My Dear friends, You are aware that Ours is a fund based pension scheme with the employees contribution (towards PF) from out of their salaries every month and where as the matching contributions from the employers towards the pension corpus, which is supposed to be invested in the approved Government Securities to make it self-sufficient for smooth servicing of the scheme as envisaged by the settlement signed under the ID Act. The responsibility of managing / servicing the pension corpus is vested in the hands of the respective boards of trustees formed by the concerned banks who are to take the best interest of the beneficiaries of the Pension Trust ultimately, in conformity to the terms of the pension regulations signed as a settlement under the ID Act. IN FURTHERANCE OF THE SETTLEMENT (SIGNED UNDER THE ID ACT) DATED 29th. OCT.1993, BETWEEN THE BANK MANAGEMENTS REPRESENTED BY “IBA” AND THE UNIONS REPRESENTING THE EMPLOYEES – “PENSION REGULATIONS OF 1995” WERE ADOPTED BY ALL THE BANKS. THESE REGULATIONS WERE FORMULATED ON SIMILAR LINES TO THE ONE PREVAILING IN THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA. A SPECIFIC MENTION WAS ALSO MADE IN THE REGULATIONS ITSELF. THUS, BY VIRTUE OF A GAZETTE NOTIFICATION, THESE REGULATION BEAR THE "STAMP OF APPROVAL" OF THE PARLIAMENT. THEREFORE, THESE REGULATIONS FORM PART AND PARCEL OF THE SETTLEMENT SIGNED UNDER THE INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES ACT - A STATUTORY PROVISION. THUS, WITHOUT ADHERING TO THE FORMALITIES FOR ANY GAZETTE NOTIFICATION, NO ONE CAN ALTER / MODIFY THE TERMS / PROVISIONS OF THE SETTLEMENT ALREADY INCORPORATED AS ABOVE, SUBSEQUENTLY AT A LATER DATE - BE IT MOF , IBA/UFBU, OR WHOSOEVER FOR THAT MATTER, EXCEPTING THE PARLIAMENT. CONTRARY TO THE ABOVE , IBA/MOF, WENT ON ISSUING ITS ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIONS / GUIDELINES SUBSEQUENTLY TO THE BANKS OVER RULING THE ABOVE PROVISIONS OF THE SETTLEMENT WHICH ARE STATUTORY IN NATURE WHICH ARE VERY BAD IN LAW. THIS, ULTIMATELY RESULTED IN THE FAR-REACHING RAMIFICATIONS MUCH DETRIMENTAL TO THE INTERESTS OF THE BANK PENSIONERS - VIZ: PERPETRATED FRAUDS COMMITTED BY THE BANK MANAGEMENTS IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS IN GROSS VIOLATION OF THE PENSION REGULATIONS (STATUTORY IN NATURE): - BY NOT REMMITTING THE MANAGEMENTS CONTRIBUTION TO THE PENSION TRUST CORPUS PROMPTLY. - INVESTMENT OF THE PENSION CROPUS IN GROSS VIOLATION OF THE TERMS OF THE SETTLEMENT SIGNED. - LOSS OF INTEREST HAS NOT BEEN COMPENSATED TOWARDS THE PENSION TRUST CORPUS. - UNAUTHORIZED TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM THE PENSION TRUST CORPUS TO P&L ACCOUNT TO CONCEAL OF THE LOSSES OF THE BANKS. – WINDOW DRESSING THE BALANCE SHEETS . IN SHORT, THE ABOVE, TANTAMOUNT TO “EMBEZZLEMENT OF FUNDS” IN THE LIGHT OF THE ABOVE, I HAVE TODAY ADDRESSED THE FOLLOWING COMMUNICATION TO THE MINISTRY OF LAW & JUSTICE, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, HIGHLIGHTING THE ABOVE SITUATION AND REQUESTING THEM TO INITIATE URGENT CORRECTIVE STEPS. IN THIS CONTEXT, I WILL BE FAILING IN MY DUTY, IF I DO NOT MENTION THE LAUDABLE EFFORTS OF OUR FRIEND VIZ: SRI C.VENUGOPALAN, WHO HAS BEEN, ALL ALONE, FIGHTING FOR THE CAUSE OF THE BANK RETIREES ON THE LEGAL FRONT, BESIDES AMONG A FEW OTHERS AS WELL. I THEREFORE, APPEAL YOU ALL TO RAISE TO THE OCCASION TO ADDRESS YOUR LETTERS ON SIMILAR LINES TO THE MINISTRY TO ESTABLISH OUR MASS PROTEST TO THE POLICY MAKERS TO BRING THEM TO THE SENSES TO REDRESS OUR LEGITIMATE GRIEVANCES AS PER THE RULE OF THE LAND. I THEREFORE, APPEAL YOU ALL TO RAISE TO THE OCCASION TO ADDRESS YOUR LETTERS ON SIMILAR LINES TO THE MINISTRY TO ESTABLISH OUR MASS PROTEST TO THE POLICY MAKERS TO BRING THEM TO THE SENSES TO REDRESS OUR LEGITIMATE GRIEVANCES AS PER THE RULE OF THE LAND. LET US REGISTER OUR MASS PROTEST WITH THE AUTHORITIES CONCERNED IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS. COLLECTIVE ACTION PROGRAMMES LIKE THIS WILL CERTAINLY YIELD DESIRED RESULTS. LET US SET ASIDE THE LETHARGIC ATTITUDE OF “SOMEBODY ELSE WOULD FIGHT FOR US”. LET US EXHIBIT OUR COMMITMENT, CONVICTION AND COURAGE….. