Bank wage talks ends in stalemate-HBL
L N Revathy
Coimbatore, Feb 3 :
Not satisfied with the 0.5 per cent increase in the offer made by the Indian Banks' Association, the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) has decided to revive the strike programme.
The All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C H Venkatachalam said that the unions have issued a strike call to its members for a four-day strike between February 25 and 28.
This is expected to be followed by an indefinite strike from March 16
Bank unions declare four day strike from Feb 25
Chennai, Feb 3, 2015: Unions in the banking sector Tuesday decided to strike work for four days (Feb 25-28) as the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) has not come out with any attractive proposals, said a union leader.
"IBA has not come out clearly on the wage revision. They are offering 13 percent hike as against their earlier offer of 12.5 percent," C.H.Venkatachalam, general secretary, All India Bank Employees Association (AIEBA) told IANS Tuesday over phone from Mumbai.
Wage negotiations between United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) and the IBA were held in Mumbai Tuesday.
The UFBU includes the AIBEA, National Confederation of Bank Employees, Bank Employees Federation of India, Indian National Bank Employees Federation, Indian National Bank Officers Congress, National Organisation of Bank Workers, All India Bank Officers Association and National Organisation of Bank Officers.
Bank staffers shouldn’t expect major salary hike’-Times of India
Pune: Union minister of state for environment and forest Prakash Javadekar hinted that bank employees should not expect a significant salary hike.
Javadekar said the public sector banks are facing a challenge of non-performing assets (NPA) and their finances are strained.
Speaking at the inaugural function of the treinnial general body conference of the All India Central Bank Officers' Federation (AIBOC) on Saturday, Javadekar exhorted banks to encourage entrepreneurs by providing them with "appropriate capital". He said banks should not shy away from giving loans to small entrepreneurs and the poor as these customers never create NPAs. Javadekar said opening of 11.50 crore accounts under the Jan Dhan Yojana was a major step towards financial inclusion of the unbanked.
Link Times of India
Nationalised banks' non-performing assets shoot up to R2,16,739 crore-DNA-01.02.2015
According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), its non-performing assets of nationalized banks has swelled from Rs9,190 crore in 2011-12 to Rs2,16,739 crore in 2013-14.
The statistics were provided by the RBI to former journalist Ketan Tirodkar under the Right to Information Act (RTI). Tirodkar has filed a public interest litigation in the Bombay high court seeking that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) be directed to conduct a probe in the NPA scams.
The HC, in March 2014, had directed the CBI to inform what action it has taken against 140 cases of alleged fraud registered by the RBI with regards to NPA of nationalized banks. Despite HC directions, neither the CBI nor the RBI have filed their replies to the PIL. During the hearing on Thursday, no counsel was present for either RBI or CBI.
A division bench of chief justices Mohit Shah and B P Colabawalla has kept the matter for further hearing on February 12.
Tirodkar has alleged in the petition that RBI and the nationalized banks do not comply with the Banking Regulation Act, 1969, which mandates periodical tendering of audit reports to the RBI. The same is not complied in order to suppress the NPA scenario and shield the culprit beneficiaries working in collusion with the banking authorities, alleges the petition.
According to information obtained by Tirodkar under the RTI, the NPAs of nationalized banks were Rs455 crore ending March 2008. The same shot up to Rs9,190 crore in ending March 2012.
The petition states that over 140 bank fraud cases of around Rs15 crore each were reported to CBI by various banks between 2008 and 2012.
His petition adds: "Recently the United Bank of India's chairperson and managing director, Archana Bhargava, resigned citing personal reasons. At that time, the gross NPA of the bank was Rs8,545 crore, which was 10.82 per cent of its gross advances, and net NPA was Rs5,630 crore or 7.44 per cent of the net advances."
Also the Sarada Chit Fund of the State Bank of India created NPAs of hundreds of crores with the bank which has not been reported to the RBI. This was mandatory under various sections of the Banking Regulations Act, 1969.
The Central Vigilance Committee Rules state that the CBI has to be informed of any fraud case more than Rs50 crore. In a case where the amount exceeds Rs100 crore, an FIR has to be filed directly.
