Financial Times - ComBank signs historic 3-year Collective Agreement

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has entered into a collective agreement with the Ceylon Bank Employees Union (CBEU) on the terms and conditions of employment of over 1700 of its staff members.

Effective April 1, 2006, to 31st March 2009, the three-year agreement deals with the conditions of employment of Junior Executive Assistants, Non Executive and Allied Grades, according to a bank statement.

The agreement saw amendments being made to the structure of salary increments and allowances, while also spelling out terminal benefits, medical schemes, and other terms and conditions of employment pertaining to these employees.

The bank said the parties were able to finalize and sign the agreements on the exact date on which the validity period of the previous collective agreements came to an end. The negotiations between the two parties were successfully facilitated by Gotabaya Dassanayaka, Director General of the EFC

In addition to the collective agreement, the Commercial Bank, CBEU and the Commercial Bank Staff Association entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with regard to the allowances pertaining to the Bank's Junior Executive Officers. The Bank and the CBEU also entered into a Memorandum of Settlement with regard to a long-standing salary anomaly issue.

Managing Director of Commercial Bank Amitha Gooneratne said, “The management of the Bank and the workers were able to arrive at a mutually satisfying settlement in a very short period of time due the willingness of both parties to accommodate each others views. This is a positive sign for the future and augurs well for the bank."

Mr. Dassanayaka said that both, the bank and the unions should build up on the goodwill and understanding shown in signing this agreement and that it would be a lesson to all other corporates and trade unions,

In his address, CBEU President, M. R. Shah said that the signing of the new Collective Agreement on the due date itself was a historic moment in the banking industry in Sri Lanka. He emphasized that what matters more is the spirit in which these agreemens are entered into, rather than legality of the documents. "The openness and the understanding displayed by both sides in arriving at this agreement should be continued even in the future" he added.