07 Saturday Jul 2018
Posted in Obituary, Tributes
8th July 2018 is the 104th birth anniversary of Comrade Jyoti Basu, Chief Minister of W.Bengal for about more than 23 years and veteran Leader of Communist movement and PBM of CPI(M).
He passed away on 17th January 2010 at the age of 95. His life and activities are saga of courage, sacrifice and achievements.
Respectful Homage to Com. Jyoti Basu!
06 Friday Jul 2018
Posted in TU News - India
The central trade unions – INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, UTUC, LPF and MEC has called for one day strike on 20th July 2018 on the following demands:
1. Implement the declared minimum wage of 13896/- strictly in all factories, institutions, shops. With the rising inflation announce, Rs. 20000/- as the minimum wage.
2. Prevent rising inflation. Give ration cards and residences to all laborers.
3. Security should be strictly implemented at the workplace. Adhere strictly to labor laws. Trade unions are to be registered in 45 days as per rules.
4. Delhi Government must constitute trilateral committees fairly.
5. Central Government must withdraw all anti-worker changes in labor laws. No to ‘Fixed Term Employment’.
6. Stop contractualisation of regular jobs. Confirm contract laborers / employees in the same place. Apply equal pay for equal work according to the Supreme Court verdict.
7. Make permanent recruitment of officers and staff in labor department and improve its functioning. Prevent corruption. Industrial disputes can’t be delayed incessantly. Labor Courts should be sent to the District Court.
8. All workers should be given at least Rs. 3000 / – as monthly pension. Apply Old Pension Scheme.
9. Increase the bonus limit. Remove bar on gratuity & bonus.
10. Finish discrimination with women. Manage special security for women. Make adequate hostels for women workers. Give equal pay for equal work. In every institute, sufficient women’s toilets and crèches for children should be made. Constitute Complaint Committees against sexual harassment at work sites.
11. Scheme workers declare Anganwadi, Asha Workers, Mid-Day Meal etc. as government employees. Benefit from minimum wage, social security and all other labor facilities.
12. Register vendors give them licenses. In the name of making ‘smart city’, ban on forced eviction by the municipal corporation and police.
13. Register the construction workers in 30 days. Restore the paused registration process. Make a payment in favor of beneficiaries in the deadline. Separate staff should be recruited in the board. Enter the opposite opinion in the board meeting, make it transparent.
14. Stop privatization of education, health, electricity, water, DTC, transport and other public sector. Take back the decision of privatized institutions. Remove restrictions on recruitment in government sector Increase employment opportunities. Stop FDI in all areas.
15. Apply the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission on all employees of Delhi Government.
16. Apply the Patients Care Alliance ‘PCA’ as per the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission on health workers.
17. Provide full status of workers to the cleaning and health workers employed in MCD. Apply the benefits to all. Ensure wages on time.
18. Give the Right to Trade Union to Delhi Metro Management staff. Fix the Delhi Metro management for irregularities in increments. Apply a single policy to a corporation.
19. Formation of Board for Welfare of Drivers, Conductors and Helper working in Private Transport Area. Union representatives should appointed as a member in the board.
20. Prevent discrimination on communal and caste grounds.
21. Do GST 0% on life saving medicines. Medical& Sales representatives to be given the status of skilled employee. The work of 8 hours should be determined.
22. Apply 10 percent service charge in the hotel industry. Give its benefits to the employee.
23. Security Guards should be included schedule employment and set up a separate board.
24. Make laws for domestic workers. Give them employee status.
25. The Delhi Government constitutes the Board for the abundance of workers working in the unorganized sector. All workers should be benefited by registering the benefits.
We extend our support and solidarity to the fully justified strike.
05 Thursday Jul 2018
Posted in General
New Delhi, July 4: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP had generated high hopes and got the support of farmers in 2014 elections by promising that the Swaminathan commission recommendation of fixing MSP according to the formula C2+50%. It has betrayed them yet again by announcing MSP for the Kharif crops based on A2+FL costs instead of the promised more comprehensive C2 costs. Also no steps have been taken to ensure assured procurement. Without assured procurement any such announcement is only notional and will not accrue to the cultivating peasantry. The BJP Government’s tall claims that the decision on Kharif MSP is “historic” falls flat when one compares with the actual promise and the gap between A2+FL and C2 costs. It actually is a historic betrayal of the promise made to farmers of fixing MSP at a level of at least 150 percent of the C2 cost of production.
