By CL Jose
Employees’ unions decide to escalate pressure on management
KOCHI/March 01-2022: The CSB Bank management’s letter on Monday (February 28) seeking shareholders’ vote on a new set of resolutions pertaining to the outgoing MD & CEO’s remunerations has been viewed with much curiosity.
The resolutions are primarily aimed at ensuring the remuneration package of the MD – including a Rs2.1 crore ‘fixed pay’, and a ‘variable pay’’ that could go up to a maximum of Rs6.3 crore, offered by the management apparently as part of performance bonus, and duly ratified by the shareholders.
‘What’s the need for these new resolutions’ is the crucial question raised by certain inquisitive shareholders and employees, who attach bigger ramifications to the new development. They believe the move is to get around any possible roadblocks to his ‘payouts’ thrown up the early retirement plan – which is arguably against the terms of contract.
It was a few weeks back, C VR Rajendran, the MD & CEO, announced his early retirement plan from the post citing health issues, with effect from March 31, cutting short the term of contract by more than 8 months.
According to a union leader, the issue of voluntary retirement may throw a spanner in the works for the retiring MD & CEO, and could restrain the management from giving away the remuneration package fully as the contract now stands broken. “I am also in the dark as to the fate of the 4.33 lakh shares granted to the MD as stock options at Rs75 apiece,” the employees’ union leader confided to businessbenchmark.news.
However, there are many, who view this as part of the regular formalities to be followed in such circumstances.
Disgruntled employees
CSB Bank has also been hitting headlines for reasons from the other side too. The 1400-odd unionised employees have put up a fight for the reinstatement of their ‘withheld wage raise’, thanks to the management’s belligerent stand in defiance to the signing of the11th Bipartite Settlement and 8th Joint Note.
The employees have decided to intensify their agitation whereby they have aready staged a strike on February 28, which will be followed by another one in mid-March if their ‘legitimate’ demands are not considered favourably.
“On the one hand, the management is keen to shower the selected top management members with unrealistically large bounties and sadly enough, they don’t seem to have any concern for the employees, who have spent decades in the sole service of the bank,” the union spokesperson said.
Foregone conclusion
The outcome of the voting on the resolutions is a foregone conclusion and could very well be a walkover. The management led by the Fairfax enjoys close to 50 per cent ownership in the bank though the voting rights have been confined to a ceiling of 26 per cent.
The oridinary shareholders are unlikely to even take part in the voting. CSB Bank shareholders have historically been unmoved at the shareholders’ meetings and impervious to any proposals the management brings up for ratificaion at these meetings.
