Monthly Archives: May 2020

Com. R.Umanath remembered.

20 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by in Obituary, Tributes

≈ Leave a comment

21st May 2020 is the 6th death anniversary of Com.R.Umanath, former CITU Vice President and PBM of CPI(M) for long period from 1991 to 2008. His wife Com.Pappa Umanath was also a senior leader of CPI(M). He was M.P. for two terms and was also elected to the T.Nadu assembly.

Com.Umanath was jailed for many years for organising agitations, and during attacks on the CPI and later CPI(M). He attended many meetings of the P & T Unions and was a good advisor. He used to prepare well in advance for the speeches he had to make. When I requested to him at address a convention at short notice, he chided me stating that how a well planned speech can be made in such short time. However he attended and gave a fine speech. Each and every speech of his was a study class itself, with notes prepared thoroughly. He was simple and was approachable to all comrades.

His daughter Com.U.Vasuki is also a veteran leader of CITU and party. His elder brother Shri  Kesava Rao, a crorepati agent of LIC, was settled at Calicut and was also close to the P and T workers.

Red Salute to Com.R.Umanath!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Central TUs observe Hunger Strike at Rajghat, against anti-worker measures of Central Govt.

20 Wednesday May 2020

Posted by in CITU

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

CITU Call:

“The joint platform of Central Trade Unions  has decided to observe  nationwide protest day against the anti worker and anti people onslaughts of the government on 22nd May 2020. The national level leaders of the trade unions would organize day long hunger strike at Gandhi Samadhi, Rajghat,  Delhi.  Simultaneous  protest actions would be jointly organized in all the states. There will be lakhs of petitions from the unions and members to the Govt. then onwards. The demands include, immediate relief to stranded workers for safe reaching to their homes, food to be made available to all, universal coverage of Ration distribution, ensure wages to all of the lock down period, cash transfer to all unorganized labour force(registered or unregistered or self employed), withdraw DA freeze to central government employees & CPSEs and DR freeze to pensioners, stop surrendering of live sanctioned posts.”

 

Red Salute to Com. E.K.Nayanar, former Chief Minister Kerala on his 16th death anniversary.

19 Tuesday May 2020

Posted by in Obituary, Tributes

≈ 1 Comment

( Nayanar Memorial at Payyambalam Beach, Kannur)

Com.E.K.Nayanar, who passed away 16 years back on this day was three times Chief minister of Kerala, an efficient administrator, writer and an organiser par excellence. His humorous speeches and simplicity are well known. He was PBM of CPI(M) for a long time. His political activity started from student days and was arrested for participation in freedom movement. He was a close friend and advisor of the working class. He attended and addressed many conferences of the P and T workers.

We pay our respectful homage to the memory of Com. E.K.Nayanar!

Covid 19 – The plight of migrant workers

18 Monday May 2020

Posted by in General

≈ Leave a comment

The migrant workers  all over India are in a very pitiable situation. With out job, during the Covid time, they want to return to their home in their state to be with their families. Thousands are walking somehow to reach their states. Many die in between due to hunger and fatigue. Some were run over by train when they were sleeping on the tracks. Very pitiable condition.

The Centre and all state governments in co-ordination should take necessary steps to ensure that they are facilitated to go to their own places, if they want. Food, accommodation should be arranged by the states in which they are at present, till they go back. The central govt also should arrange free rail travel for them.

In Kerala, the migrant workers are called guest workers and all facilities like accommodation, food etc. arranged free.

Sustained Struggles to save BSNL -12 Move to impose VRS defeated

18 Monday May 2020

Posted by in Sustained struggles

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Move to impose VRS defeated

Shri A,K,Sinha, then outgoing CMD BSNL,  told the media on 31-07-2007 that BSNL management was proposing to bring in Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) to send out 20,000 employees. This was strongly opposed by the Joint Forum and a strong protest letter was sent to the CMD against the proposal. This was the second time that the management was mooting the idea. It was first brought in 2003, which was agreed to by the then recognized union NFTE, but which was dropped later by the strong opposition of the new recognized union BSNLEU in 2005.

Protest Demonstration on 9th August 2007 against VRS

BSNL employees organized massive demonstrations on 9th August against the proposed VRS demanding that the anti-worker proposal be dropped.

