Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Sunday evening announced an end to the strike by the State Bank of India employees after the government and the bank management agreed to raise the salary cut-off for calculating pension from Rs 8,500 to Rs 20,040.
"The earlier cut-off limit for pension was based on the pay-scales of 1992. Today, both sides have quite correctly adjusted the pension to the revised pay-scales," Chidambaram said after the day-long talks among officials of the finance ministry, bank management and the employees union.
"As per the agreement, employees would now get 50 per cent of the last drawn salary, subject to a cut-off point of Rs 21,040, as pension, which works out to Rs 10,520. For employees above the Rs 21,040 pay scale, the pension will be calculated at 50 per cent for up to Rs 20,040 and at 40 per cent beyond that," All India SBI Employees' Federation secretary PK Patnaik said.
"This is a very satisfactory conclusion... I compliment both the management and the unions for reaching the agreement," Chidambaram said, adding that the employees would resume work on Monday morning.
"It is a negotiated settlement accepted by all the parties concerned. The pensionable salary of Rs 21,040 covers employees who fall in scale III. This covers most of the junior management," Patnaik said, adding the workers would ensure that the pending work was cleared at the earliest.
"The existing pensioners would be covered under the new settlement," Vinod Rai, special secretary, financial services, said. Employees who retired after 1997 are expected to benefit from the proposal as the 1992 cut-off date was revised in 1997.
Chidambaram said other retirement benefits, including the contributory provident fund, would continue. On the financial implications of the settlement, he said, "This is within the capacity of SBI. We are only readjusting the cut-off point."
On the question of shifting the government business to other public sector banks, Rai said, "This is no longer required".
About 210,000 employees of the country's largest bank (60,000 officers and 1,40,000 workers) were on strike since April 3 demanding higher pension benefits.Do you want to discuss stock tips? Do you know a hot one? Join the Stock Market Investments Discussion Group
