Yet Another Covert Operation to cheat the Bank Retirees stands exposed..... https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SC6rRctPLIuJZX_MElPsfA7CQ-9OXQbn/view?usp=sharing Srinivasa Murti Devulapalli devulapallimurti@gmail.com 18:12 Vijayawada May 10, 2018 ) to DITTAKAVI, VISHWANATH, Gopalakrishna, suryanarayana, B, DSSR, M, ANJANEYA, GAJARAJ, RAGHAVAN, BIS, D, C, GUNDU, VCS, CHANDRASEKHAR, SRIPATHY, C, N, I, MULBAGAL, K, KOLLAGUNTA, P, PRABHAKAR My Dear Friends, Yet another Covert Operation to cheat the Bank Retirees stands exposed..... IT MAY NOT BE OUT OF CONTEXT IF I REIRERATE MY STANCE THAT..... " We are forced to necessarily bank upon the time-consuming legal recourse which needs to be expedited simultaneously together with other organisational efforts like dharnas, CLC meetings, etc. In this regard, the pains-taking efforts of the leadership of All India Bank Retirees Federation- AIBRF, an apolitical organisation representing us , who have been making their relentless efforts unmindful of the humiliating/frustrating experiences at the behest of IBA and UFBU - The sole architects and copyright holders of their so called "Magnacarta" - ie. "Record Note" of 25th.May, 2015 in their bid to make us to stand before them as "beggers". Thus, we have been treated as “untouchables” both by the IBA and the Unions as well. Thus, we have been left with no other option but to knock the doors of justice for the redress of our legitimate grievances – -though burdensome, frustrating and time consuming." Being the signatories to the "historic "record note - the so called "Magna Carta", both IBA and UFBU have jointly stepped into the same shoes as our enemies creating "Road Blocks" in our struggle for justice. Among others, I congratulate our friend Sri C N Venugopalan from North Paravoor (Kerala), who has also been fighting for the cause of our fraternity on the legal front, for his strenuous efforts . In fact, you are all aware that I am also one among those who addressed a letter to the Law ministry at the instance of our friend Sri Venugopalan garu, who has been the source of inspiration for me in this behalf. Click the link for the Legal Notice served on the MOF/DFS: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwlxk5JrNIM1c29yb2hZazUzdW8/view?usp=sharing I also annex here with a copy of letter to the Law Ministry dtd.26 10 2017 by one of our colleagues, Dr.A.Ananthakirishna Rao of Hyderabad on the similar note: Click the link for the LETTER TO THE LAW MINISTRY: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lIwRTCWLji2-xzj8HM5xO0rszvKlqg1K/view?usp=sharing I TAKE IMMENSE PLEASURE TO ANNEX HERE A COPY OF THE LETTER DATED 02 04 2018 ADDRESSED BY OUR FRIEND-VIZ: COM. C. N. VENUGOPALAN TO THE CMD /EDs & THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF UNION BANK OF INDIA , EXPOSING THEIR COVERT OPERATIONS TO BRING AMENDMENTS TO THE PENSIONS REGULATIONS MUCH DETRIMENTAL TO THE INTERESTS OF THE FRATERNITY OF BANK RETIREES – CONTENTS ARE SELF-EXPLECIT: I ONCE AGAIN CONGRATULATE OUR FRIEND- COM. C N VENUGOPALAN FOR HIS STRENUOUS EFFORTS WITH COURAGE, COMMITMENT AND CONVICTION....... QUOTE: ================================================== C N VENUGOPALAN Former Director (GOI Nominee) State Bank of Travancore & Ex Manager Union Bank of India “Nandanam” Kesari Junction, North Paravur, Kerala -683 513 Mob: 9447747994 E – Mail: ceeyenvee@gmail.com No.PR : BR : 107 :18 2nd April, 2018 CHAIRMAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS & DIRECTORS, UNION BANK OF INDIA, CENTRAL OFFICE, MUMBAI – 400 021 Dear Sir, Union Bank of India (Employees’) Pension (Amendment) Regulations 2017 From the above notification published by the Bank in the Gazette of India Extraordinary, Part –III, Section 4 on 06.11.2017, it appears that, on 18.09.2017, the Board of the Bank made the captioned regulations claiming to be in exercise of powers conferred by clause (f) of subsection 2 of section 19 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition & Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 / 1980 (the Act). Section 19 of the Act, vide subsections 1 and 4, confers on the Board of a Bank powers to make regulations that are not inconsistent with the Pension Scheme and in the context of the amendments envisaged in the notification being inconsistent with the Pension Scheme, the notification is fallacious and the Board of the Bank is unaware of the powers it has. The notification seeks to ( I ) take away the right to pension statutorily vested with the employees who joined the Bank after 31.03.2010, ( ii ) authenticate the contributions of 2.8 times revised pay of employees /officers and 