Meeting with the CMD on 10-08-2007

The newly appointed CMD Shri Kuldeep Goyal met the leaders of the Joint Forum on 10-08-2007. The main issue was the proposal for VRS to 20,000 workers, which the unions strongly opposed. After detailed discussion, the CMD assured that no VRS will be implemented without discussing with the unions. Thus the second wave of VRS was also defeated. ( To be continued)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homage to Com.Moni Bose

18 Monday May 2020

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

It will be 10 years on this 19th May, after Com.Moni Bose, veteran leader of telecom and P and T workers passed away. His life was full of struggles for the sake of workers and for the upliftment of the society. Though appointed in the Post and Telegraph Department as a clerk in the DET office Calcutta on 25th August 1945, he was terminated from service in connection with the 1949 strike of P and T workers. He was never reinstated. But he continued to work for the advancement of the workers and their organisation. Com. Moni is the younger brother of Com.K.G.Bose, the most loved leader of the Central and P and T workers

He has served in many capacities in unions affiliated to NFPTE in W.Bengal, including as Circle Secretary. He was elected as General Secretary of the All India Telecom Employees Union Class III in the 1991 Bhopal All India Conference defeating Com.O.P.Gupta, who was its General Secretary for long 37 years and who gradually shifted to the revisionist line supporting the government anti-worker policies. I was elected as President. We had a long time co-ordination and it was strengthened after Bhopal AIC. He was elected as President in the next AIC at Thiruvananthapuram in 1994. He led the struggle for the correct policies in the union. When BSNL Employees Union was formed in 2001, he was elected as one of the Patrons. Later he was appointed as a Member of the W.Bengal State govt employees’ Pay Commission. Co. Moni was a guide and teacher to the workers.

He passed away on 19th May 2010.

Red Salute to Com. Moni Bose!

Sustained Struggles to save BSNL -11 The Historic Strike of 11th July 2007

17 Sunday May 2020

Posted by in Sustained struggles

≈ Leave a comment

The Historic Strike of 11th July 2007

As decided by the Joint Forum and call given, the strike started at 00.00 hours on 11th July 2007. The strike was an unprecedented success with close to 100% participation by workers and officers. The entire workforce rose up as one man to ensure that BSNL survives. It was a wakeup call for the government as well as the BSNL management. The 11th July strike was almost total by nearly 3,40,00 executives and non-executives. All BSNL offices, including telephone exchanges, telegraph offices etc. remained closed. It was for the first time that such a total strike took place since the formation of BSNL. It was also for the first time that all the executives except the ITS officers (who were mostly officers on deputation from DOT) were on strike in BSNL.

The strike was also complete in the BSNL Corporate Office, which was housed in the rented Statesman Building. The union leaders went from floor to floor and section to section and ensured that everybody is on strike. It was a sea of workers in the compound with more than one thousand attending to the speeches of the leaders of the JF.
The fact that the strike was called at short notice did not have any adverse impact on the strike. It was as if the workers were mentally prepared for a serious action on the issue. They wanted that BSNL should not be torpedoed by the government or the top management. The existence of BSNL was a life and death issue for the BSNL workers.
After the strike

All the newspapers and TV channels prominently gave the strike news. The cancellation of the 4.55 crore mobile tender was criticized severely. News was well covered in national newspapers – Political and Business Daily, Hindu, National Herald, Indian Express, Times of India, Business Line, Economic Times etc. The Economic Times wrote an editorial supporting the cause of the workers.

The Times of India in its report dated 18th July appreciated the BSNL Unions for their constructive activism as follows: “BSNL Unions, working to pull BSNL out of the grip of political pressures are attracting growing respect for their constructive activism.”
A letter from Shri S.Rajagopalan, former CMD MTNL, published in the Business Line dated 12th July stated: “Heartening is the principled stand taken by the BSNL Employees Union which has realized the danger to the future if the tender is delayed.”

Immediately after the strike, the Communications Minister met the Joint Forum again and assured that action will be taken to purchase GSM lines as also additional orders will be issued as soon as spectrum policy is announced and bandwidth allotted to BSNL.

