3 weeks ago
 "Pension")
Pension (Photo: Shutterstock)
Close on the heels of the central government’s Unified Pension Scheme for its employees, bank employee unions will raise the issue of restoring the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) with the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) this week.
Rupam Roy, general secretary, All India Bank Officers’ Association, told Business Standard that unions have gone through the notification (OPS for government employees). The issue of pension will be raised at a meeting with the Indian Banks’ Association this week.
“What the central government implements influences the decision-making of bank managements. Our principal demand is for OPS, where the employee does not contribute. It is a social security benefit," Roy added. AIBOC is a member of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU).
Banks, represented by IBA, and UFBU, representing employees and officers, had signed an MoU for wage revision in December 2023 and had agreed to continue discussions on residual matters, including pensions.
The pension fund of banks does not service employees recruited on or after April 1, 2010, who are covered by another scheme like NPS under the aegis of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
Those recruited prior to April 2010 are eligible for the bank pension scheme. A person who has served for 28 years in a bank will get the complete benefit of the pension. The pension is calculated as 50 per cent of the average of their basic pay over the last 10 months of service.
One senior office bearer of the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) said while the Unified Pension Scheme is definitely better than NPS, it will take some time to understand the full implications and how close it is to OPS.
The demand for the restoration of the old pension scheme for bank employees will arise automatically. The detailed response from banking sector unions will be formulated after examining the details, the AIBEA office bearer said.
