Respectful Tribute to the sweet memory of our reverend leader Dilip Kumar Mukherjee
(07.09.1936 – 31.03.2013)
Thousands of new comers joined the RRBs during last few years and ratio of the new comers to the total workforce in RRBs has gone up to more than 70% as at present. Most of these new members of RRB family are not aware of the contribution of our great leader towards shaping the organization under the umbrella of AIRRBEA starting from grass root level to national level. Also they are not fully aware of the struggles of the AIRRBEA / NFRRBO /NFRRBE under the leadership of Dada Mukherjee, the heart and soul of AIRRBEA, through which remarkable achievements could be realized, particularly in the matter of achieving parity of salary / allowances and many other benefits, and now the parity of pension as a result of protracted efforts of the AIRRBEA alone.
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To give an outline of a life sketch of our great leader some of the events may be mentioned to know the activities that led our leader to reach to the hearts of thousands of RRB families and the persons who worked with the RRB system as a whole.
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Respected Dilip Kumar Mukherjee popularly known as Dada Mukherjee or DADA by the people around him, possessed a towering personality having his foot print in the greater Trade Union arena both at National and International levels too.
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Birth: - Dada Mukherjee was born on 7th September, 1936.
Birth Place: - The Village name – Nalhati, in Rampurhat Sub-Division of Birbhum Dist in West Bengal, where his father was working under the Government of West Bengal. His family members of current generation are of the opinion that Dada took birth in a village named Belia, which was his ancestral land. But Dada Mukherjee himself told of correctness of his birth place to the writer of this note when he had personal discussions on several occasions.
Education: - His School Education was started at Murarai and was completed in the township of Rampurhat, and then his College Education for acquiring Graduation was completed at Vidyasagar College, at Suri, the Head Quarter of Birbhum Dist. He was a classmate of Shri Pranab Mukherjee, a veteran Political Leader of our Country and Ex- President of India. He completed his Graduation in the year 1956 and returned back to Rampurhat. Besides pursuing his studies in student life and later getting involved in Trade Union activities, Dada Mukherjee had a very good stint in literary and cultural world. He had contribution in bringing out magazines during College life, when amongst others, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, the eminent figure in national political arena was his very close associate particularly in his student days.
Career: - He started his career as a School Teacher during 1956-57 in the same school where he completed his Secondary Education at Rampurhat. Then he joined State Bank of India and remained there for few days only. He joined LICI (Life Insurance Corporation of India) and worked at Asansol Division during 1958 - 59 then he shifted to the job of Government of West Bengal in Cooperative Department (as Cooperative Inspector) in 1960, continued up to March 1976.
He joined the RRB (GGB in West Bengal, now BGVB) as Branch Manager (the designation that existed till the issuance of GOI order dated 29.04.1980) in April, 1976. He was posted as a BM at Jangipur Branch and continued up to 1978, when he was transferred to Berhampure, in the District of Murshidabad as Area Manager of the Bank after working for about two years as Branch manager.
Dada retired on 30.09.1994 as Area Manager (Scale II), being the highest post for RRB Officers at that time.
Trade Union Life: - He joined the Trade Union world in 1958 in LICI and became leader of AIIEA at the Divisional Committee level at Asansol in West Bengal (Burdwan District). This active role continued during his job of Government of West Bengal till he left and joined the RRB in April 1976.