The strike had its own impact. Matters moved fast. While it was to take much time to furnish the report to the Communications Minister and decision by him, the entire process was completed within one week and the Advance Purchase Order (APO) was issued. However, the APO was only for 2.275 crore (50% of the earlier tender) mobile lines and the higher technology 3G portion was not included, to save the face of the Minister. The Joint Forum strongly protested on both these counts. (To be continued)

Pension and consolidated instructions – A report

17 Sunday May 2020

Posted by in Pension

≈ Leave a comment

New Delhi: Banks are adopting different procedures while releasing pension or seeking certificates from pensioners at different periodicity, the Personnel Ministry has said.

The ministry has issued consolidated guidelines to chairman and managing directors (CMDs) of pension disbursing banks to create awareness among Central Pension Processing Centre (CPPC)/ bank branches on updated rules and instructions in this regard.

The move comes after an analysis of the grievances received by the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare under the Personnel Ministry.

“It has been observed that updated and consolidated instructions will help improve the processing of pensioner’s requests by banks and others,” the department said in an order issued on Friday.

Hence, an attempt has been made herein, to consolidate relevant instructions issued by the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare from time to time with regard to disbursement of pension, it said.

“These banks are adopting different procedures, while releasing pension/ family pension or seeking declarations/certificates from pensioners / family pensioners at different periodicity,” the department said while issuing the consolidated guidelines.

There are 65.26 lakh central government pensioners.

These integrated guidelines are on different matters, including the banks insisting spouses to open separate bank accounts for getting family pension, submissions of life certificate and disability certificate and on requirement of family pensioner to submit ‘form 14′ on death of a pensioner, among others.

All banks have been advised to comply with these consolidated guidelines and to give wide publicity by putting up these instructions on their websites and also on the notice boards of the branches of the bank, etc.

“On death of a pensioner, the spouse is not required to submit form 14, if he/she was having a joint account with the pensioner and authorisation for payment of family pension exists in the Pension Payment Order (PPO) in his/her favour,” the guidelines said.

“In such cases, a spouse will be required to provide only a copy of the death certificate to the pension paying branch in order to commence his/her family pension,” they said.

Pension disbursing bank will identify the family pensioners based on the information furnished in PPO and its own Know Your Customer procedure without insisting him/her to physically present himself/herself in the paying bank, the department said, citing its instructions issued in September 2013 in this regard.

Banks will not insist on opening a new account when the spouse already has a joint account with the pensioner and authorisation for payment of family pension exists in the PPO in his/her favour, the consolidated guidelines said.

Pension disbursing banks will also accept Aadhaar-enabled digital life certificate “Jeevan Pramaan”, according to the guidelines.

Pensioners who are 80 years and above can submit life certificates in the month of October also. Life certificate has to be submitted by every pensioner/family pensioners in the month of November every year.

“No fresh certificate of disability would be required in the case of a child with permanent disability,” the guidelines said.

A disabled child will also be required to self-certify every year that he/she has not started earning his/her livelihood, according to the instructions.

If family pension has been sanctioned to a disabled child and the disability is temporary, the guardian of such disabled child shall produce a disability certificate once in every five years to the effect that he/she continues to suffer from such disorder /disability in order to continue family pension, the guidelines said.

“If the spouse is a recipient of family pension, no certificate of remarriage is required to be furnished by him/her,” the consolidated guidelines said.

“At the time of commencement of family pension, an undertaking will be obtained from him/her to the effect that in the event of his/her re marriage, he/she will report the fact to the pension disbursing bank promptly,” they said.

However, childless widow of deceased government servant and disabled child of a pensioner/government servant will continue to get family pension even if they get married/remarried, as per the guidelines.

A family pensioner, other than spouse, has to submit a declaration of non-marriage/non re-marriage every six months. The family pension is discontinued if she/he gets married/re-married.

The Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare has issued directions to all the pension disbursing banks to send SMS/emails to all their pensioners on October 24, November 1, November 15 and November 25 every year reminding them to submit their annual life certificates by November 30.

“The department directed all pension disbursing banks to make an exception list as on 15 December every year of those pensioners who fail to submit their life certificate and issue another SMS/email to them for submitting the life certificate,” the guidelines said.

