Is it time for state-run banks to end industry-wide wage pacts?

While there is still a large talent pool in state-run banks, the reality is that it may not walk in as in the past

“There’s nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people,” Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, famously said.

Early talks have started for hammering out the 12th bipartite settlement between the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and bank unions. But more than half a century after industry-wide wage pacts for state-run banks came into effect from April 1, 1966, a fresh approach is needed.

Over the past decade, the banking topography has completely changed — private banks’ share of both incremental credit and deposits is on the rise, and technology is reshaping the way banks intermediate. While state-run banks