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The All-India Nabard (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) Employees’ Association (Ainbea) and the Nabard management have signed a supplementary agreement ‘rectifying an anomaly’ in the eighth bipartite wage settlement signed on September 21, 2022.
The anomaly was in respect of grade allowances admissible to workmen employees, which ‘was not at par with referral institution, RBI,’ says Rana Mitra, General Secretary, Ainbea. It also ran contrary to the memorandum of settlement signed by the two parties on February 2, 2022, Mitra told businessline which had flagged the issue in a report in September.
Grade allowances anomaly
Mitra said the Centre had approved a proposal for revision of scales and allowances of workmen employees and officers with effect from November 1, 2017. While clearing it, the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, did not agree with the demand on grade allowances, which it proceeded to cut ‘by a significant amount.’ In protest, Ainbea launched nationwide action, declared a strike and proposed a dharna before the Parliament during the monsoon session.
Nabard Chairman intervenes
Nabard Chairman, K.V. Shaji, then intervened, leading to the signing of the supplementary agreement at the Nabard Head Office in Mumbai on Thursday last. However, a decision is yet to be taken on some demands, including compassionate package/ appointments, pension-related issues, including updation, and recruitment of Group C staff at all centres pending settlement.
Welcomes Shah’s approach
Meanwhile, Ainbea has welcomed ‘the approach’ of Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah in regard to the enhanced role of the apex bank for agriculture and cooperation. In his recent address at the Nabard Foundation Day event in New Delhi, the minister said Nabard ‘is a mission, not a bank, which can work with cooperatives to strengthen the rural economy in the next 25 years (Amrit kaal), when the country completes 100 years of Independence.‘
Major concerns
This wish needs to be backed by concrete action, says Mitra, who voiced two crying needs (i) better flow of low-cost funds from both the Centre and the Reserve Bank as mandated under the Nabard and RBI Acts and (ii) exemption to Nabard from taxation, and creation of a dedicated fund to reduce the interest burden on farmers through refinance to cooperative banks and RRBs.
The Ainbea had conceived these and other suggestions, including on a climate change fund, almost two decades ago, and included them in organisational study reports submitted to the Nabard management and Parliamentary committees on agriculture and the Centre.
Low-cost funds flow
“For a development finance institution, ensuring low-cost funds flow as well as being faithful to mandates suggested by Crafticard (Committee to Review Arrangements for Institutional Credit for Agriculture and Rural Development) are of paramount importance,” Mitra said. Ainbea will continue to engage stakeholders, including the Centre, Nabard management, and Parliament, on the vital need to stand by small and marginal farmers in times of crisis.