“The bank in addition will also ask such pensioners through SMS/email whether they are interested in submission of life certificate through a chargeable door-step service, on a nominal charge not exceeding ₹60,” they said.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

(Courtesy: Mint)

Centre misuse Covid situation to privatise maximum PSUs

17 Sunday May 2020

Posted by in privatisation

≈ Leave a comment

The Central govt is misusing the Covid situation to implement its corporate agenda of privatisation of the strategic and non-strategic PSUs in wholesale. FDI is increased in many sectors. More than four PSUs will not be allowed in the same sector. What will happen to the oil PSUs, PSU Banks etc. This is completely against the interest of the nation and its people.

The Central Trade Unions have expressed strong protest and is moving for action.

CONFEDERATION CALLS FOR NATIONWIDE PROTESTS ON 22ND MAY AGAINST PRIVATISATION OF PSUS, AGAINST ANTI-PEOPLE MEASURES.

17 Sunday May 2020

Posted by in CG Employees

≈ Leave a comment

NATIONWIDE PROTEST DAY ON 22nd MAY 2020 AGAINST THE ANTI – WORKER AND ANTI – PEOPLE ONSLAUGHTS OF THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT.

HOLD PROTEST DEMONSTRATIONS IN FRONT OF ALL CENTRAL GOVERNMENT OFFICES.

The Central Government has announced deregulation and privatisation of core and strategic sectors like Defence production, Space Research, Power, Civil aviation, Coal and mineral sectors. It is also declared by the Finance Minister that non – strategic public sector undertakings will also be privatised. Govt is implementing its political agenda by going ahead with the naked and unbridled pro – corporate reforms in all sectors of the economy utilizing the COVID -19 crisis. It is wholesale privatisation. Combined with these reforms , serious attempt is made for amending all labour laws in favour of employers. Already some state Governments had promulgated ordinances in this direction suspending all labour laws and increased the working hours from eight to twelve hours per day. The Government has cleverly linked these reforms with the 20 lakhs crore economic package announced by the Prime Minister , eventhough these reforms have nothing to do with the stimulus packages and relief measures to be provided to the agricultural and industrial sectors and common people of our country. Needless to say that these pro – corporate reform measures and labour law amendments will severely affect the life and livelihood of crores of workers and common people of our country. Central Government employees are no exception.

Regarding Defence sector , the Defence employees federations were already opposing the move of the Government to corporatise and privatise the Ordnance factories. They have conducted month – long relay dharma at Parliament street, New Delhi and five days all India strike . Government had earlier deferred the Corporatisation move due to stiff resistance from five lakhs defence employees. Knowing the present limitations of the unions to organise serious agitational programmes like strike during Covid – 19 restrictions , the Government has unilaterally declared the corporatisation of Ordnance Factory Board ( OFB). Raising the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in defence sector from 49 to 74% will pave way for entry of multinational foreign Corporations in defence production sector , which , in the long run will jeopardise the national security of our country and job security of the employees.

In the coming days , more attacks are to come in almost all sectors including Central Government Employees sector. Already many departments have initiated action in this regard as per the advice of NITI Ayog. Closure of Government of India printing presses, outsourcing of Government functions in many departments , large scale contractorisation , casual labour engagement and downsizing has become the order of the day. Central Government Employees, especially Confederation of Central Govt Employees and Workers had organised series of struggle programmes against these onslaughts , including strike.

The Central Trade Unions have unanimously decided to combat these onslaughts of the Government by all possible means. As a first phase , it is decided to organise NATIONWIDE PROTEST DAY ON 22nd MAY 2020. Confederation being an integral part of the mainstream of the working class of .India, has endorsed the call of the Central Trade Unions.

Accordingly , the National Secretariat of Confederation of Central Govt. Employees and Workers calls upon all affiliated organisations and state/District level Coordinating Committees (COCs) to hold protest demonstrations in front of all Central Government offices , strictly observing the Covid – 19 restrictions imposed by Central and State Governments. Minimum permitted number of employees and leaders may sit in front of offices holding placards with demands , with all precautionary measures like masks , social distancing etc. Wide publicity may be given to the programme through print / electronic media and social media. (CONFEDERATION WEBSITE)