Notable events in Trade Union career: - He retired in September, 1994, so he was in service for total 18 years and 6 months only, but he was with RRB family for more than 36 years. Thus he served the cause of RRB staff and the RRB system for about 17 years even after his superannuation. Like a legacy to his activities in the LICI and also in West Bengal State Government, he preferred to involve in organizing the employees and officers in the RRBs which were established first time on 02.10.1975 following the Ordinance promulgated by GOI on 26.09.1975. Out of 5 RRBs established on 02.10.1975, (Prathama Gramin Bank / Gorakhpur KGB / Haryana KGB/ Jaipur Nagar AGB/ Gour GB) one of them was the GGB (Gour Gramin Bank, in West Bengal) with its Head Office at Malda. Dada joined this Bank in the 1st week of April 1976 and was posted as Branch Manager of Jangipur Branch in the District of Murshidabad. The Chairman of the Bank was the deputed officer from UBI with the same name Shri Dilip Kumar Mukherjee, who was also a good person and one of the sympathizers to the sufferings of RRB staff in those initial years. Dada experienced the very uncongenial atmosphere in RRBs as there was no Service Rule, no staff in sub-ordinate cadre, no functional allowances for staff, no security at work place etc. Only staff related circular from GOI was issued on 26.11.1975 and the staff matters and business affairs were left to the whims of very junior officers deputed from Sponsor Banks as Chairman and in some other Supervisory posts at Head Office.
Dada Mukherjee was searching the scope to start organizing the workforce beyond those of his own Bank, after forming Trade Union in his Bank within months of his joining, with staff members, both officers and employees together.
With his initiative the State Federation in West Bengal could be formed in 1977 and he was elected the president of the ABGBEF, which post he relinquished next year when the 2nd Conference of the Federation was held, only to enable himself to involve fully for the all India Organization. By this time he also relinquished the post of President of the Association in his own Bank for the same reason and devoted himself full time for all India purpose.
First effort towards all India Organization in RRB: - Dada was deputed for training for 3 months to the RBI training center at CAB (College of Agricultural Banking), Pune, Maharashtra, which was also used as training center for Branch Managers of RRBs then, in 1977. During this period he could contact all the Branch Managers attending this training programme from various RRBs across the Country, and organized a meeting of all of them on 01.08.1977 at the training Center where 39 Branch Managers remained present. From this 1st ever meeting of RRB men at the initiative of Dada Mukherjee, participants discussed the issues before the RRB and the staff members. Main issue before the house presented by Dada Mukherjee based on the deliberations, about formation of Bank level Unions wherever possible, then formation of State Level bodies, and also to proceed towards formation of an all India Body so that the all India issues can be taken up from an all India platform as the GOI order dated 26.11.1975 prescribed pay scales of respective State Governments for the staff in different cadres with arbitrarily equated posts of RRB, thus resulting wide disparity of total salary of various cadres of staff in various States. One more intriguing fact was that the post of messenger / peon was not at all created for the RRBs. Even the right of Trade Union was not recognized. Payment of Bonus as per the Bonus Act, 1965 was denied to RRB Staff. Parity of Allowances / Benefits available to Employees of some State Governments were also denied. All these were pointed out and taken up for circulation amongst the available RRB staff / contact man in various RRBs for their knowledge. This meeting decided to form an ad hoc all India Committee with Com Gopinath (Kerala) as President and Com D K Mukherjee (West Bengal) as General Secretary.
Dada plunged into action: - True to his mind and outlook, on returning back from the above training, Dada Mukherjee started contact / correspondences mostly with his individual efforts, sometimes joined and helped by his colleagues from his own office / Union in his Bank. Our respected Boudi (Dada’s Wife) and his only child Shri Samrat, then a very little school boy, came to his help in many ways including in typing letters, dispatching them etc. He travelled all the way to reach all the RRBs so far established to contact the persons with leadership ability and to form Trade Unions everywhere, and made himself an icon amongst the RRB people wherever the recruitment of staff took place. During these initial days he could get able company of so many leaders from different parts of the Country. He could involve his wife (Our beloved Boudi) Smt Bandana Mukherjee (who breathed her last on 15.03.2007) and his Son Shri Samrat Mukherjee (now established in IIT Delhi as a Professor) since his very little age and school going boy, in the day to day affairs of the organization like writing the names and addresses of all the leaders, attending Telephone calls from leaders, typing letters / documents and dispatching them etc.
