Punjab National Bank becomes 1st Bank to credit Salary Arrears to its employees

On March 8th, 2024, an important agreement called the 12th Bipartite Settlement was signed, bringing about significant changes in the banking industry. This settlement aimed to revise the salary structure and various allowances for bankers, ensuring fair compensation for their work. As part of this agreement, bankers were pleased to learn that their salaries would increase by an impressive 17%, reflecting the recognition of their efforts.

In line with this request, Punjab National Bank took the lead in providing swift payment to its employees. On March 23rd, they credited the salary arrears to their deserving workforce.

The employees of all other banks are expected to receive salary arrears by 31 March 2024.

Bank 12th Bipartite Settlement Highlights:

• Transition to 5-Day Work Week: Pending government notification, the Joint Note acknowledges all Saturdays as holidays, paving the way for a 5-day work week. Revised working hours will be effective upon government notification.
• Substantial Salary Increase: The total quantum of the wage revision increase (Payslip component) exceeds Rs. 8284 crores, constituting 17% of the Payslip component in the establishment expenses of Public Sector Banks.
• New Pay Scales: The construction of new pay scales involves the merging of Dearness Allowance corresponding to 8088 points, along with an additional load.
• Effective Load Calculation: With an applicable load of 3.22%, the effective load on the basic pay post-merger of dearness allowance, standing at 30.38%, amounts to 4.20%.
• CAIIB Increment Achievement: The long-standing demand of officers for two additional increments for CAIIB (CAIIB Part-II) is fulfilled.
• CAIIB Completers’ Eligibility: Officers who have completed CAIIB (CAIIB Part-II) become eligible for two increments starting from 01.11.2022.
• PQP Enhancement: Officers are now eligible for three PQPs instead of the previous two. PQP-I is Rs. 1370/-, PQP-II is Rs. 3425/-, and PQP III is Rs. 5480/-.
• Increased Load for CAIIB Completers: The effective load for officers completing CAIIB sees a substantial increase.
• Resolution of CAIIB Increment Anomaly: Inter se anomaly related to the additional increment for CAIIB is addressed.
• Resolution of PQP Sanction Anomaly: Inter se anomaly concerning the sanction of PQP is also resolved.
• Officers in SMG Scale IV, currently eligible for two stagnation increments, will now be entitled to five stagnation increments effective from 1st November 2022. These increments, awarded every two years after reaching the scale’s maximum, consist of an initial increment of Rs. 3360/- followed by the next four increments of Rs. 3680/- each.
• Officers in SMG Scale V, presently eligible for one stagnation increment, will now qualify for four stagnation increments from 1st November 2022 upon reaching the maximum of the scale. These increments, granted biennially, amount to Rs. 4000/- each.
• Officers in TEG Scale VI, upon reaching the maximum of the scale, will be eligible for three Stagnation Increments every two years. The first two increments will be Rs. 4000/- each, followed by the third increment of Rs. 4340/-.
• Officers in TEG Scale VII, upon reaching the maximum of the scale, will be entitled to three Stagnation Increments of Rs. 4340/- each, occurring biennially.
• Fitment on Promotion: Every officer promoted will be placed in a higher stage within the new pay scale, ensuring a minimum differential of one increment in pay compared to their pre-promotion cadre or scale. This rectifies anomalies in the fitment process.
• Special Allowance for JMGS I: As of 01.11.2022, the Special Allowance, calculated as a percentage of the basic pay with applicable DA, is set at 26.50%.
• Disintegration Impact on Special Allowance: Due to the disintegration of scales for payment, higher payments of Special allowance to MMGS II and MMGS III are noted. For MMGS II and MMGS III, the Special Allowance, as a percentage of basic pay with applicable DA, is fixed at 28.30% from 01.11.2022.
• Special Allowance for SMGS IV and SMGS V: As of 01.11.2022, the Special Allowance, calculated as a percentage of basic pay with applicable DA, is 30.50%.
• Special Allowance for Scale VI and Scale VII: As of 01.11.2022, the Special Allowance, calculated as a percentage of basic pay with applicable DA, is 31.50%.
• Proportional Increase in Fixed Personal Pay: The Fixed Personal Pay has been proportionately increased in alignment with the applicable DA.
• House Rent Allowance (HRA) has been revised to 8%, 9%, and 10% of the pay, based on the area of posting.
• The capital cost pertaining to House Rent Allowance (HRA) has been increased to 12%, 13.5%, and 15%, respectively.
• City Compensatory Allowance (CCA) has been enhanced to Rs 1900/- per month and Rs 2300/- per month, depending on the place of posting.
