VRS
06:11
Showing posts with label VRS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label VRS. Show all posts
Wednesday, 14 October 2020
Sunday, 6 September 2020
Monday, 27 March 2017
VRS
07:38
State Bank of India to cut nearly 10 per cent jobs in next two years
State Bank of India to cut nearly 10 per cent jobs in next two years
New Delhi:The total workforce of the country's largest lender -- State Bank of India (SBI) -- will see a reduction over the next two years, after the merger with six entities, owing to attrition, reduced hiring and digitisation, a top official said.
"Manpower will go down with the period of time. Around 10 per cent reduction in two years may be a possibility," Rajnish Kumar, SBI Managing Director, told IANS in an interview.
The public lender currently has around 207,000 workforce and the merger of six entities -- SBBJ (State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur), SBM (State Bank of Mysore), SBT (State Bank of Travancore), SBP (State Bank of Patiala) and SBH (State Bank of Hyderabad), Bharatiya Mahila Bank -- from April 1 will add approximately 70,000 employees.
"Post-merger we will be at 2,77,000 people in SBI. This may come down to 2,60,000 by March 2019. So it may be less than 10 per cent. Let us first merge and see the impact of the key process changes," Kumar said.
He said there would be some actual reduction in headcount along with re-assignment of the roles, but lay-offs are not an option.
"We have offered voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), there would be natural attritions and every year we may not replace head by head (replacement recruitment). Manpower will also reduce as a result of digital initiatives. There will be a combined effect," he added.
Ruling out layoffs, he said the question does not arise.
"Two years down the line, these efficiencies will start showing. Reduction in manpower will depend on efficiency of the merger and branch networks. Lot of duplication happening will be removed and we will have more feet on the street (customer outreach programmes)," Kumar told IANS.
Hiring in SBI may not be halted, but will reduce by 50 per cent in a year, he said. In 2016-17, SBI hired 19,000 people.
"It will come down from the previous average of hiring. It could be reduced by 50 per cent. We will return to usual 5,000-6,000 recruitment every year," he said.
"We cannot stop new hiring because it creates a lot of gap in the middle management down the line. But full replacement may not be required. If 13,000 people retire in a year, we may recruit 7,000-8,000 in a year," he added.
Kumar said the bank will continue with its policy of branch expansion, and the associate bank branches will be merged.
"There is a policy of branch expansion, we are governed by that. We keep on opening new branches depending on the business potential, that will not stop. We are working on the plan as to how many branches we will open in next two years," he said.
SBI MD said there would be ample benefits from the merger in terms of cost-efficiency and rationalisation.
"Treasury integration, risk management optimisation will happen. It will result in efficiency gains for the bank. Continuously supporting them with capital will not be required. Initially, the costs may go up, but in the next two years... the rationalisation efficiencies will surface," he said.
Source:Newsheads.in
Tuesday, 21 March 2017
VRS
07:51
SBI may introduce variable pay structure; Unions say it might be difficult for them to stop this move after merger.
SBI may introduce variable pay structure; Unions say it might be difficult for them to stop this move after merger.
State Bank of India (SBI) might revive an old salary structure proposal that the bank always wanted to implement but could not because of union pressure. The structure entails that the salaries of officers in scale four to seven be divided into fixed and variable components. Fixed will club basic, dearness allowance, house rent allowance and the rest would be performance linked variable.
The new structure, if adopted, would be applicable for the employees of associate banks, too, once they become part of SBI after April 1. According to a senior SBI official, performing employees want a variable pay structure as their hard work would not be rewarded otherwise. The new wage structure need not mean pay would be less than the current package, but there would be scope for an upside through this structure, the official said.
SBI has been trying to introduce this for some time and in wage negotiations, the bank has time and again rooted for it. But unions have scuttled the proposal. This time, however, the case could be different. The unions said a variable structure seemed inevitable now.
“It doesn’t look like we would be able to stop this structure after merger. The bank management will force officers to sign the deal and will carve out a different structure than the industry,” said a senior union leader.
Associate banks have already offered employees a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS). The scheme is expected to be widely accepted. The scheme is for employees who have completed 20 years of service or have five years of service left. Unions have asked employees to reject the offer. But it would be difficult to convince the employees, conceded unions.
This is because a number of branches would have to be closed or re-designated after the merger and existing staff could get transfers arbitrarily, said bank unions.
As of March 2016, SBI had an employee strength of 207,739. State Bank of Travancore had 14,892 employees, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur had 13,529, State Bank of Mysore had 10,650, State Bank of Hyderabad had 17,414 and State Bank of Patiala had 11,175. The last two are not listed. “How the associate bank employees would be treated largely depends on the success of the VRS scheme. If it is a failure, the employees could get rough treatment,” said a senior official of an associate bank.
If the previous merger is any indication, associate bank employees could expect some discrimination as a given. Predictably, unions are opposing the move and the agitation might intensify soon. After the merger with State Bank of Saurashtra and State Bank of Indore, the SBI management reduced seniority of the officers from the merged entities.
Seniority of scale one officers of State Bank of Saurashtra was reduced by a year, scale two officers by two years and scale three officers by three years. A case in this regard is going on. Perhaps to counter the loss of seniority problem, associate banks’ managements have given aggressive promotions to employees since talks of the merger started firming up, said sources. This has not gone down well with SBI employees.
SBI is currently offering a smart package for its officers in scales one to three. The package entails monetising all small perks. For scale one officers, the monetisation comes at Rs 1.54 lakh a year. For scale two, it is Rs.2.24 lakh and for scale three it around Rs.2.5 lakh. Unions had advised the employees to reject the offer.
