Reg: Bipartite Talks with IBA on Group Medical Insurance Policy for employees, officers and retirees
Further to last round of meeting with IBA held on 21-5-2025 on renewal of the policy for the year 2025-26 and for discussing improvements in the scheme, one more round of meeting took place today between IBA and UFBU in IBA’s office in Mumbai. IBA was represented by their team led by Shri Rajneesh Karnatak, Chairman of the negotiating Committee (MD&CEO, Bank of India). From UFBU all our Unions participated in the meeting.

UFBU CIRCULAR : Our unions and members are aware that in the recent agitation and Strike Notice, we had highlighted the issue of increasing attacks and assaults on employees and officers in bank branches. During the conciliation meeting before the Chief Labour Commissioner, we pointed out that unruly customers and banking public are indulging in physical assaults on employees and officers in Branches and such customers also use abusing language on the staff members.

We reproduce hereunder the contents of CIRCULAR NO.AIBEA/195/2025/42 Dated 24/05/2025 Issued by Com. C.H.VENKATACHALAM ,General Secretary, AIBEA, on the above subject for information of our members.

Please recall the discussions the undersigned had with you recently on the above matter.
You are well aware that in our Bank, recruitment of Substaff and Armed Guards was stopped since 2011. Since then, a huge number of new branches were opened and large number of Substaff Employees were superannuated. This has ultimately compelled the branches to engage casual workers in the vacant posts of Substaff, to undertake the housekeeping and substaff activities of the branch. Thus, in our observation and calculation more than 2000 branches/offices are having substaff vacancies as they are being manned by casual workers, in order to run the day-today subordinate activities. Similarly, a large number of high risk and medium risk branches are prone to risk without security guards in the absence of recruitment of Armed Guards.

Our units and members are aware that our call for joining the General Strike on 20th May, 2025 has been postponed to 9th July, 2025. Due to war tensions, particularly in the border areas, our units had requested and suggested for deferring the strike on 20th May, 2025. We had deferred the demonstration programmes and advised our units in the border and disturbed areas to ensure uninterrupted service to the people. We had also advised our units in those areas to be in readiness to organise blood donation camps to meet any eventuality. However, on 10th May evening ceasefire was announced and the tension was diffused.