Employees of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have been staging impromptu strikes since September in an effort to make their dissatisfaction known with the bank’s treatment of them. Workers have been staging periodic walk-outs as a response to the bank’s refusal to improve pension plans and other grievances.
- Retirement Benefits Eroded By Inflation
The latest mass walk-out occurred on November 19, when 17,000 workers staged a protest to protest what they see as crippling actions by the bank’s management in New Delhi. RBI employees claim the bank has done little to account for cost of living increases pensioners face, which is forcing many of them to live in poverty. The United Forum of Reserve Bank Officers and Employees, which oversees the four unions that represent RBI workers plans to continue to stage “casual leave” walk-outs until the bank agrees to meet their “reasonable demands” for improved pension plans.
Published reports claim that workers are attempting to obtain a “one-rank, one-pension scheme” which would level the playing field in terms of the distribution of retirement benefits. The government promised to implement this system in August, 2015, but so far has not done so. Moreover, employees are concerned that the RBI now has less autonomy than it once did.
- Monetary Policy Committee Has Been Proposed
There is concern that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attempting to curtail the RBI’s independence by creating a Monetary Policy Committee that will set interest rates and make other decisions officers of the bank once made on their own. Central bank governor, Raghuram Rajan supports this decision, but the committee’s exact functions have yet to be determined.
The government is concerned about the country’s economy since the RBI chose to lower interest rates four times during 2015 to compensate for a struggling economy that is suffering because of low commodities prices. Despite the lower cost of goods, employees claim they can no longer pay for things like medical expenses, or obtain housing loans. They are pushing for the bank to increase benefits, rather than keep the status quo.
- More Strikes Will Be Staged In December
So far the strikes have been restricted to selected locations, but the United Forum of Reserve Bank Officers and Employees is planning to stage a nationwide walk-out on December 2. That strike is scheduled to last for two days, but some believe the actions could go on indefinitely if the demands of the employees are not met.
There will be more localized action leading up to the larger strike, and employees are planning to dig in until the bank decides it will negotiate with the union. So far bank officers have been reluctant to negotiate, but in light of a nationwide walk-out, their opinion might change. Bank customers are advised to pay attention to news reports to stay informed about local and national walk-outs.
Money Bhaskar always has the latest banking news in Hindi at your disposal.
This entry was posted on Saturday, January 16th, 2016 at 3:58 pm and is filed under Banking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.