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On April 3
two-and-a-half lakh employees of the State Bank of India began an indefinite
strike for a just pension. The strike was total with even the officers joining
in. the unions have said that the pension ceiling has been kept unchanged at
Rs.4,250 per month based on the salary structure of the 1992 revision. Though
the salary was revised in 1997 and 2002, the pension ceiling had not been hiked.
They demanded that there be a hike in pensions on par with other organisations
where they pay pension amounting to 50% of the last salary. Given the pension
law the government is in no mood to give into the demands of the bank employees.
For 14 years the
Finance Ministry, dictated by it’s IMF masters, has been opposing any hike in
the pensions of the SBI employees. In fact even as far back as in 1983-84 the
retired staff of the SBI had to approach the Supreme Court to claim 50% of their
last salary. This was again repeated in 1987. subsequently when another industry
level (Fifth Bipartite) came into force, negotiations within the SBI for upward
revision in pensions were held but recommendations put up by the management were
not considered by the Finance Ministry. A repeat action was performed by the
Finance Ministry in 1997 and the pension lay static at Rs.4,250 for nine years.
Meanwhile the ceiling in the banking industry was raised 3-4 times commensurate
with the periodical upward revision in wages of bank employees.
On this occasion, in
the light if the new pension bill, to reduce the pensions, the FM was even more
adamant not to buckle under employee’s pressure. But it was the uncompromising
battle of a totally united staff that forced the FM and government to accept all
their demands after a lengthy 7-day strike which paralysed a large section of
banking and finance of the country (the SBI is the largest bank in the country).
What is ironic is that at the beginning of the strike not one of the parties and
their unions, even the treacherous CPI/CPM, supported the strike. It was only in
the face of the militancy of the employees that after about three days into the
strike the AITUC/CITU gave lip support to it and the demands of the employees.
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