Capital crisis-Business Today
The 150-year-old Allahabad Bank has weathered the Swadeshi movement, survived the global monetary crisis of 1913, witnessed two World Wars, seen the nationalisation of banks and fought intense competition from the private sector. But it probably never had to face a situation it is confronted with now.
The Kolkata-based public sector bank stares at an uncertain future with mounting non-performing assets (NPAs), worsening asset quality and a falling capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of just 9.99 (the worst among state-owned banks). It needs to raise an estimated Rs 11,000 crore within four years to meet the new CAR norms for banks that have kicked in from April 2013 in a phased manner and are expected to be fully implemented by March 31, 2019. If it fails to do so, it could be asked by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to stop handing out any fresh loans. Not a prospect that any bank would relish.
Twenty-five other PSU banks face a similar situation. These banks - including household names such as the State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank, Bank of India and Canara Bank - need to raise an estimated Rs 4.60 lakh crore capital within the next four years.
CAR is a bank's buffer against current and future losses. Just five years ago, Allahabad Banks CAR stood at 13.62 per cent. Worsening CAR has a debilitating effect on a bank's capacity to meet liabilities and manage credit and operational risks.
PSU banks account for two-thirds of India's banking system. The capital shortage looming before them threatens the nation's ambition of achieving over 10 per cent GDP growth and having a bustling manufacturing sector through the Narendra Modi governments Make-in-India initiative. It also practically bids adieu to the dream of emerging as a global investment destination, simply because banks that cannot raise enough capital to meet the new CAR norms risk being told by the RBI to stop giving out fresh loans.
"It's like driving a car on a near empty tank," jokes a private banker. Rakesh Sethi, CMD of Allahabad Bank isn't amused by talks of a capital shortage for the bank. "Our capital adequacy at 9.99 per cent is well above the regulatory requirements," says Sethi. Allahabad Bank may meet banking regulator RBI's current floor of 9 per cent, its capital adequacy is nowhere near what is required in the immediate future. Basel III, the third in a series of accords arrived at between the world's economies in 2010 following the global financial crisis in 2008, requires banks around the world to maintain a minimum CAR of 11.50 per cent by March 31, 2019.
Allahabad Bank can't be blamed entirely for its poor CAR. Besides rising NPAs, one main reason for the falling CAR is inadequate capital infusion by the bank's 59 per cent owner - the President of India, who owns the equity on behalf of the government. Successive finance ministers have been stingy about providing capital to state-owned banks. As a result, over the past five years the CAR of almost all the PSU banks have shown a downward trend.
Even though Basel III is a voluntary standard, it urges a country's regulator to bar a bank from carrying on its core business of lending if it doesn't meet the CAR norms by the deadline. It is another matter that the deadline for complying with the norms has been extended twice from March 31, 2015 to March 31, 2018 initially and now further to March 31, 2019. Nothing stops countries from around the world to ask for another extension. But to avoid the ignominy of having a CAR below the new norms in case no further extension is granted, all the PSUs need to start acting immediately. A September 2014 Fitch report says India's banking system needs to raise $200 billion to continue growing at the current rate and still meet the Basel III norms. "The core capital position of the Indian banking system is weaker than that of many Asian banking systems that are also migrating towards the Basel III capital norms," says the report.
You may read full article in following link
http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/public-sector-banks-capial-crisis-npa-capital-adequacy-ratio/1/214977.html
You may also read following article which still believe that banking outlook is negative
http://money.livemint.com/news/sector/outlook/outlook-for-banking-industry-remains-negative-revival-around-the-corner-357060.aspx
Bank officers invoke Keynes to press demand for five-day week-Hindu Business Line-02.02.15
Vinson Kurian
Thiruvananthapuram, February 1:
British economist John Maynard Keynes’ work has often been the favourite plank for governments and economists trying to come terms with recessions and depressions.
But now, he has become a rallying point for bank officers negotiating with the Indian Banks’ Association for regulated working hours and a five-day week.
