It is reported that bank employees’ unions and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) have agreed for an annual wage hike of 15 percent to the bank staff, a move that will result in an additional yearly outgo of around Rs 7,900 crore for the banks. As many as 8.5 lakh bank employees are set to benefit from the wage hike, which will be effective from November 2017. This means bank staff will get the salary hike with retrospective effect from November 2017

Under the agreement reached, Performance Linked Incentive will also be introduced for public sector bank staff and it will be based on the operating or net profit of individual banks concerned. Close to 37 banks, including public, private, and foreign banks, have mandated the IBA to negotiate with bank unions on wage hikes for their staff.

Every day, people in India now hear about the closure of a number of medium and small scale industrial and commercial units and private companies. This leads to reducing the salaries of employees steeply and millions of self-employed people belonging to the unorganised class going through miserable economic conditions. In such circumstances,  it seems totally insensitive for the bank management to provide a steep salary hike to the bank staff.

It is well known that several banks have been incurring losses and dishonest practices and scandals in the transactions of the banks are now reported too frequently.  When the banks are not making profits and interest rates on deposits are being reduced, is it appropriate for the bank management to further increase the salary of the bank staff who are already well paid? Are not the bank managements concerned about the economics of the bank operations?

It is shocking that the bank staff would get such a steep salary hike, which will make common man suspect about the social consciousness of bank staff in a period of high stress in the Indian economy and difficult job scenario due to the COVID 19 crisis. Possibly, some enlightened bank staff may feel embarrassed to receive such pay hike at the present time

At a time like this, when employees all over India are losing their jobs due to lockdown conditions,  it is highly distressing that  State Bank of India has opened its doors to former employees for different roles in the banks. As per the decision of State Bank of India, those up to 63 years of age who served in State Bank of India (SBI) as scale 1  to scale 5 officers and retired at 60 are eligible to apply. What is the logic in the decision of State Bank of India to re-employ retired persons, when hundreds of young people remain unemployed and aspire for jobs in the bank?  It is strange that the banks are introducing a voluntary retirement scheme and at the same time re-employing retired people.

It is well known that the bank unions are well organized and have the capacity and willingness to paralyze the functioning of the banks and consequently the Indian economic process, if their demands, however unjustified, would be rejected by the management and the government. Obviously, the bank management is buying peace with the bank staff, possibly fearing strikes and agitations.

One need not be surprised that guided by the success of the bank employees in getting their salaries raised even in the present miserable conditions in the country due to COVID-19 conditions, the other public sector employees and even government staff at central and state level would be emboldened to demand pay hike for themselves under one pretext or the other,  unmindful of the COVID crisis.

The common man would wonder as to whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been constantly talking about the problems of the poor and downtrodden, empowerment of the distressed people, and the promotion of employment opportunities, would look into the matter and find some way to stop the salary hike for the bank staff and the move of the SBI to recruit retired employees.

Prime Minister Modi can certainly understand that the above moves of the banks are against the present mood of the people and it will affect the morale of the countrymen, particularly the poor people, who expect that the society and the government would take care of them in the present distressing period when money is scarce, both in the hands of the government and millions of people.

(The writer is Trustee, NGO Nandini Voice for the Deprived, Chennai. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at nsvenkatchennai@gmail.com)