Crop A2+FL
Per Quintal
C2
Per Quintal
MSP (2018-19)
Per Quintal
C2+50%
Difference Between C2+50 & MSP
Per Quintal
CACP Costs for 2017-18
Paddy 1117 1484 1750 2226 -476
Jowar Hybrid 1556 2089 2430 3133.5 -703.5
Bajra 949 1278 1950 1917 +33
Ragi 1861 2351 2897 3526.5 -629.5
Maize 1044 1396 1700 2094 -394
Arhar 3318 4612 5675 6918 -1243
Moong 4286 5700 6975 8550 -1575
Urad 3265 4517 5600 6775.5 -1175.5
Groundnut 3159 4089 4890 6133.5 -1243.5
Sunflower Seed 3481 4526 5388 6789 -1401
Soyabean 2121 2921 3399 4381.5 -982.5
Sesamum 4067 5706 6249 8559 -2310
Nigerseed 3912 5108 5877 7662 -1785
Cotton
(Medium Staple)
3276 4376 5150 6564 -1414
?The above table clearly shows that if the promised C2+50% formula was used for calculating MSP it should have been much higher. Only Bajra has a higher than C2+50%.
?It is also to be noted that the last year’s costs are being used for arriving at these results and costs have risen over the year by not less than 10 percent.
?It also has to be noted that there is huge disparity in cost calculation by Central agencies and States. Centrally determined costs are much lower than the costs determined by the State Agricultural departments. Both of these fall below farmers’ actual costs.
?The MSP recommended by State Governments (including BJP ruled States) based on their cost calculations are much higher than MSP announced.
?Public procurement is mainly taking place only in few crops like paddy and wheat and that too is below 20 percent of the total production. In most other crops there is no procurement in most States.
Costs of certain crops and recommendations by the States will bring out starkly the betrayal by the Narendra Modi led BJP Government.
For Paddy the State projection of cost of production for 2017-18 by Andhra Pradesh was Rs.1866/Qtl while the CACP projection for the State was merely Rs.1495/Qtl. Andhra Pradesh had proposed Rs.2799/Qtl. Notably BJP ruled States of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh had proposed MSP of Rs.3251/Qtl, Rs.2,200/Qtl and Rs.2,700/Qtl respectively for paddy in 2017-18. Other major paddy growing States like Tamilnadu and Punjab had recommended MSP of Rs.2300/Qtl and Rs.2000/Qtl for 2017-18. A full one year after that the BJP Government has announced Rs.1750/Qtl. The LDF Government in Kerala is already procuring at Rs.2350/Qtl. Due to the absence of public procurement farmers in most States are forced to sell at distress prices ranging from Rs.800/Qtl to Rs.1200/Qtl even when MSP was Rs.1550/Qtl.
BJP ruled Gujarat had proposed Rs.6500/Qtl for groundnut last year while the MSP announced only Rs.4890/Qtl. Farmers were expecting a huge hike in pulses as an incentive for producing more to meet the country’s needs and also for naturally fixing nitrogen to the tune of about Rs.4000/hectare. For Arhar/Tur, the cost of production determined by Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were Rs.5984/Qtl amd Rs.7123/Qtl while the CACP projections were way below at Rs.5683/Qtl only for both the States. Farmers are forced to sell at rates ranging between Rs.3400/Qtl to Rs.4,200/Qtl only which is below the then MSP of Rs.5450/Qtl, while this BJP Government is assuring MSP to farmers in Mozambique. Same trend continues for Moong and Urad. Karnataka which is a major producer of Arhar/Tur had suggested an MSP of Rs.7000/Qtl while the MSP announced is only Rs.5675/Qtl which is way below the cost of production in the major Arhar/Tur growing States. Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh had suggested Rs.4800/Qtl and Rs.4000/Qtl for soyabean while the MSP announced is only Rs.3399/Qtl. For cotton the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Governments cost projection for 2017-18 was Rs.5042/Qtl and Rs.5337/Qtl while CACP projection was only Rs.4625/Qtl. They had proposed MSP of Rs.7564/Qtl and Rs.8005/Qtl respectively and BJP ruled Maharashtra had proposed Rs.7204/Qtl while the MSP announced is only Rs.5150/Qtl.
