Letter to BS: Govt dilly-dallying issue of updating RBI's pension scheme

This refers to "Pension issue remains unresolved, Reserve Bank stares at union agitations"(December 26). No communication on the issue of updating pension of retired Reserve Bank of India (RBI) employees can strike a discordant note ahead of the New Year celebrations. The finance ministry has been dilly-dallying over the issue of improvement in the RBI's pension scheme despite the RBI management having submitted a plan in September itself.

It may be significant to recall that the United Forum of Bank Employees (UFBE), a representative body of all categories of the RBI staff, had given a call for two days mass casual leave in August this year against the government's stance on the issue. However, the same was postponed by it on being assured of an early resolution of the pension related issues by RBI's Deputy Governor Viral Acharya. But the matter is still hanging fire owing to the government's unexplained passivity. However, such an indifferent attitude may culminate in the UFBE giving a call for strike in the first week of January 2019.

The moot is the double standards adopted by the government when it comes to its own employees versus bank employees. Moreover, as far as RBI employees are concerned, the government need not spend anything from its coffers on updating their pension as the central bank has a pension kitty of over Rs 160 billion with which it manages the pension of its own staff.

S Kumar, New Delhi

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