During nearly 4 decades of his very active life in the AIRRBEA, Dada travelled thousands of kilometers to cover all RRBs / Units in RRBs throughout every nook and corner of the Country, mostly by train and that too in 2nd class compartment of Railway Train during the initial days up to end of last century when availability of good trains / flights could not be imagined mainly due to lack of fund. This was quite unimaginable for most of the leaders in Trade Unions in various other sectors.
Dada lived at Berhampore in the Dist of Murshidabad for 24 years till July, 2002, wherefrom it was very difficult to cover entire country so frequently. And so Dada had shifted to Kolkata, the place of Head Quarter of the AIRRBEA now, in August 2002. Here the AIRRBEA office was inaugurated on 15.08.2002 in a space in the Ground floor of the building, where dada acquired his own flat / residence.
Dada’s tenure in RRB Sector: - It is remarkable that Dada Mukherjee worked in RRB (GGB in West Bengal) from April 1976 till September1994, i.e. 18 years, but he spent more than another 18 years with us after his retirement and till his death on 31.03.2013.
Dada Mukherjee in International Platform – Dada Mukherjee attended the followings in different countries of the world –
21st International Solidarity Affair in Philippines. From 29th April to 9th May 2005.
15th world congress of WFTU at Havana, Cuba from 1st to 4th December 2005.
X World Congress of TUI of Public & Allied Employees in Johannesburg, South Africa - on 20th to 22nd March 2006.
WFTU Asia-Pacific Regional Seminar in Kathmandu, Nepal - on 21st & 22nd September 2008.
TUI of Public & Allied Employees in Colombo in Sri Lanka - on 8th & 9th November 2008.
XI world Congress of TUI of Public & Allied Employees in Brasilia, Brazil - on 28th & 29th June 2009.
16th World Trade Union Congress in Greece - on 6th to 10th April 2011.
Achievements: - The demands taken up in the 1st Conference of AIRRBEA under the leadership of Dada Mukherjee were
Equal Pay for Equal Job – This was achieved by prolonged struggles and by the announcement of NIT Award dated 30.04.1990 (which was set up by the GOI on 25.11.1987 at the direction of the Hon’ble Supreme Court dated 01.09.1987). Pension Parity struggle initiated under the leadership of Dada, has been realized through the Supreme Court order dated 25.04.2018. Deviations /defects will be taken up for further struggles / legal steps
Rural Bank for Rural India (NRBI) – There were 196 RRBs set up till the year 1987. At present there are 43 RRBs, likely number of RRBs to be reduced to 36 very shortly. We demand State Level RRB under NRBI / NABARD to fulfill our demand and to materialize the dream of Dada Mukherjee.
Creation of post of Messenger – This has been achieved fully with the NIT Award dated 30.04.1990. Recent attack of denial of benefits to Casual / Daily waged Workers including in the matter of their regularization is a subject matter of prolonged agitation.
Loan policies etc to be to suit the needs of poor people have also been achieved.
Full Parity of Service Rules / Promotion / Recruitment Rules/ Compassionate Appointment Scheme / some other benefits – all these are / were partially achieved, but there are efforts on the part of the GOI to snatch them away repeatedly. All these are now subject matter of agitation under the banner of UFRRBU / AIRRBEA / NFRRBO/ NFRRBE / NFRRRBS.
Fight against privatization – The menace of privatization has come long time back in almost all sectors in Indian Economy including banks. The proposal of handing over RRBs to private sector was initiated in 2013 by the UPA Government, and the matter has been carried by the present Government who has amended the RRBs Act, 1976 in 2015 to provide for private ownership in RRBs. Our fight is to continue in line with the thinking of our beloved leader Dada Mukherjee.
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The history of RRB / AIRRBEA is synonymous with the name of Dada Mukherjee. It is not possible to depict all the events of struggles and achievements under the leadership of Dada and the team he left behind, who have been always serious and sincere to take up the challenges of fighting against injustice meted out to the RRB staff and the working class by the Government / ruling forces.