Clearly, on looking into the costs of production projected by the States and the Centre, MSP proposed by States and the MSP announced we can understand that the BJP Government led by Narendra Modi is seeking to create an illusion of bounty while they actually are actually pegging farmers’ costs way below the actual and the MSP announced is actually a betrayal of what had been promised.
Four years of the BJP Government has passed without doing anything for farmers and they are now seeking to hoodwink farmers by making an aggressive campaign on the eve of impending elections. AIKS condemns this callous attitude of the BJP Government that exposes its utter failure and calls for revision of MSP according to the Swaminathan Commission recommendations and for ensuring assured procurement. AIKS has chalked out mass campaign, Jail Bharo on 9th August and massive Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Rally on 5th September. We call upon all democratic organisations and individuals interested in farmers’ welfare to join in much greater numbers in these protests against the betrayal by the BJP Government.
02 Monday Jul 2018
Posted in Uncategorized
Mexico City, Jul 2 : Anti-establishment leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador swept to victory in Mexico’s presidential election today, in a political sea change driven by voters’ anger over endemic corruption and brutal violence.
According to exit polls, the sharp-tongued, silver-haired politician known as “AMLO” won by a large margin over his two main rivals, who both conceded defeat shortly after the polls closed — laying to rest concerns that a deeply divided country could face prolonged uncertainty over the winner.
Thousands of ecstatic supporters flooded central Mexico City’s Zocalo square and Alameda park, celebrating to the sounds of mariachi music as Lopez Obrador slowly made his way there from his campaign headquarters in a motorcade, swarmed by huge crowds.
“The government was failing. We needed a real change,” said one elated supporter, Jose Gutierrez, 44.
Runner-up Ricardo Anaya of the conservative National Action Party (PAN) and third-place candidate Jose Antonio Meade of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) both congratulated Lopez Obrador and wished him success.
One more country to the Left. Congratulations!
02 Monday Jul 2018
Posted in Uncategorized
2018 NOVEMBER 15TH NATION WIDE ONE DAY STRIKE OF
CENTRAL GOVT. EMPLOYEES
10 POINTS CHARTER OF DEMANDS OF CONFEDERATION
1. Scrap New Contributory Pension Scheme. Restore old defined benefit Pension Scheme to all employees.
2. Settle 7th CPC related issues including increase in Minimum Pay and fitment formula, HRA arrears from 01-01-2016, MACP Bench Mark, promotional heirarchy and date of effect from 01-01-2006, Option-I for pensioners and anomalies arising out of implementation of 7th CPC recommendations.
3. Fill up all vacant posts. Reintroduce Regional Recruitment for Group B & C posts. Withdraw orders for abolishing posts lying vacant for more than five years. Revive all posts abolished during 2001 to 2008 under Annual Direct Recruitment plan as per May 2001 orders of former NDA Government.
4. (a) Regularisatin of Gramin Dak Sevaks and grant of Civil Servant status. Implement remaining positive recommendations of Kamalesh Chandra committee report.
(b) Regularise all casual and contract workers including those appointed on or after 01-09-1993.
5. Ensure equal pay for equal work for all. Remove disparity in pay scales between Central Secretariat Staff and similarly placed staff working in field units of various departments.
6. Stop closure of Govt. establishments and outsourcing. Withdraw closure orders of Govt. of India Presses. Stop proposed move to close down salt department. Stop FDI and privatisation of Railways and Defence department.
7. Implement 7th CPC wage revision and pension revision of Autonomous body employees and pensioners. Grant Bonus to Autonomous body employees pending from 2016-17 onwards.
8. Remove 5% condition imposed on compassionate appointment.
9. Grant five time bound promotions to all Group B&C employees. Complete Cadre Reviews in all departments within a time-frame.
10. (a) Stop attack on trade union rights. Ensure prompt functioning of various negotiating forums under the JCM scheme at all levels.
(b) Withdraw the draconian FR-56(j) and Rule 48 of CCS Pension Rules 1972.
If necessary, affiliates can add their own departmental wise issues as PART-II of the charter of demands.
