Gift of Diwali as Arrear to Bank Employees

The government has decided to give arrears to employees of public sector banks even before any consensus on wage hike is reached. This is the first time in the Banking history of India, when arrears are being awarded even before any agreement on wage increase. These employees have been waiting for the salary hike since November 2017.

According to sources, bank employees will be free to take arrears or not. If an employee of the bank accepts the arrears, then no less than Rs 50,000 will come to his account. In many cases this amount will be more than one lakh rupees. The arrears will be determined according to at least 12 percent increase in the basic salary. Because when the negotiations on salary reform started, the bank management proposed a 12% increase.

The United Forum for Bank Unions (UFBU) and the Indian Bank Association (IBA) have held 30 rounds of talks since 2017, but no consensus has yet been reached on salaries. Despite negotiations on the pay agreement, the decision to award arrears has shown considerable readiness.

Earlier, on a date of the same month, the IBA wrote to the heads of government and private banks. In this letter he was told that at present, some temporary amount can be given in the accounts of bank employees. After this, when the final decision is made on the salary, then this amount will be added to the salary. The government in January 2016 directed the CEOs of banks to improve their salaries. At that time the government had said that a final decision in this matter should be taken by November 1, 2017.

Usually arrears are given only after reaching an agreement on salary reform, but in this case it has already been decided to give arrears. Experts say that through this decision, the government has tried to remove the frustration prevailing among the bank employees.