By S Radhakrishnan, Chairman SBEU Chennai
These were the words of Julius Caesar but the same is the reality when we talk about the All India State Bank of India Employees’ Association (AISBIEA) which has established and moving forward in State Bank of India.
Many of us think that the AISBIEA was founded after the merger of five Associate Banks with SBI in the year 2017 whereas it was conceived and formed much before that with a visionary guideline from our parent organization, All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA). The merger in this century of SBI owned subsidiary started with State Bank of Saurashtra in 2008 and State Bank of Indore in 2010. Out of the 7 Associate Banks in 6 Associate Banks AIBEA unions were the sole majority and a combined forum to represent their issues a State Sector Bank Employees’ Association (SSBEA) was in existence. But the territory of SSBEA was restricted only to the States where the Associate Banks were functioning. With the globalisation kicking up and as AIBEA expected more mergers it started moves to form an All India body since the merged entity will have to have an All India outlook and representation. Accordingly, the SSBEA met at Bhopal on 11th March,
The meeting was presided over by the President of SSBEA Com. Naresh Gaur. General Secretary of AIBEA Com. C H Venkatachalam, Joint Secretary Com. S K Gautham, Com. J P Jhawar and Com. K Muraleedharan Pillai, Advisor, SSBEA addressed the meeting. It was decided that the erstwhile State Bank of Indore Employees Union which was already functioning in State Bank of India with a check off facility can be renamed and made as an All India body of AIBEA unions in SBI. The meeting decided to have functionaries to represent from all over the country and recognised Com. J P Jhawar as Chairman, Com. Naresh Gaur as President, Com. K S Krishna as General Secretary, Com. R Sreekanth Reddy and Com. Milind Katti as DGS, Com. Chandrasekaran and Com. S Ramesh Babu as Treasurer/Assistant Treasurer apart from 16 Vice Presidents, 17 Secretaries and Com. S K Gautam as Advisor. Thus born the AISBIEA, well before the merger of five Associate Banks with SBI.
Immediately after that AISBIEA had a herculean task of coordinating with the existing unions with regard to change of its names by amending bylaws, getting check off facility from the bank etc. It may not be out of place to mention here that the SBI management had unilaterally and unlawfully withdrew the check off facility provided to the Associate Bank Unions from 1st April, 2017 and went to the extent of removing the facility for the employees to choose their union membership through HRMS abruptly forcing the members to use physical mandates for union check off with no SoP/procedure adopted for incorporating such mandates in the HRMS (even today the situation remains same).
Later on, it started concentrating on forming of Circle level unions wherever it was not there and today we have Circle level unions functioning in almost all the circles of SBI and its efforts on this aspect is continuing vigorously.
Afterwards, the AISBIEA concentrated on vital issues of the employees, based on the feedback from its members and also studying the service condition or the blatant violation of it through organizational actions including representation, demonstration and even strike and through legal means including taking up with the labour machinery and courts. And till today it has got 31 (thirty-one) such achievements which were obtained only through organizational actions/court cases and not because of the mercy of the bank management and became a force to be reckoned with in SBI.
It has started educating its workforce through publication of Service Conditions and the rights of the employees through various mediums including circulars and social media platforms. The notable thing is its publication of Diary every year which comprises of the UpToDate Service Condition of the employees in SBI.
With its membership increasing day by day, AISBIEA has coordinated/complemented the efforts of Circle level unions in all their activities. AISBIEA has also conducted its National Conferences in Thiruvananthapuram and Ludhiana and given representation to the Circle level leaders in AISBIEA as office bearers and committee members of AISBIEA.
The workforce in SBI has started realizing the ideology/potentiality of AISBIEA in the bank as it has created an awareness amongst them as a force to reckon with and as an alternate. Thus, AISBIEA has marketed the brand “AIBEA” inside SBI successfully.
The bank management has also started realizing that the members of AISBIEA are different with regard to their level of job knowledge, product knowledge, commitment, loyalty and integrity. Bank management has also realized that their leaders are knowledgeable, committed to the cause and ideology and are sincere.
The bank management has also realized that AISBIEA is the only union with the twin principles of AIBEA i.e. safeguard and protect the interest of its members and safeguard and protect the interest of the bank.
The very fact that many of the issues taken up by AISBIEA through its letters to the Corporate Centre were subsequently implemented by the bank as it felt that the issue is genuine (for example the process of allotting holiday home to the employees/officers/ retirees through online). The analysis of Bank’s quarterlyfinancial results by AISBIEA was eagerly awaited by the management and our view points were well taken in a positive note. It is also visibly seen at the ground level as our office bearers visit the executives and HR functionaries to meet them for courtesy or for taking up the issues. Even the branch managers are reciprocating the same.
But AISBIEA has got a long way to go. Even though most of its 12-point charter of demands was achieved there are still unfinished agenda and new and complex issues are coming up. We are not only surviving but fighting and achieving. The days to come are much more challenging.
AISBIEA, working and moving ahead in country’s largest Bank, transcending all constraints and limitations, has firmly established AIBEA foothold, guided by its philosophy and practices. It is our bounden duty to expand further and farther. Let us rededicate ourselves to further strengthen the organisation holding aloft the flag of AIBEA high, upholding the ideals and principles of AIBEA, for a better workplace for the Employees and a better world for the Customers and Common Masses.