25 Monday Jun 2018
A report in the press regarding the financial position of BSNL and MTNL is given.Both the PSUs are in the list of NITI Ayog for privatisation or closure. The full responsibility of the loss and decline is only the result of the government to favour private telecom companies and downgrade telecom PSUs. The government which can ensure loans and concessions to the extent of thpusands of crores of rupees to Adani and Ambani has no inclination to help its own companies. Hence the present situation. The report in the press is given below:
“The prime minister’s office and the department of telecom have discussed a survival mechanism for telecom PSUs BSNL and MTNL whose revenue, market share and subscriber base continue to erode.
According to sources, under the plan 4G spectrum worth Rs 13,000 crore could be allotted to them shortly and the more vulnerable MTNL can hope to get about Rs 1,100 crore from the Centre for a fresh VRS package.
Official sources said the situation is more serious for MTNL as the listed entity is almost on the verge of breaking down, completely surviving on bank working capital loans for operations expenditure.
A few decisions are expected shortly and things could be expedited now onwards, sources said, adding that the prime minister’s office (PMO) has shown interest and concern over telecom PSUs, may be after the failure of Air India disinvestment.
Competition from private telcos, especially Jio, is breathing down their necks. As per an estimate, BSNL and MTNL need about Rs 18,000 crore immediate fund infusion for their continued operations, which includes 4G spectrum if government issues fresh equity in them.
Both the PSUs have sought 4G spectrum partly through equity routes which make the cost of spectrum for MTNL at Rs 6,500 crore for 10 Mhz in Delhi in 1800 band and 5Mhz in Mumbai in 2100 band.
BSNL needs 5 Mhz in 2,100 band for rest of India operations which too comes to about Rs 6,500 crore as 50 per cent of the cost of spectrum and the rest of the spectrum cost is expected to be covered through government equity.
While BSNL meets its opex and capex through borrowings and service revenues, MTNL needs government support for meeting working capital needs. It also needs Rs 2,800 crore interest amount reimbursement on an old loan taken for spectrum and Rs 1,100 crore for financing a VRS for 5,000 employees.
MTNL has a bloating staff strength of 30,000, while BSNL has over 2 lakh employees. The financials of MTNL is so bad that it is carrying on with working capital loans on a government guarantee.
MTNL had told DoT that it is operating under three main constraints — a high manpower numbering 25,000, a Rs 17,500-crore loan burden and lack of investment in the last seven years.
To tackle the manpower problem, MTNL had suggested the government to fund its VRS programme as and when it takes place since the majority of this 25,000 staff is from the DoT. The PSU has worked out that for offering voluntary retirement to 5,000 employees, it will need at least Rs 1,100 crore,
The PSU is saddled with a debt of Rs 17,500 crore, out of which the interest component is Rs 1,450 crore. MTNL had earlier written to the DoT to allow it to carve out the land &and buildings and the debt so that the MTNL balance sheet becomes debt-free, without putting any burden on the exchequer.
Air India, MTNL and BSNL are among the top five loss making PSUs in the DPE list.
MTNL’s debt stands at a staggering Rs 17,000 crore and its annual interest burden is close to Rs 1,450 crore. Bruised by competition from private sector players, MTNL’s losses stood at Rs 2,893 crore in 2014-15, Rs 2,005 crore in 2015-16, and Rs 2,970 crore in 2016-17.
Telecom minister Manoj Sinha, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha in February had pointed out that both BSNL and MTNL have been incurring losses for a number of years, and therefore have been declared as incipient sick according to the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) guidelines.
BSNL’s revenues in FY17 declined to Rs 31,533 crore against Rs 32,411 crore. The PSU was hoping to turn the corner by being profitable in 2018- 19, which is now shifted to 2019-20, if it starts 4G services and the competition eases. Its net loss marginally narrowed to Rs 4,793 crore against Rs 4,859 crore in the previous fiscal..
The accumulated loss of BSNL has now swelled to over Rs 36,000 crore ($6 billion), with the company making losses since 2009-10.
While MTNL has a negative market share with subscribers declining every quarter, BSNL’s market share in mobile market is 10 per cent.”
24 Sunday Jun 2018
Posted in General
Refusal of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to meet the Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, who had requested for meetings to discuss urgent issues of the state with him, is discriminatory and against federal principles. It is a shame Mr. Prime minister!