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (By Speed Post: EN503020498IN) D. S. MURTI (Manager-Retd. –Syndicate Bank) 3-23 ; GF:1 “RAGAMALIKA RESIDENCY”, Plot #37 Sri Rama Co.op.Housing Society Layout, Ramavarappadu (PO):VIJAYAWADA 521108 (AP) 0866-2843298; 9989318300/ 9398532066 28th October, 2017 TO: The Secretary, Ministry of Law & Justice, Govt. of India, 4 th Floor, Shastri Bhawan, Dr. R P Road, New Delhi -110 001 Dear Sir, Regulation 35.1 of Bank ( Employees’) Pension Regulations, 1995 I am furnishing below the details of regulation 35.1 of the Bank (Employees’) Pension Regulations, 1995 as appearing in the original regulation notified on 29.09.1995 and amendment to it carried out in the year 2003 for your kind perusal: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Regulation 35 Sub-regulation (1) In respect of employees who retired between the 1st day of January, 1986 but before the 31st day of October, 1987, basic pension and additional pension, will be updated as per the formulae given in Appendix I -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Regulation 35 Sub-regulation (1) Basic pension and additional pension, wherever applicable, shall be updated as per the formulae given in Appendix I ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The deletion of the period of applicability in respect of “employees who retired between 1st day of January, 1986 but before the 31st day of October, 1987” gives clear indication that the regulation has been made applicable to all employees irrespective of their date of retirement and the substitution of the words “shall be” in place of “will be” shows that the updation of pension is to be done invariably wherever applicable. In case there is no updation as per the pension scheme, the provision regarding updation would not have found a place in the regulation. This apart, regulation 56 of Pension Regulations lays down that “In case of doubt, in the matter of application of these relegations, regard may be had to the corresponding provisions of Central Civil Services Rules, 1972, or Central Civil Services (Commutation of Pension) Rules, 1981 applicable for Central Government employees with such exceptions and modifications as the Bank, with the previous sanction of the Central Government, may from time to time determine.”. The Central Government has not so far permitted any deviation from regulation 56 to any bank and as such the Pension Regulations having been exactly on the premise of the Central Civil Pension, pension in banks has to be revised in tune with the bipartite settlements in the same way Central Civil Pension gets revised with the implementation of each Pay Commission. But this has not so far been permitted by the Ministry of Finance. In terms of section 10.7 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition & Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970/1980, a bank is permitted to declare a dividend and to retain surplus profits as reserves in its books only after making due provisions for all legitimate expenditure including superannuation funds. But in derogation of the Act, banks had been regularly declaring dividend and paying to government and other stakeholders from time to time. I earnestly request you to examine the anomaly in detail and to advise Ministry of Finance about the imperative need of adhering to the Pension Regulations and the Banking Companies (Acquisition & Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970/1980 pursuant to which the Pension Regulations were put in place as otherwise the entire process of law making will become meaningless. I request you to kindly let me have a copy of the guidelines that will emanate to Ministry of Finance from you in this regard. Thanking You, Yours faithfully, Sd./- (D . S. MURTI) सत्यमेवजयते