Keynes had famously let known his views on what constituted the ‘work week.’ Aggrieved bank officers say that the model followed in India represents the worst form of repression.
Keynes had predicted as early as in 1928 that by 2030, technological advances would allow people to work for no more than 15 hours a week.
Bank officers say this time may have already come. Technology has led to pruning of bank staff and has driven up work load like never before. Officers say, they need a longer weekend to wind down.
A 10-year embargo on recruitment and introduction of voluntary retirement schemes has made matters only worse.
Thousands of bank branches have just one office in charge. Today, it has become common for officers to work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The cheque truncation system has reduced the number of holidays and those working in the clearing system have to work late and also on holidays.
Also, new targets such as the one under the Jan Dhan Yojana, linkage of Aadhaar cards and I-T collections are being set. On many occasions, banks have to keep branches open on holidays. According to those negotiating, almost 40 per cent of the staff is young and five-day week is a passion for them. Without such perks and a good salary, will be impossible to retain good talent.
Officers say this will not affect customers, as according to RBI data around 62 per cent of bank transactions were handled by alternate channels as on March 31, 2014. This percentage is increasing every month.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/banking/bank-officers-invoke-keynes-to-press-demand-for-fiveday-week/article6845481.ece
Why is Indian Banks still on a six-day working week?-By Ravikumar Narayanan on fcebook
Interesting Factuals from a Bankers inner voice
I was working in the office on Sunday when a higher up in bank telephoned a contact and said in a loud voice: “I don’t want to call him on a Sunday, as I know he has a life and a family, unlike us banker, who don’t….so….”
And it struck a chord. Why should a banker not ‘have a life?’ In fact why should any employee not have a life? After all, we work to live, not the other way round. Don’t we? Then as I went onto my email that night, an advert flashed up on email saying: ‘Heart attack cases in India to double by 2015.
Then I thought about the people working in banking professions, and everyone seems to be working weekdays, weekends, 24/7. Since when was that normal?
And it got me thinking. India, or at least, the banking sector does not understand the concept of a work-life balance.
Where is the understanding of hobbies for employed professionals? By that I mean taking up an interest that has nothing to do with your work, and pursuing it passionately outside work? It could be learning a foreign language, amateur theatre, gardening, script-writing, creative writing, learning about the stock market, whatever. Evening classes in the UK are packed with people doing such things. When I meet someone I want to know what else they do beyond their job.
What about married couples? How often do they see each other?
There is also a worrying culture here of not using privileged leave and accumulating it as cash. It’s madness. Why would you not want to use your leave and go off and see the world, or at least visit your relatives and friends in other parts of India? I have been travelling since I was two and been to most countries in the world because I always avail of my leave.
Is the reason to impress the boss – that wow, you are such a loyal employee you don’t take leave? Is there a social pressure on employees not to take vacations? What an odd boss to be impressed by that? How can someone be good at their job if they never relax and never take leave…? What knowledge of the world would they have? How would they be able to “connect” with say, a foreign client? Incidentally connecting with a whole range of people, from all walks of life, is especially important for a banking professionals. The worst banker, in my opinion, are those who never meet anyone, never go anywhere, just sit at their desk all day.
If your job involves entertaining customers, you need knowledge of films, books, countries – otherwise how can you have interesting conversations with your customers? Who knows what business contacts you might make in the amateur drama group? Business is all about building relationships.
The six-day working week needs to be abolished in India. Perhaps you would argue that this will lead to a slowdown and the reason the west is in decline is because they have a five day working week. But there was a time when the west boomed on a five day working week and I don’t think it is the reason for the current downturn – that can be blamed on the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the scale of credit taken in the US.
Why is a six-day working week the norm in India? I don’t know any other country where this is the case. In the rest of the world it is five days.
In India the average person works an 11 hour day six days a week = 66 hours a week !! Compare that to France where a 35 hour week is mandatory.
The Japanese are renowned workaholics and have been working themselves into the ground for decades hence the word ‘karoshi’ or death by overwork. Maybe Indian Banking Industry should look at Japan and take lessons of what not to do from them.
