant increase in the payslip component works out to ₹6,312 crore against ₹4,725 crore (previous settlement), and the percentage increase has actually fallen from 15 per cent, according to the 10th bipartite settlement to 12 per cent (proposed now).

Without mentioning the expected quantum of increase, the source said: “Adoption of minimum wage formula for fixing the entry-level pay at not less than ₹18,000 as on January 1, 2016, with provision for a suitable increase 12 months later, would be ‘just and right’.” Officers’ pay should commence at 3.11 times the entry-level pay arrived at to match the pay of Grade A officers in the Central government

“We are only asking for a decent revision matching the risk, responsibility, accountability, and transferability attached to the position,” the source added.

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