• Location Allowance: Commencing from 01.11.2022, a fixed allowance of Rs. 1200/- per month will be disbursed to all Officers stationed in areas not eligible for CCA.
• Deputation Allowance: An Officer deputed to serve outside the bank in an organization situated in a different location than their present posting will receive deputation allowance at the rate of 7.75% of Pay, capped at a maximum of Rs. 7500/- per month.
• An Officer deputed to another organization at the same location or to a training establishment not owned by the Bank will be entitled to deputation allowance at the rate of 4% of Pay, with a maximum limit of Rs. 3750/- per month.
• During deputation to another office/branch within the same municipal limits/urban agglomeration, or in Metro/Major ‘A’ Class cities where the distance of such deputation is 20 km or more from the parent branch/office, halting allowance shall be provided.
• Hill and Fuel Allowance for locations with an altitude of 1000 meters and above but less than 1500 meters will be disbursed at 2% of Pay, with a maximum limit of Rs. 1450 per month.
• Hill and Fuel Allowance for locations with an altitude of 1500 meters and above but less than 3000 meters will be paid at 2.5% of Pay, with a maximum limit of Rs. 1900/- per month.
• Hill and Fuel Allowance for locations with an altitude of 3000 meters and above will be granted at 5% of Pay, capped at a maximum of Rs. 3750/- per month.
• Special Area Allowance has been revised and extended to Central Government employees.
• Learning Allowance has been augmented to Rs 850/- per month, along with applicable Dearness Allowance (DA).
• Officiating Pay: Starting from 01.04.2024, an Officer required to officiate in a post in a higher scale for a continuous period of not less than 4 days at a time or an aggregate of 4 days during a calendar month shall receive officiating pay equal to 15% of the Basic pay of the person officiating.
• Officiating pay will be eligible not only for superannuation benefits but also for Dearness Allowance and House Rent Allowance.
• Mid Academic Transfer Allowance has been increased from Rs 1650/- to Rs 2500/- per month per child.
• Closing Allowance has been raised to Rs 1500/- per quarter.
• Halting Allowance has been increased by 50% across the board.
• For Scale I to Scale III, the halting allowance will range from Rs 1800/- to Rs 2925/- per day.
• For Scale IV and V, the halting allowance will range from Rs 2150/- to Rs 3375/- per day.
• For Scale VI and Scale VII, the halting allowance will range from Rs 2150/- to Rs 4050/- per day.
• Lumpsum compensation on transfer has been raised to Rs 40,000 for Scale I to Scale III.
• Lumpsum compensation on transfer has been increased to Rs 50,000 for Scale IV and above.
• Upon transfer, officers will be entitled to either 15 days lodging & boarding charges or 15 days Halting Allowance from the date of joining at the new place.
• From 1st November 2022, reimbursement of medical expenses shall be Rs. 13,000/- per annum for Officers in JMG & MMG (Other than SBI).
• Reimbursement of medical expenses shall be Rs. 15,400/- per annum for Officers in SMG & TEG Scales (Other than SBI).
• The income criterion for the term wholly dependent family member in the Definition of Family has been increased to Rs. 18,000/- (improved from Rs. 12,000/-).
• Physically and mentally challenged children, irrespective of age, shall be construed as dependents even after their marriage, subject to income criteria.
• Officers can now have any two of the parents or parents-in-law as dependents. The employee will have the choice to substitute either of the dependents or both once in a calendar year.
• Entitlement distance has been increased to 5,500 kms (one way) for officers in JMG-Scale-I, MMG – Scale II & III. For Scale IV and above, the same will be 6,500 km (one way).
• An officer in Junior Management Grade will be entitled to travel by AC 1st class by any train, including Premium Trains like Rajdhani/ Shatabdi/ Tejas/ Vande Bharat/ Amrit Bharat, etc. (except luxury trains).
• Reimbursement of fare by premium trains, as mentioned above (except luxury trains), will be allowed to all officers.
• If an officer has applied for LTC/Leave in advance, booked the tickets, and the LFC is declined or deferred by the management, the bank will reimburse the cancellation charges.
• When an officer has applied for LFC/leave as per the stipulated time, and the same is sanctioned, but advance booking of train tickets is not possible, tickets purchased under Tatkal/Premium Tatkal will be reimbursed.
• GST charges levied on train fare shall be over and above the entitlement.
• In view of the prevailing dynamic fare system, the cost of train tickets charged on the date of booking will be reimbursed.
• LTC/HTC can be availed independently when both husband and wife are working in the same bank.
