NPA or Non-Performing Asset is the elusive name given to the loans not returned to the banks by those who have taken it. These NPAs have been increasing every year. While the banks take  extra-ordinary effort to ensure that the loans taken by the common people are returned, in the case of big sharks who takes hundreds of crore of rupees as loan, many of them are not returned at all. This unreturned loan by the corporates and big business is the NPA.

Let us see how much is the NPAs of the Public Sector Banks during the last 5 years:

As on 31-3-2007             Rs. 38,968 crore

2008             Rs. 39,030 crore

2009             Rs. 44,954 crore

2010             Rs. 59,926 crore

2011              Rs. 74,614 crore

As at present, the NPA might have crossed Rs. 80,000 crore. A list of the NPAs will expose the fact that almost all the big business and corporates are in the NPA list. But still the government is compelling the Banks to give loan to the private companies fully knowing that the loan will not be returned. The latest example is the Prime Minister and Finance Minister exhorting the banks to bail out the  King Fischer  Airlines which is already in huge debt.

For the poor there is one rule and policy and for the rich another rule and policy. This is the UPA government!

Defence Department is a very important section as far as the security of the country is concerned. Under the Department of Defence there are 39 ordnance factories and 9 PSUs like HAL, Bharat Electronics, Hindustan Shipyard Ltd. etc. Arms, ammunitions,tanks, vehicles, aircrafts, radar and many other requirement of the defence services are produced in these ordnance factories and PSUs.  According to the policy adopted immediately after Independence, manufacture / production of the defence items were completely under the government due to its highly security concerns.

As part of the neo-liberalisation  policy of the government, it is proposing to privatise many of these crucial work at present being done by the department, ordnance factories and PSUs. There is much pressure from the MNCs and corporates to do so. Accordingly the government of India has adopted a Defence Production Policy under which the government is proposing larger involvement of the Indian private sector in design, development and manufacture of the defence equipments.

No doubt, this has got serious concern on the security of the country, especially in the present context when terrorists and extremists have become a threat to the country. The trade unions of the defence workers are fully aware of the same and have decided to oppose the implementation of privatisation policy in the defence sector. All the three major federations, All India Defence Employees Federation (AIDEF), Indian National Defence Workers Federation (INDWF) and Bharathiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh (BPMS) representing the 4 lakh defence civilian workers have joined together to fight against this privatisation move of the government. The National Convention against privatisation of Defence Production held at New Delhi on 3rd December, participated by more than 500 delegates have strongly opposed the privatisation move as well as increased FDI in defence sector and has decided to organise agitational programmes including strike. The Convention has also decided to participate in the 28th February general strike called by the Central Trade Unions.

Just like BSNL workers fighting to save BSNL, the Postal workers are in arms against the government to ensure that Postal service continues in the country. The Joint Council Of Action of Postal Unions with both NFPE and FNPO unions and others together have started a serious fight against the government’s move to close Post Offices, RMS Sorting Offices etc. The JCA  has called for an Indefinite Strike from 17th January. In preparation for the same, a Hunger Strike was organised before Dak Bhawan, the Head Quarters of the Department of Posts, today, 26th December. with all the Secretary Generals and General Secretaries in Postal side observing fast.

I went and greeted the leaders on hunger strike and expressed our support   and solidarity to their struggle. I also mentioned about the heroic struggles organised by the P&T workers in the past including the strikes in 1946, 1960, 1968 etc.  The attacks on the postal workers are similar to that of on the telecom workers, in fact on the entire working class in India and have to be fought against jointly.

Coms. M.Krishnan, SG, NFPE and Theagarajan, SG, FNPO and others thanked for the solidarity and support. I felt just like the old days when we were all together  in NFPTE,  in P&T Department.

BSNL management is expected to meet the recognised union representatives every three months by holding the National Council meeting and discussing the agenda items given by the Union. But since the last meeting held on 24th June 2011, no meeting has been held so far though it is more than 6 months. The agenda items have been given by the recognised union, BSNLEU, well in advance, but no date is fixed for the meeting. I was told that since the management is completely engrossed in sorting  out the ITS repatriation issue, no time could be found out for holding National council meeting.

