A recent ruling from the Supreme Court directing regional rural bank (RRB) employees to be entitled for pension at par with their counterparts in nationalised commercial banks has come as a succour for thousands of serving and retired rural bank personnel fighting for this right in courts since the past 13 years.
For the Centre, it translates into a huge economic burden. By its own admission, the Centre claimed that an estimate of over Rs 8,000 crore will be spent to meet the pension requirements of serving and retired RRB employees.
What came to the benefit of the RRBs was an April 30, 1990 Award by National Industrial Tribunal which held RRB employees to receive pay and all other benefits, emoluments at par with those of the nationalised banks. later, the Indian Banks Association signed a memorandum of settlement with their workmen on October 29, 1993 by which a uniform pension scheme was framed for all nationalised commercial banks. Since these banks are the sponsor banks of RRBs, which number roughly 200 across the country, the 1993 settlement was to apply for RRBs as well so far as grant of pension was concerned.
However, the Centre adopted a pick and choose policy by giving RRBs parity in pay and allowances with nationalised banks as per the 1993 Settlement, but denied them pension and other benefits. Since this concerned employees who retired from RRBs since September 1, 1987, the All India Grameen Bank Association collectively approached the Rajasthan High Court in 2005 and bagged an order in its favour. The Union Government appealed before a Division Bench of Rajasthan HC at Jodhpur but lost there too. Finally, the Centre approached the Supreme Court in 2012 and obtained a stay on the HC ruling.
Deciding the case finally, the apex bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and Mohan M Shantanagoudar on April 25 held that under the Settlement, RRBs are entitled to pension benefits at par with nationalized banks. The Court lifted its stay order and directed Centre to implement its judgment across all regional rural banks within three months.
Arguing for the Grameen Bank Association, advocate Pragati Neekhra, informed the court that if the order is to be implemented, it will benefit 6,698 retired employees and 2,088 deceased employees. She contended that the Government cannot deny pension benefits to RRB employees on the ground that it will bleed them financially as this argument was considered and rejected by the Supreme Court in a 2002 decision. This was the fourth time such an objection was taken by the Centre and turned down by the court, Neekhra added.