
While bank employees across India are celebrating the recent 12th bipartite settlement, thousands of bank employees at Kerala’s 100-year-old CSB Bank face a bleak reality. The employees of CSB Bank are receiving salary as per 10th settlement and they haven’t received a raise in salary in nearly a decade. Officers in CSB Bank are receiving Rs.20,000 as salary per month. So let’s understand what is the issue going on in CSB Bank.
CSB Bank
CSB Bank Limited (erstwhile Catholic Syrian Bank Limited) is an Indian private sector bank with its headquarters at Thrissur, Kerala, India. The bank has a network of over 703 branches and more than 515 ATMs across India.
In Dec 2016, RBI allowed Fairfax Financial Holdings to acquire 51% of the bank and in Feb 2018, Fairfax India (via FIH Mauritius Investments Ltd) acquired 51% of the bank for Rs.1180 Crores.
Employees are concerned due to these reasons:
- Stagnant wages and benefits: No salary increases since 2015, frozen dearness allowance, and lack of basic salary increments.
- Precarious employment: Hiring of staff under the “cost-to-company” model with low salaries, consolidated wages without benefits, and no job security.
- Vindictive actions: Termination of 17 employees (later settled) and show cause notices for “flimsy reasons.”
The CSBSF fears an internal settlement, similar to the “horrible” experience of DBS Bank employees, will further erode their rights. They demand:
- Return to the IBA framework: Ensure fair wages and job security as per industry standards.
- End unfair hiring practices: Stop hiring staff on low-wage, benefit-less contracts.
- Respect employee rights: Stop vindictive actions and create a just work environment.
Why is Bank doing this?
The CSB withdrew from the industrial mandate for wage revision after the infusion of foreign funds from Canada-based Fairfax after 2018. Foreign money coming into CSB Bank has made a big impact on the rights of employees in just five years. This includes treating protesting employees unfairly, making them work for longer hours, and not having enough social welfare benefits.
Internal Settlement
The 11th bipartite settlement signed between IBA and UFBU in November 2020, effective from November 1, 2017, to October 31, 2022, is yet to be implemented by the management. While all the employees of the 29 banks represented by the IBA are drawing wages as per this settlement, the CSB employees are paid much less as per the earlier settlement.
The bank is being blamed for trying to make an agreement within the company for changing wages instead of following the rules for all banks. The CSBSF mentions how staff at DBS Bank (previously Lakshmi Vilas Bank) had a bad experience with this kind of agreement, so they don’t want it at CSB.
The leader of the federation said, “The internal agreement at DBS bank is really bad. If we have a similar agreement at CSB, it will take away our rights. Our main request is to keep following the industrial agreement to protect our rights.”
Additionally, the bank is accused of hiring staff using the cost-to-company (CTC) model, which means they get a fixed salary without dearness allowance (DA) or other benefits.
The CSBSF leaders mentioned that the bank is now hiring staff as officers but paying them around Rs 20,000. They see this as a harsh reality of privatization happening in banks nationwide, with the bank aiming for 100% CTC staff to make more profit.
To start with foreign business model accepted in Canada. Less wages attribute to more mechanisation. Many banks follow IBA settlement with PSU Banks, where IBA don’t have any authorisation to act but to suggest to MF banking division. The irony is board of IBA is structured by GOI MF. Private banks are not participents of IBA but followers. CSB staff is CTC. Now IDBI Bank is giving 35 k for first year after LIC takeover of GOI stake. Nationalization was for streaming the GOI schemes that were fraught with binami accounts. Now GOI correcting with Aadhar linking by PSU banks. As long as you love me , phrase, aptly applicable. State coop banks also started IBA settlement model. With capital / funds from govts., How long polity keep private banks reasonably happy God only know. Idbi bank was IDBI, a PSU 100% owned by GOI from 1964. Why idbi failed while ICICI Axis banks successful IS lack of professional thinking.
Gone are those golden period of the employees of CSB Bank. God save the Bank from the clutches of blood sucking management of CSB!