CITU DENOUNCES THE MOVE TO INTRODUCE FORCED RETIREMENT IN PUBLIC SECTOR .
CALLS UPON THE WORKERS TO LAUNCH COUNTRYWIDE PROTEST
The Narendra Modi Government has issued directive to the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) through Department
of Public Enterprises (OPE) to incorporate punitive provision in their Conduct, Discipline and Appeal (CDA) Rules/Service
Rules empowering the management with arbitrary authority to forcibly retire employees from services in the name of
“ensuring probity and efficacy”. The Government is so keen to doggedly implement the barbaric provision of compulsorily
retirement of employees that CPSEs have been directed through written orders to the effect that each and every CPSEs
must incorporate such changes in their Conduct and Discipline & Appeal Rules and draw quarterly calendar to review the
so called “probity and efficacy” of the employees and resort to compulsory retirement and compliance should be reported to
·the Department of Public Enterprises. Now the stipulation is that this provision should be applied six months before the
employee concerned attains the age of 50/55 years or 30 years of service as the case may be. Some of the public sector
companies like SAIL and BEML have already incorporated such changes in their CDA Rules and workers and their unions
have already launched emphatic protest demanding withdrawal of such retrograde provisions.
Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) condemns such diabolic attack on the fundamental right of the employees and denial
of natural justice. In fact, existing service rules of the CPSEs already contain enough provisions to review performance,
efficiency, probity and efficacy of the employees with appropriate measures to improve or even punish, if required. The new
regulation empowers the employers with unrestricted and arbitrary repressive powers to throw employees out of
employment without any opportunity of self defence.. In assessing the ‘probity and efficacy’ so much of discretion is vested
with the Executives that ill motive comes into play almost invariably. Emp;oweringmanagement with the authoritarian power
to unilaterally assess the ‘probity and efficiency’ of workers will, in effect, impose slavery on workers. And as such this
decision of the Government is going to suppress the trade union movement. Anti-worker policy and attitude of the Narendra
Modi Government must be comprehended from the introduction of this repressive regulation which is integral to Modi-Govt’s
project of so called labour-law-reforms aimed at demolition of existing Labour Laws. Moreover, in the midst of the
declaration of the Government to go for ‘mega strategic sale’ of CPSEs, the instant move also amounts to introduction of
repressive private sector culture in public sector units and also dubiously aimed at miming the opposition of public sector
workers to sell out of public sector.
At the stipulated age of 50/55, employees attain higher skill and experience and also reaches the stage of highest social
responsibility towards their family. Therefore the decision of the Govt is bound to affect the availability of highly skilled and
experienced workers at the shop floor. It will also affect operational efficiency of the CPSE concerned. The directive of the
Central Govt through Department of Public Enterprises therefore questions the very “probity and efficacy” of those at the
helms of Governance issuing such retrograde directions. The employees and also officers of CPSEs must not accept such
atrocious change in their service conditions lying down and must rise in protest against such retrograde move of the Govt.
CITU while denouncing such retrograde anti-employee decision of the Govt, demands immediate withdrawal of such antiworkers
directives issued through OPE. CITU also calls upon the public sector workers and their unions irrespective of
affiliations to organize protest against such directives of OPE and also against the PSU management complying such
directives in all the PSUs and prepare for resisting any move of the management for such~rced retirement of employees
whenever it occurs. *ll~ ~
General Secretary •
B. T. Ranadive Bhawan, 13 A, Rouse Avenue, New Delhi-110 002
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