PETITION TO HON’BLE PM / FM UPDATE: 21.11.2017 The pace of negotiations under the XI BPS is moving on snail space with only talks on non financial issues and main issues like wage revision & in particular pension updation is yet to be deliberated. Retirees are suspecting & apprehending that UFBU & IBA as usual may once again cheat us & deprive our legitimate rights like they have done during last 22 years & also in Health Insurance renewal, where there has been exhorbitant increase in premium for last three years. Some of the pensioners had to shell down their two months pension to renew the policy. When all hopes of getting justice from the Nexus of UFBU & IBA since dwindling, at this point of uncertainty, many proponents and retirees even in their advanced age viz Sri. S. Ramachandran, Retd. GM, Sri. V K Khanna, Sri. Sitarama Rao, Dr. Dhanjaya Bhupathy, Sri. Devulapalli Srinivasa Murthy, Sri. Jayaprakash .N and Sri. C. N. Venugopal, Ex-ED of Bank of Travancore, and many other individual proponents have been individually approaching all the appropriate forums and even Courts seeking natural Justice for the overall benefit of all Retirees. One can understand the financial constraint & other age related limitations to fight individually. The organisations responsible for present sorry state of affairs should introspect, realize and use their wisdom at least now & make sincere efforts to rectify the injustice done so far & do justice to hapless Retirees. Congratulations to Sri. V K Khannaji. Hitherto, the IBA has been escaping from responsibility & accountability from its actions. Now, due to persistent efforts of Sri. V K Khanna, Retd. GM from PNB, the appropriate authority has ordered that IBA is a Public Authority answerable for all its actions. Now, It is going to be tough for IBA as many RTIs will be filed to question their actions. In the latest effort after obtaining direction from Kerala High Court on a Writ of Mandamus filed by Sri. C. N Venugopal, Former Director (GOI Nominee), State Bank of Travancore has written FIVE letters to the appropriate authorities seeking clarifications to get redressal of Retirees grievances. Humble request to all Retirees to submit all such Five letters individually as suitably drafted and submitted by Sri. C N Venugopal and also by me replacing the “From” address in http://pgportal.gov.in. It is time for all individual Retirees to submit as many individual representations as possible to exert pressure on the decision makers. At a time when there is no hope from Unions/Associations due to their dubious approach, it is our fundamental duty & reasonability to support the cause endeavored by above individuals for overall benefit of the Retirees. Even the distressing, pathetic, doleful & woeful position of Bank Retirees were raised in the Parliament, the parliamentarians are more ingenuous for themselves to get their emoluments increased exorbitantly just serving for a single term of five years and other Central Govt Pensioners are getting updation at every Pay Revisions against budgetary allocation costing the exchequer. The Bank Retirees have been deprived of following legitimate rights in each and every wage revision ever since introduction of Bank Pension Regulations, 1995. The Unions/Associations knowingly or unknowingly in connivance with the unregistered organization IBA who have no responsibility or accountability have killed mercilessly all the hopes of the Bank Retirees. Now due to efforts of Sri. Khannaji, IBA has been adjudged as Public Authority and is answerable & accountable for all its actions. When lawful Regulations are violated blatantly by the IBA, the Unions/Associations have become party to such recurring violations and failed to move highest courts for justice as a major organizational force which clearly shows their deliberate wrongdoings in the following areas: 01. Periodical updation in pension 02. 100% DA Neutralisation 03. Improvement in Family Pension 04. Second option of Pension to CRS, Resignees, left over VRS Retirees 05. Sections 19.1 & 4 of the Act prohibit any amendment that prejudice what is done earlier under a regulation 06. Total waivement of Income Tax on Pension as Pension is a deferred payment and not an income It is reiterated that the Bank Pension Fund is constituted out of our their own funds with further mandatory contributions from Banks after yearly actuaries, the accumulated funds with periodical interest earned is self-sufficient to meet the legitimate rights of the Retirees without costing to exchequer. We fail to understand why the IBA is resorting to dubious & unconstitutional approach and why it is deliberately failed to apprise the Finance Ministry the reality of the Pension fund position vis a vis plight of the hapless Retirees & the injustice meted to them. We, the TEAM: Jayaprakash, Jayaraman, Jayaram, HS Vasudeva Rao, HSN Murthy & Vijayalakshmi have petitioned on 16.12.2016 to Hon’ble PM / FM seeking his personal intervention in the matter of injustice continued to be done to helpless Bank Retirees followed by more than 20 reminders lodged in http://pgportal.gov.in which were closed by the respective Secretaries of Finance Dept., in connivance with IBA without assigning proper