56 percent of CPF paid on retirement to retired employees / officers to the Pension Fund and ( iii ) deprive pension from the date of their retirement to 26.11.2009 to retired employees vested under regulation 52 (1). These being inconsistent with the regulations and prejudicial to what is earlier done under the regulations, are impermissible under sections 19.1 and 19.4 of the Act. Section 19.4 of the Act is specific that any amendments to regulations will be of no effect if not approved by the Houses of the Parliament. The amendments are void as they are not laid in the Houses and approved by them. The notification evidences that till its date there were no provisions for the Bank to raise the contributions to Pension Fund and to deny pension from the date of retirement to 26.11.2009, which the Bank did on the basis of the Settlement / Joint Note dated 27.04.2010 and they cannot evolve into rules as they are impermissible under the Act and Pension Regulations. Since regulation 5 (2) determines the sole purpose of Pension Fund as payment of pension / family pension in accordance with the Regulations {Pension Regulations}, pension cannot be paid in accordance with the Joint Note / Settlement dated 27.04.2010. Regulation 3 of Pension Regulations determine the last date for option for pension as 26.01.21996 (within 120 days of the notification of Pension Regulations on 29.09.1995) and this regulation remaining the same, no one could be admitted to the benefits of Pension Fund after 26.01.1996 on the basis of the Joint Note / Settlement dated 27.04.2010. In order that the pension paid out of the Pension Fund on the basis of the Joint Note shall not be conversion of Pension Fund, it is inevitable that the options taken under the Settlement / Joint Note are given retrospective effect to a date prior to 26.01.1996, the last date for option determined under the regulation 3 which is in full force and effect. It is observed that when the Board of the Bank is the Competent Authority to make regulations and to amend them in consultation with RBI and with the previous sanction of the Central Government, Indian Banks’ Association an organizational nullity sans registration under any statute and an illegal association in terms of section 11 of the Indian Companies Act, 1956 had been issuing directives overruling the Legislature of the nation to the Bank which is “state” within the meaning assigned to it under Article 12 of the Constitution. For instance vide letter No. HR & IR / CIR / G2 / BRK / 4684 dated 16.03.2018, IBA has directed the Chief Executives of member banks to pay pension to compulsorily retired officers as decided by its standing Committee on HR and modalities worked out by the General Managers (HR) of Banks. This was an already sanctioned benefit under regulation 33 (1) of the Pension Regulations and IBA appears as playing a comical role by sanctioning what the legislature of India has sanctioned. When regulation 4 (2) determined that options of pension are final, the Bank vide Staff Circular No.4249 dated 29.12.1995 caused revocation of options on an advice from IBA, an authority not recognized under the Act or the Pension Regulations, thus bringing in a catastrophe in the administration of the Pension Regulations. Now the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has ruled in order dated 13.02.2018 in Civil Appeal No. 5525 of 2012 viz. Bank of Baroda & Anr. Vs. G Palani & Ors that “the regulations have statutory force, having been framed in exercise of powers under section 19 (2) (f) of the Act of 1970 and are binding. They could not have been supplanted by any executive fiat, or order or joint note which has no statutory force”. Since the ruling evolves as law applicable to the industry, it becomes imperative that the Bank remains compliant with the Pension Regulations and calibrate requisite corrigendum measure to undo the wrongs done on the basis of the Settlement / Joint Note that have no locus standi. The Bank has a Pension Fund with a balance of Rs. 11,032.28 Crores as on 31.03.2017 which comprises of the deferred wages of the employees/retired employees as infra: Amount Rs.Crores YEARS 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 Opening balance 1,158.56 1,614.93 4,027.55 5,069.23 6,249.75 7,732.05 9,282.65 Closing balance 1,614.93 4,027.55 5,069.23 6,249.75 7,732.05 9,282.65 11,032.28 Growth 456.37 2,412.62 1,041.68 1,180.52 1,482.30 1,550.60 1,749.63 Benefits paid 194.88 244.84 303.22 380.68 451.91 680.70 624.84 Benefits as % of growth 42.70 10.15 29.11 32.25 30.49 43.90 35.71 The Bank collected Rs.110.50 Crores as 156 percent of CPF from 3,106 retired employees, of