Wage issue: Fresh trouble likely for Kerala-based CSB Bank as unions step up pressure

All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) may organise a nationwide strike if the management of the Kerala-based CSB Bank refuses to implement the wage settlement agreed between the trade unions and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), said AIBEA General Secretary, C H Venkatachalam on October 22.

IBA is the industry lobby of Indian banks.

“We are planning to begin a nationwide strike as CSB management has refused to implement the wage revision,” said Venkatachalam to Moneycontrol on 22 October. The unions will discuss the agitation plan shortly, Venkatachalam said.

CSB Bank employees have been on strike for the last two days at the state level, and employees of other banks in Kerala have joined them.

During meetings with the trade unions representatives, CSB Bank management put forth that they cannot implement the wage-revision package because of the financial burden it would place on the bank.

But, trade unions have argued that the revision has been accepted by all banks and CSB Bank cannot be an exception. “Even RRBs (regional rural banks) and some of the loss-making state-run banks have implemented the IBA-agreed wage-revision package. There is no reason why CSB should not do the same,” said Venkatachalam.

Wages for public-sector bank employees and some private-sector bank staff are decided through negotiations between IBA and trade unions once in five years.

On November 11, 2020, IBA said that it signed a bipartite settlement with bank unions agreeing to a 15 per cent increase in pay for bank employees. The hike is for the five-year period between November 2017 and October 2022.

Bid to change the character of the bank

Besides the wage issue, employee unions have argued that the Fairfax-backed CSB Bank is moving away from its core character of being a mass bank and a lender for small and medium businesses by shifting to corporate clients.

“This bank has existed for hundred years by focusing on local businesses and being a mass bank to customers in its stronghold. But, the new promoters wants to change its character, which is disastrous,” said Venkatachalam.

On October 4, the private lender posted a 9.12 percent jump in its September quarter deposits at Rs 19,061.62 crore against Rs 17,468.44 in the year-ago period. The bank's gross advance rose 12.09 percent at Rs 14,304.14 crore against Rs 12,761.80 crore in the same quarter in 2020.

Its advances against gold and gold jewellery gained 10.17 percent at Rs 5441.44 crore. CASA was up 21.04 percent at Rs 6214.11 crore versus Rs 5134.06 crore, YoY.

According to its website, the CSB Bank has 417 branches, including 3 service branches and 3 asset recovery branches, and 310 ATMs spread across 18 states and 2 union territories. The bank has close to 3,000 employees.