If the reason for not holding the meeting is as mentioned above, to say the least, it is rubbish. Does the management wants all other issues to be kept pending or unattended till the ITS issue is sorted out? Does it mean that no activity is being conducted by the BSNL management other than the ITS issue? What is the direct connection between the ITS issue and the demands raised by the union in the National Council?

There can not be a sensible answer. What the management has to do is to hold the meeting of the National Council early and try to sort out the issues as early as possible, instead of delaying settlement of the justified demands of the workers an alienating them. I hope good sense will prevail upon the management.

I was going through an interesting report in today’s ( 26-12-2011) Economic Times with the headline ‘BSNL to tap into ITS Pool for filling up 700 posts’. It quotes from a top BSNL Executive (without disclosing name), “BSNL is to approve an emergency recruitment plan to cherry-pick some 700 senior  managers at the levels of DGM and above from the ITS Pool.”We will only target ITS officers in the first phase. In case the numbers prove hard to come by, we will have to take the more expensive route of poaching top industry talent from the private sector. ”

First of all let me state that I am not against ITS or anybody else working in BSNL. I respect the ITS like any other stream of workers and appreciate the good work that has been done for the telecom. Nobody can forget that when the ITS officer was being replaced by IAS  as Secretary, DOT , we were all there in support of the ITS. That do not bar me from analysing the present situation objectively.

The Economic Times report seems to be correct. BSNL management may be making efforts to bring back the ITS officers who have given good-bye to the company for which they worked for 11 years and got more salary and benefits than anybodyelse  in the company. If they were prepared to serve the company, why they have deserted it? If they quit for better prospects in Government, how they can come unless better prospects are offered in the BSNL? How BSNL can offer better prospects to ITS, when even the justified demands and entitlements of the absorbed employees are being denied by the management on the plea that company can not concede even their justified demands? How better benefits can be given when even the existing benefits are curtailed for the absorbed employees and even Bonus is denied? If those who left BSNL were so much capable, why the company has become loss making when they were in command? By bringing them back, whether the company is going to improve and how? What is the assurance that the “ITS Pool’ will not desert  again, when the company is in distress?

The BSNL management requires to answer these relevant questions before trying to ‘tap in to ITS Pool’.

The Joint Council of Action of the Postal federations/ Unions have called upon the Postal workers for an Indefinite Strike from 17th January 2012 on the major issues and demands pending settlement. It is also against the anti-worker anti-Postal decisions of the government in closing down Postal and RMS offices. They have focussed the demands of the Gramin Dak Sevaks, Casual, contract, Part-time and Contingency workers also. In preparation for the strike the General Secretaries of the Postal Unions are sitting on hunger strike on 26th December in front of Dak Bhawan, at New Delhi.

My solidarity and support to the fully justified agitation. The government should discuss and settle the demands.

After the magnificient strike of  15th December 2011 and the Concilliation proceedings by the Chief labour Commissioner on 22nd December 2011, in which the representatives of the DOT and BSNL management participated,  the Joint Action Committee of BSNL Associations / Unions of Executives and Non-Executives will meet on 27th December to take stock of the situation and plan out future course of action.

Another item that will come for discussion is the call of the Central Trade Unions to organise one day nation wide General Strike on 28th February 2012 on the general issues of the working class. As the Convener of the JAC, I am sending letters to all the General Secretaries of the BSNL Associations/Unions requesting them to participate in the strike. BSNLEU, NFTE, BTEF, TEPU etc. have already decided to participate in the strike. The BSNL Casual & Contract Workers Federation also will participate. I hope that all the unions/Associations in BSNL will take decision to participate in this general strike.

Are the Dalits getting justice?

The UPA government has been continuously making big propaganda about the benefits being given to the Dalits in the country. But what exactly is the situation in the field is not told.

Actually the situation of Dalits have not improved, or improved marginally only.  A look in to the schemes and their implementation will help one to find out the actual situation.