Source:BankingUpdates
Thursday, 29 December 2016
VRS
18:44
CARD Bank employees threaten self-immolation
CARD Bank employees threaten self-immolation
BHUBANESWAR: Employees of Cooperative Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) Bank, who are struggling without salary or service allowances for the last five years, have threatened self-immolation at the State Capital on January 17.
The employees, under the banner of All Odisha Card Bank Employees’ Union, have put forth their demands of merger of the bank with Odisha State Cooperative Bank and implementation of mass VRS scheme. Senior officials of the Cooperation Department had promised to consider the demands of merger and VRS scheme during a meeting on November 26.
‘’We also met Cooperation Minister Damodar Rout and pleaded to bail out 75 employees of 45 CARD Banks in the State from financial distress,’’ general secretary of the association Mohan Gopal Panda said.
Implementing the VRS scheme would incur a loss of `15 crore on the Government which can be sourced from `25 crore which is a surplus from ADWDR 2008 funds, he added.
The State Government may also liquidate 22 buildings and around 100 acres of cultivable land under the ownership of the CARD Bank to facilitate the VRS scheme, sources said.
“The Government has been indifferent to our demands. The association will sit on a hunger strike in front of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies from December 9 to 16. If our demands are still not met, the employees will immolate themselves,’’ a member of the association, who is suffering from renal failure, warned.
Source:New Indian Express
Saturday, 10 December 2016
VRS
08:53
SBI associate bank to offer VRS before merger with SBI
SBI associate bank to offer VRS before merger with SBI
State Bank of India (SBI) associate banks have started preparations to unveil voluntary retirement schemes (VRS) for their employees before the proposed merger with the parent bank.
The VRS in associate banks would help SBI curb in staff cost escalation after the merger. SBI’s staff expense was Rs 6,853 crore in the September quarter, rising 11.6% year-on-year. SBI’s pension obligation is estimated to be around Rs 3,500 crore. This would rise once associate bank employees come under SBI fold.
SBI has nearly 2.02 lakh employees while its associate banks have a cumulative headcount of 70,000. SBH, the largest among all the five associate banks, has around 18,000 employees. State Bank of Patiala has around 15,000.
The details of VRS is not known as yet. Sources in the SBI said all associate bank employees opting for it would get similar benefits. A good chunk of them are likely to go for VRS as there has been apprehensions across levels about their pecking order under the State Bank of India.
Some senior officials have also raised voices against the proposed merger. State Bank of Travancore chief general manager S Adikesavan has been transferred to Hyderabad for reportedly questioning the merger process.
The government approved the merger in August while the exercise is likely to be over by March 2017. The integration of IT platform -- a key aspect to SBI’s merger with associate banks State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore – is in the final stages.
SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya earlier said there would be no pay cut and job loss for associate bank employees after the merger.
At the time of State Bank of Saurashtra and State Bank of Indore's merger with SBI, there was allegations that fairness was compromised demotivating associate bank employees.
As on September 30, associate banks cumulatively have Rs 5,21,344 crore of deposits and Rs 3,92,436 crore in advances. This will get added to SBI’s Rs 18,58,999 crore of deposits and Rs 14,81,832 crore of advances, making the group's total business nearly five times of ICICI Bank's business of Rs 9,03,371 crore.
Source:BankingUpdate
Tuesday, 23 August 2016
VRS
08:34
SBI Merger:Employees to get 15 days to decide between VRS and SBI job
SBI Merger:Employees to get 15 days to decide between VRS and SBI job
2016-08-18
RTN.ASIA
Employees of associate banks will get only 15 days to decide whether to accept a new job with the State Bank of India or opt for voluntary retirement via an ‘option letter’ that will given to them as part of the merger of India’s largest bank with its four associates.
The terms and conditions regarding employees and their salaries also mention that these employees will get compensation that will be ‘no less favorable’ than what they were getting in their existing jobs prior to the transfer to the SBI.
“… the pay and allowance offered to the employees and officers.. shall not be less favourable, overall, as compared to what they would have drawn in the (associate) Bank,” the merger agreement says.
“The permanent and regular officers and/or employees of the (associate) bank shall be given an offer of employment in writing (Option Letter) by SBI after the issuance of the Section 35 Order.
“Where an officer or other employee of the Transferor Bank does not exercise any option, within a period of 15 days from the date of the Option Letter given for exercising the option, to be in the employment of the SBI, such officer or employee shall be deemed to have accepted to continue in the service of the SBI,”
The transfer will cover “every permanent and regular officer or other permanent and regular employee and officers and employees on probation” serving in the associate bank, the merger deal said.
It will, however, not involve the Board of Directors and Executive Trustees, who are unlikely to be absorbed into the SBI.
The merger deal also said that employees will not be able to challenge their compensation in any court of law or panel.
“Notwithstanding anything contained in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 or in any other law for the time being in force, the transfer of the services of any officers or other employees of the Transfer or Bank to the Transferee Bank shall not entitle to such officers or other employees to any compensation under the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 or any other law for the time being in force and no such claim shall be entertained by any court, tribunal or any other authority,” it said.
“The officers or other employees who have retired before the effective date.. or opted not to join in the service of the SBI.. and entitled to any benefits, rights or privileges from the associate bank shall be entitled to receive such benefits, rights or privileges from the SBI. Provided that any officers or employees of the Transfer or Bank who opt not to join the service of the Transferee Bank on and from the Effective Date shall not be entitled to notice or compensation, whether for retrenchment or otherwise including for loss of office or employment or premature termination of his or her contract of employment with the associate bank.”
The Chairman, the Trustees, Executive Trustees or any other person entitled to manage the whole or substantial part of the business and the affairs of the Transfer or Bank shall not be entitled to any compensation for the loss of office or for the premature termination of any contract of employment, the merger deal added.
Source:Indian BankKumar