As for people that employ drivers, nannies and cooks for seven days, they should be ashamed of themselves. How can anyone be expected to work seven days, week in, week out? This should be made illegal.
“It is not enough to have a colourful office with balloons hanging around to ensure the work environment is stress-free,” says Sharit Bhowmick, sociologist with Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), who writes about workplace pressures.
The solution is that the Indian Government brings the whole nation down on to a five-day working week, as France has done, and also makes a seven day working week illegal.
Then Indian Banking Sector should start implementing work life balance policies such as:-
- Offering childcare financial assistance and/or on-site crèches
- Giving staff free membership of a company health club
- Compelling people to take a holiday
- Flexitime – offering flexible start and finish times provided the employee works the core hours
- Job share/part -time working
- Paid paternity leave
- Relocation – allowing employees to relocate to any branch in India or overseas to suit their personal circumstances e.g. if they get married
- Self managed working – employees manage their own working pattern and time to deliver outputs
- Allowing staff to work from home
- Term-time contracts – offering contractual working hours during school terms only and allowing parents not to work during school holidays
Why?
The five-day week arrangement has been introduced into the civil service by phases since July 2006 to reduce work pressure and to improve the quality of family life, without impairing operational efficiency. Suitable government service units have now switched to the new work pattern. We believe the scheme has bolstered civil service morale and has had a positive impact on the community. While the Government has taken the lead, management in the public and private sectors will decide on their own whether to adopt a five-day week.
Basic principles
In taking forward this initiative, the Government has adhered to four basic principles:
no additional staffing resources;
no reduction in the conditioned hours of service of individual staff;
no reduction in emergency services; and
continued provision of some essential counter services on Saturdays.
The overall level and efficiency of government services will be maintained. Emergency and essential services will not be affected.
Following are the benefits of a 5 day work week culture:
1. Reduced fuel costs. Employees would have to endure the dreaded commute one less day each week, thereby saving money at the pump with reduced fuel consumption.
2. Decreased absenteeism. On a six-day schedule, employees are forced to cram their one day off with personal errands, chores, soccer games, and social outings. By the time Monday comes around, there hasn't been a minute of rest and employees are just plum beat. So they call out of work. This wouldn't happen so frequently if employees had a second day to accomplish the work they have to do outside of work.
3. Increased productivity. It’s a well-established principle of productivity that workers become less efficient where no deadline looms. That’s why we’re more efficient in the week before vacation—we know we have to get it done by the time we leave. The same idea is transferable to a shortened workweek. Employees are least productive on Saturdays so why not just eliminate them altogether?
4. Improved job satisfaction and morale. Satisfaction with what goes on in the workplace may be tied to what goes on outside of the workplace. Employees who spend more time with family and friends, who have the flexibility of two days off, will return to work refreshed, and generally less hostile to their employer.
5. Reduced personnel turnover. Not surprisingly, #4 leads to #5. Happier employees tend to leave less often. If they like the job, they’re more likely to stick around.
6. Reduced energy costs. By closing for two, instead of one day each week, employers stand to recognize substantial energy costs. These costs can be significant where the schedule will actually permit the employer to close an entire facility for an additional day.
7. Improved work-life balance. As a result of the added day, employees who work a five-day week will have more time to spend with their families and friends.
8. Less Disability Claims. As stress falls, so might disability claims.
9. Reduced traffic congestion. This potential effect may be seen largely on Saturday, which is the day most employers are converting to a non-working day.https://www.facebook.com/groups/5DAYBANKING/permalink/801679156573124/
Bank officers demand 5-day week -Hindu Business Line 02.02.2015
Hyderabad, 2014 May 1:
The All-India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) has demanded that the five-day working week should be implemented in the banking industry.
"May 1 has always been a historic day in many parts of the world to celebrate the achievement of workers. We are observing this as 'Demands Day' for our demands, the most important issues being regulated working hours and a five-day working week for the banking industry," G Subramanyam, Secretary, AIBOC, AP State unit, said in a release.
The RBI as well as many of the Central/State Government offices also work only five days in a week. AIBOC has already represented the matter to the Indian Banks’ Association, he added.