1. 1.       Caste oppression and untouchability

Untouchability and caste suppression exist and continue in the country. Dalits are denied elementary democratic rights. They are forced to work as manual scavengers, despite legal ban on this shameful practice. Atrocities against Dalits continue. Equal opportunities in social and economical sphere are denied.

1. 2.       Constitutional safeguards violated.

Under Part XVI of the Indian Constitution, Dalits are guaranteed protection and promotion of social, economic, educational, cultural and political interests  in order to bridge the disparities with other sections of the society. Directive Principles of State Policy, Fundamental Rights and V and VI Schedules of the Constitution guarantee certain safeguards. In Article 330 of the Constitution, reservation in jobs is enshrined.

But what are the realities? Most of these guarantees are in paper only. No reservation is given in the private jobs. At the same time, the jobs in government sector are coming less and less. The allocation to Dalits is reduced and even whatever is allotted, don’t reach the Dalits.

1. 3.       Non-implementation of assurances – discrimination

16.6 % of total population are Dalits/ SC-ST.  In graduate education Dalits position is 8.37% while others is 91.63%. 60% of Dalits depend on wage labour, while it is 25% for others.  36% are poor  among Dalits while it is 21% among others. The discrimination against Dalit women is more

4.   Plan Allocation

Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (Special Component Plan) has been implemented for Dalits. As per this plan, the Central government budget for Dalits should be according to their population. But this is more violated than implemented. For the 16.6% Dalits, only 8.4.of the plan outlay was allotted in 2010-11. An amount of Rs. 744-35 crore was diverted from the fund allotted for Dalits to the Common Wealth Games! The discrimination continues under the state governments also.

1. 5.       Discrimination continues

The main reason for the non-implementation of the constitutional safe-guards and schemes are the lack of political will and pressure from vested interests.

1. 6.       What are the main demands?

a)      Strengthen and expand the policy of empowerment and equal opportunity to Dalits.

b)      Enact suitable legislation to enforce constitutional provisions. Proper utilisation of the funds allotted to Dalits.

c)       Make the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (Special Component Plan) and TSP enforced through suitable legislations.

d)      A White Paper on the status of Dalits and implementation of the SCSP and TSP

e)      A Special Session of the Parliament to be convened to discuss issues related to Dalits.

f)       Distribution of land to all landless, a large majority of whom  are Dalits and Adivasis. Separate budget heads for Dalits in all Departments.

g)      A Nodal agency to co-ordinate and monitor implementation.

h)      Social auditing to be done on the Dalit Schemes.

i)        Social Justice Division to be set up under the Planning Commission.

j)        Dalit Women should be equally treated. Abolish Devadasi system and rehabilitate them.

k)      More residential schools for SC/ST children

1. 7.       What is the programme?

a)      Nation wide movement for proper allocation and effective implementation of SCSP.

b)      State level conventions before Budget Session and submission of memorandum to Government.

c)       The issues to be  taken  up  at local levels.

d)      Broad-based united action.

(This is a report based upon the Resolution of the Workshop on SC/ST Sub Plan held at New Delhi on 12^th December 2011)

The next three months are crucial for the political parties. The Election Commission has declared the election dates for the four states of U.P., Punjab, Manipur and Goa.The elections start from 28 January and will continue up to 3rd March 2012.

All other elections in states are one day while in U.P., it will be a 7 phase poll from 4 February to 28 February 2012. UP election is very important for Congress, BJP, Samajwadi Party as also Mayawati, the present Chief Minister. Congress is playing a non-barred propaganda under the field leadership of Rahul Gandhi. The Senior Gandhi has seen to it that the quota for minority, Food Security Bill etc are passed and the Lok Pal Bill is also being finalised at the earliest. It is all done with the UP elections in sight.

But the people have their own thinking and they will vote accordingly.

Yesterday, 24th December was the coldest Day for Delhi in this season. It was 3.3 deree Celsius. The maximum was 20 degree. The X-mas was severe cold, but the Delhites did not bother much. There were youngsters and people celebrating the day. There were lots of people in the markets. In the day time the warm sun gave a pleasant climate.

For a few days the present climate may continue.