justification. Our endeavor already initiated in Change.org and received more than 7970 supporters. While profusely thanking each and every one for such support, we request other Retirees and citizens to further strengthen our mission by login to change.org. search: Jayaprakash to find the original petition and franchise your support. Thanking you once again. LETTER FORMAT - 5 (As suitably drafted & submitted by Sri. C N Venugopal) N. JAYAPRAKASH No. 121, Main, 3rd Phase, 6th Block, 3rd Stage, Banashankari, Bangalore-560085 Email: njayaprakash18@gmail.com, Mob: 9902889812 20th November, 2017 S /Shri. T Subbarami Reddy, Chairman, Committee on Subordinate Legislation, Rajya Sabha, Rajya Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi – 110 001 Dear Sir, Union Bank of India (Employees’) Pension (Amendment) Regulations, 2017 Gazette Notification dated 6th November, 2017 We write to inform you that the captioned notification was published as item No.428 of the Gazette dated 6th November, 2017 by way of amendment to the subordinate legislation viz. Union Bank of India (Employees’) Pension Regulations, 1995 for giving effect to the Joint Note dated 27.04.2010 (settlement) signed between Indian Banks’ Association and apex level unions of bank employees / associations of bank officers. In terms of section 19(1) and 19(4) of the Banking Companies (Acquisition & Transfer of undertakings) Act, 1970/1980 pursuant to which the pension regulations were put in place, amendment to a regulation shall not prejudice what is earlier done under a regulation. But the various conclusions in the settlement prejudiced the relative regulations as stated infra: Regulation 52(1) mandates payment of pension from the date following the date on which an employee retires. In terms of the settlement, pension was payable to the retired employees from 27.11.2009 only, irrespective of the date of retirement to those who retired between 29.09.1995 and 26.11.2009 and admitted to Pension Fund. In terms of regulation 5 (3), 7 and 11 Bank is the sole contributor to the Pension Fund. But the Settlement/Joint Note envisaged a contribution of 2.8 times pay for November, 2007 in the case of employees in service and a lump sum of 56 percent of CPF plus accrued interest paid on retirement in addition to refund of said CPF plus accrued interest , which was inconsistent with the regulation. In terms of section 19.(4) of the Act, any amendment to a regulation, as soon as after it is made under the Act by the Board of Directors of a Nationalized Bank ( Union Bank of India) has to be forwarded to the Central Government for tabling before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the regulation or both Houses agree that the regulation should not be made, the regulation thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be ; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that regulation. The purported Settlement / Joint Note signed on 27.04.2010 was not laid before both the Houses as mandated by the Act for a period spanning about seven and a half years. It is also not known whether the item has run through the Parliament till date. It was further amazing that the notification in the name of Ministry of Finance was authenticated by the Shri. R R Mohanty, General Manager (H R) of the Bank as if he is an official of the Ministry. The notification carries an explanatory memorandum to the effect that such retrospective effect given to it adversely affects the interests of no person, which is contrary to fact, bringing shame to the official Gazette. In fact, the notification aims at ratifying the unlawful acts of the Bank in denying pension from the date of retirement to 27.11.2009 to retired employees and raising the contributions from serving and retired employees inconsistent with the Pension Regulations, thus overruling the Houses of the Parliament. The dignity of the Gazette of India is axed through the malicious statement and in allowing the employee of a bank to authenticate the notification. Similar notifications had been published in respect of other public sector banks also by the Ministry of Finance, which is ultra vires. It is very much pertinent here that the Bank had amended regulation 22(4) (b) of the Pension Regulations through Union Bank of India (Employees’) Pension (Amendment) Regulations, 1998 by removing the penal clause for forfeiture of past services for participation in strike for the sole purpose of giving options for pension to those who could not opt for it when the deleted clause was present in the regulation. But disregarding the direction of the government in F No.4/8/4/95-IR dated 24.12 1997, the amendment was not given effect to by offering options to the beneficiaries of the beneficial legislation. The amended regulation of 1998 was not at all implemented and the notification dated 6th November, 2017 is unrolling the 1998 amendment and envisaging ratification of the wrongs done. The administration of the Pension Regulations was evidently bad and foul in every sense. We make a request to kindly look into the matter and do the needful to make sure that the notification which is in derogation of the Pension Regulations and the Act is rescinded. Thanking You, Yours faithfully, JAYAPRAKASH. N