which 56 percent is to the tune of Rs.39.69 Crores. Rs. 90.03 Crores was collected from 14,473 serving employees / officers as 2.8 times pay for November, 2007. The total unlawful contribution of Rs. 129.72 Crores can be paid off with 12 percent interest, annually compounding, within Rs.295.30 Crores. After paying off the Rs.295.30 Crores, the Pension Fund will have a residue of Rs. 10,736.98 Crores. Even reckoning a per capita payment of Rs.40.00 lakhs to the 3,106 retired employees as arrears of pension Rs.1,242.40 Crores is sufficient to settle it. The Pension Fund will still leave a balance of Rs. 9,494.58 Crores as on 31.03.2017, which is above the previous year level of Rs.9,282.65 as on 31.03.2016. This can ensure an annual growth each year which is enough to foot three times the present pension to all the pensioners of the Bank. The arrears at Rs.40.00 lakhs estimated is on very high side as the arrears payable to those who retired immediately prior to 27.04.2010 will be less than Rs.1.00 lakh. The net growth in seven years was Rs.9,873.72 Crores which can foot Rs.3.17 Crore per capita as arrears to the 3,106 retired employees to whom arrears are payable. In the above circumstances, it is unfair that the Bank is unlawfully detaining the statutorily defined pension of its retired employees which has the character of property under Article 31 (1) and 19 (1) (f) of the Constitution as alluded to in the order dated 13.02.2018 of the Hon’ble Supreme Court without paying it to them. IBA had been navigating the Bank in the wrong direction in the past overriding the Board of Directors, Government and RBI which are the authorities recognized under laws. Since the code of conduct prescribed for directors and members of the core management of the Bank require adherence to applicable laws of the county it is imperative that appropriate corrigendum steps are initiated at the earliest to make the Bank compliant with the Pension Regulations. I request that the Managing Director and CEO may swiftly calibrate appropriate steps and intimate me within a month. Kindly acknowledge receipt. Thanking You, Yours faithfully, C N VENUGOPALAN UNQUOTE: ================================================ LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST..... MY CONCLUSION: My Dear friends, Working Unions will never fight this way.... The have "secret code" of Understanding that neither of them would knock the doors of justice in resolution of any dispute. Only way out is to take recourse of the provisions of the ID Act. But Officers organisations will not come within the purview of the ID Act., as they are not the signatories to the settlements under the ID Act. IBA is exploiting this situation to their advantage: EX: IBA signs the settlements under the provisions of the ID Act with the workmen organisations. Subsequently, they come to an understanding with the Officers organisations and signs MOUs to dilute certain provisions of the settlements already signed under the ID Act. to make it 'FAIT ACCOMPLI" to others members/constituents of the negotiating team. In the process, they resort to "Manipulations" to safe guard their mutual interests Thereby bring disparity/discontement among the working class as a whole..... Finally the entire exercise would culminate into -"ROB PETER TO PAY PAUL" - in the process we the retirees are made "PETERS" ! That's how , Being the signatories to the "historic "record note - the so called "Magna Carta", both IBA and UFBU have jointly stepped into the same shoes as our enemies creating "Road Blocks" in our struggle for justice. This is the hard reality..... DEAR FRIENDS, FINALLY THE INSCRIPTION IN DEVANAGARI LIPI INTHE HON’BLE SUPREME COURT’S LOGO – “|| यतो धर्मस्ततो जयः ||” IS THE ULTIMATE...... IN ALL HUMILITY ...., I REMAIN, D. S. MURTI Click the following links for more details: https://drive.google.com/file/d/120gIl5U9FKzV5EkeWzgLaAG0qB4-p6qp/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d2Fd7h7Pig8bQPVrCxU_FAFmqe2NLrXv/view?usp=sharing CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK, TO SIGN THE MAIN PETITION: https://www.change.org/p/hon-ble-prime-minister-of-india-sri-narendra-modi-plight-of-the-bank-retirees-urgency-to-constitute-banking-pay-commission?utm_content=petition&utm_medium=email&utm_source=campaigns_digest&utm_campaign=320772&sfmc_tk=43pHv2HQKLN8IEm%2fjv06dX319sk79XsrqMAtPI0Ps%2fCuu2qDcQShly6uYbqaaH%2bl&j=320772&sfmc_sub=62936944&l=32_HTML&u=57682389&mid=7259882&jb=3 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bGWLfmgElp0oNy23pCqcHBZY1r6kjRfO/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Sa_yqZxlcuM1F3ktq0a5PgR9xePbWl7R/view?usp=sharing