24 Sunday Jun 2018
Posted in General, Kerala LDF Government
Due to the anti-PSU and pro-corporate policy of the central government, most of the central PSUs are on the way to loss. The government is aggressively disinvesting or selling them against the interest of the nation and the concerned workers. National carrier Air India, BSNL, MTNL – all prestigious PSUs are for sale.
In Kerala, you see another picture. During the Congress / UDF regime almost all the 45 or so PSUs were in loss and it amounted to about Rs. 134 crore. During the last two years of LDF rule with Pinarayi Vijayan as Chief Minister, some of them have already turned profitable and the total profit of the PSUs has come up to Rs.100 crore, wiping out the earlier loss. A great change indeed!
Further the State government has offered to take over the central PSUs in the state which are proposed to be sold. But the centre says that it will be sold only to private corporates. in one case, it stated that the state government can participate in the auction along with the private companies! What a generosity!
This is the difference between the Modi Government and the Pinarayi Government. The former wants to sell the nation’s assets, while the latter wants them to improve and to increase the national assets.
23 Saturday Jun 2018
Posted in General
A news item in the Theprint.in is given below for information without any comments:
Former CJI heads RSS forum to ‘ensure compromises’ in civil disputes
The Nyaya Chaupal is to be headed by the former chief justice of India R.C. Lahoti |
R.C. Lahoti insists that the forum will not impinge on the jurisdiction of courts; RSS affiliate says it will address “crumbling family structure”.
New Delhi: An RSS affiliate has formed a unique forum, consisting primarily of senior advocates and retired judges, which it says will help ensure compromises in civil cases such as family feuds, property disputes and those involving neighbours among others.
The forum, called the Nyaya Chaupal, is to be headed by the former chief justice of India R.C. Lahoti. Other prominent members include former Supreme Court judge Anil R. Dave, Supreme Court lawyer Govind Goel, and advocate Alok Kumar, who is also the VHP international working president.
The chaupal is the brainchild of RSS affiliate Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad (ABAP). Its first workshop was held on 7 March and was attended by RSS leader Krishna Gopal, Lahoti, Dave and RSS representatives from 16 states.
According to ABAP, the Nyaya Chaupal has been formed as civil disputes are an outcome of the “crumbling family structure in the new societal order”. The forum, it adds, will also involve eminent people of the area to resolve civil cases of any type through dialogue.
The concept is based on the role gram panchayats play in villages.
Those associated with the Nyaya Chaupal insist that it will not impinge on the jurisdiction of the courts. “The aim is not to connect with the judiciary or interact with them. We don’t aim to run a parallel system. The aim is to build an environment in our surroundings where there will be no disputes,” Lahoti said in a documentary made on the forum.
To launch 1000s of such teams
The chaupal will form teams of eminent people who will resolve civil cases; it believes it will be able to form 1,000 such teams across the country.
So far, retired judges have held workshops for those who will form part of the chaupals; each team is expected to have 10 “respectable personalities” of the area.
Maintaining that the forum should not be considered as a system parallel to the judiciary, Bharat Bhushan, head of Delhi Nyaya Chaupal, said the need for such a body was felt as even mediation centres, monitored by courts, pose the same difficulties as the courts.
“Even in these mediation centres, one has to wait for dates and pay a minimum fee. The touch of a friend and well-wisher is missing. We found that in most cases, if there is a person who can reason with those involved and sort things out, many people won’t even have to come to courts,” Bhushan said.
“When professionals and eminent people reason with the warring parties, most cases get resolved,” he added.
To reach out to people, the chaupal will do aggressive campaigning and form an active website.
“These people whose disputes are solved before it gets to the courts will be our ambassadors,” Dave said at the March workshop.
The chaupal also pointed to the backlog in the judicial system. According to chaupaluntil 2017, there were 3.5 crore cases pending in various courts including those of domestic and personal disputes. Of these, 60,000 are pending in Supreme Court, 42 lakh in the various high courts and 2.7 crore in the lower judiciary.
(Theprint.in)
23 Saturday Jun 2018
Posted in General
The National Emergency of 1975 was used to deny DA to the central government employees. Five installments of DA were due during this period, but the same was denied to the CG employees.
It was only after the Janatha Government came that the due installments of DA were paid.
VAN Namboodiri's Blog 