Public sector bank (PSB) officers seek pay parity with Government officers.

Public sector bank (PSB) officers are seeking pay parity with Government officers.

"If higher pay scales to Government officers is considered just on the grounds that such compensation will not corrupt them or allure them to receive bribe from the public, why not apply the same yardstick for officers of public sector banks, where the incidence of such allurement is much higher?' argue industry sources.

Comparing the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations for Government officers with the proposed hike offered to PSB officers, the General Secretary of All India Bank Officers' Confederation Harvinder Singh said 'there is no justification on the Government's stand'.

“The IBA made an initial offer of 5 per cent salary increase on 'pay slip component', which was enhanced to 9.5 per cent after the Unions gave a strike notice and the Central Labour Commissioner intervened to avert the strike.

In the next round of discussion on January 27, the IBA improved the offer from 9.5 per cent to 10 per cent, which was considered ínsultingly inadequate' and we rejected the offer.

The last salary revision for PSB officers was 17.5 per cent of establishment cost, which after factoring for superannuation costs and non-salary components of establishment cost left 11.43 per cent for appropriation towards pay-slip increase. Since establishment costs have soared, the average pay slip increase was 21.52 per cent.

"Inflationary pressures coupled with the erosion in purchasing power, is adding to our woes. We deserve adequate compensation, an increase which is more than the offer made during the last salary revision on pay slip cost. Only such an increase would help reduce the pay slip difference of PSB officers vis-a-vis Government officers, he said, seeking pay parity with Government officers.

Source:Business Line