• Air travel eligibility for travel beyond 500 kms has been reduced from 1000 kms.
• Additional reimbursement under LFC will be provided for officers working in areas not connected by train.
• LTC facility shall be allowed for an escort who accompanies an officer with benchmark disabilities on the journey, subject to certain conditions.
• A provision will be put in place to record the reason for refusal or postponement of leave by the management.
• A single male parent can take sick leave for the illness of his child aged 8 years and below.
• Employees are eligible for sick leave for the sickness of their Special Child aged 15 years and below, for a maximum period of 10 days in a calendar year.
• All women employees are entitled to take one day of sick leave per month without the need for a medical certificate.
• Employees aged 58 years and above may be granted sick leave for the hospitalization of their spouse at a center other than the place of work, for a maximum period of 30 days in a calendar year.
• An employee shall be granted sick leave at the rate of one month for each year of service, up to a maximum of 720 days during the entire service.
• In a partial modification of Leave Rules, Annexure VI clause 3 of the Joint Note dated November 11, 2020, the following is added as Note 3: “In case of delivery of more than two children in one single delivery, Maternity Leave shall be granted up to 12 months.”
• Employees shall be granted Bereavement Leave on the demise of family members (spouse, children, parents, and parent-in-law), and the number of days for such leave will be decided by each bank at their level.
• Officers who are Defence Representatives in departmental inquiries will be granted one day special leave for preparing defense submissions, subject to a maximum of 10 such leaves.
• Maternity Leave shall be granted once to a female employee for a maximum period of 9 months, for legally adopting a child who is below one year of age, with all other conditions remaining the same.
• Maternity Leave may be granted for In vitro fertility (IVF) treatment subject to the production of a medical certificate, within the overall limit of 12 months.
• Four Half Day Casual Leaves have been introduced for all employees.
• A total of two days of Casual leave may be availed for half a day on four occasions in a year, out of which two occasions would be in the morning and two occasions in the afternoon.
• Casual Leave under the above category can be availed after applying 24 hours in advance.
• Special maternity leave up to 60 days shall be granted in case of a stillborn or the death of the infant within 28 days of birth.
• Accumulated privilege leave may be encashed up to 255 days at the time of retirement or upon the death of an employee while in service.
• Leave Bank Scheme – A staff welfare scheme under which provision would be made for the voluntary encashment of Privilege Leave by employees, and the monetized value of such leave would be pooled under a Leave Bank system. Special leave would be sanctioned to employees affected by contingencies who have exhausted all their leaves.
• All Banks are required to evolve and implement a scheme for the periodical health checkup of all employees wherever it is not available.
• All employees shall be allowed reimbursement of Rs. 500 per year towards an annual eye check-up.
• A Committee will be formed to review other provisions of NPS in line with Central Government employees, particularly regarding the Choice of Fund Schemes and Fund Managers.
• An additional amount will be paid as Ex-Gratia per month to all Pensioners.
• The monthly ex-gratia amount shall be paid in addition to the pension/family pension provided by public sector Banks, including SBI, to pensioners and family pensioners who became eligible to draw pension on or before October 31, 2022, including those who retired on 31.10.2022.
• Such a fixed monthly ex-gratia shall be payable for the month of November 2022 and onwards during the period from 01-11-2022 to 31-10-2027.
• It has been agreed and already extended the benefit of 100% DA neutralization for Pre-November 2002 pensioners.
• DA rates will be on a uniform basis of 100% neutralization, similar to the case of employees/officers/pensioners/family pensioners.
• Disciplinary & Appeal Regulations and the procedure thereof – Comprehensive Guidelines on Discipline & Appeal Regulations will be brought out after mutual discussion within 3 months from the signing of this joint Note.
• Special compensatory provisions in respect of State Bank of India for certain benefits, as mentioned in the joint note, will be reviewed and settled at the bank level.
• LTC Monetization Scheme covering airfare on the lines of some other Banks in the Industry will be evolved for all Banks after further deliberations.