Category Archives: PSU

Matters connected with Public Sector Units (PSU)

Kerala Government declares Bonus for PSU employees

03 Thursday Aug 2017

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Labour Department of Kerala LDF government has issued orders for payment of minimum bonus to the state PSU employees. Bonus will be 8.33% of the basic pay. This minimum bonus is applicable to all those workers getting pay up to 21,000. The order has been issued well in advance of Onam, the major festival of Kerala, so that the workers will get the Bonus in time.

Kerala Government is also trying to strengthen the state PSUs and make them profitable, which have all gone loss making during UDF rule.

Another ‘New Telecom Policy’ to favour corporates?

07 Friday Jul 2017

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Communications Minister Manoj Sinha had stated that the government is preparing a New Telecom Policy which will will be discussed with all stake holders. The report in the press is given below. Every time a New Telecom Policy has been announced, it has been for the benefit of the private companies. The first NTP was to allow the private companies to enter the telecom sector. Every NTP afterwards has been in favour of the private corporates. it is certain that this will also be in the same route.

“New Delhi: A national telecom policy is currently under formulation and will be made public “soon” for stakeholder consultation, telecom minister Manoj Sinha has said.

The upcoming policy will look at areas like technology innovation and security as well as plug “loopholes”, the minister promised but did not elaborate on the specifics.
“We are framing national telecom policy…we have done a lot of work on this. Once it is formulated, we will put in on the website for comments of general public, academia, industry and then we will go to the Parliament,” the minister told PTI in an interview.

He said that at a broad level, the policy will be driven by technology innovations, among other aspects. “There are many things which change with time…we will take all that into consideration,” he said, adding it will also address “loopholes”. He was responding to a question on gaps that the new policy will seek to address over the National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012.

Asked about the time frame for finalising the new policy, Sinha said he expected it “soon”. “I am hopeful that it will come soon. First, we will initiate a consultation…maybe the implementation will take some time but we will soon put in on the website so we can seek people’s opinion,” he pointed out.

Sinha vowed that reforms, especially consumer-centric ones, will continue in the telecom sector and hinted that some announcements were in the offing. “Reforms will continue…Yes, it will move, and move swiftly…you will soon see some things…In the coming days, there will be some news regarding reforms, and it will be consumer-centric,” he said but declined to divulge details.

The telecom ministry has issued technology-neutral telecom licences under the NTP 2012 which was de-linked from spectrum. Other reforms that have been undertaken include finalisation of spectrum trading and sharing rules, full mobile number portability, increasing spectrum supply for the industry, Right of Way norms and electronic know-your-customer (KYC). However, it is yet to meet certain targets like 2-megabits-per-second broadband speed for consumers and formation of the National Mobile Property Registry.”

EPFO signs with Private banks for collection and payments

06 Thursday Jul 2017

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Government and private banks have been scheming for long how to hand over the big corpus of EPFO for maximisation of the profit of the private banks and corporates. As like any other order, without discussing the stakeholders ie. the employees and their unions, the EPFO has signed an agreement with four private banks and also PSU Bank, Bank of Baroda, for collection of provident fund dues and payments to the subscribers.  The private banks are ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank. EPFO had earlier tied up with the  PSU Banks viz. Punjab National Bank, Allahabad Bank, Indian Bank and Union Bank of India.

Earlier justification of agreement with banks was that they are PSU Banks. Now the private banks are also included.

There is no security for the amount put in the private banks. Once the bank is collapsed, the subscribers will be cheated of their hard earned savings.

No Privatisation of Air India – CPI(M)

30 Friday Jun 2017

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New Delhi, June 30: The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

No Privatisation of Air India

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly opposes the decision of the Modi government to privatise the national carrier, Air India. The Union Cabinet has accepted the recommendations of the Niti Ayog and given an in-principle agreement for the disinvestment of Air India and its five subsidiaries.

This decision has been taken at a time when, after prolonged losses since 2008, the airline has started achieving operating profits of Rs. 105 crore for the year 2015-16 and an estimated operating profit of around Rs. 300 crore in 2016-17.

Air India was crippled and burdened with debt due to monumental miscalculation and certain wrong decisions taken by successive governments at the Centre. It is now being made the scapegoat and sought to be privatized.

The privatization of Air India is being made with a bonanza to the perspective private buyer – the write off of the Rs. 30,000 crore debt burden. The privatization of Air India is not for saving public money but for handing over national assets for a song and defrauding the exchequer for the benefit of private companies, both domestic and foreign.

The sale of Air India is part of the overall privatization drive of the Modi government which is against national interest. It must be stopped forthwith.

Will “Air India” become “Indigo”?

30 Friday Jun 2017

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The Central government is moving fast for strategic sale of Air India, the government owned Airlines, which has been functioning for the last more than seven decades as the Prime Airline in India on both International  and domestic routes.

The policy decisions taken by the continuing central governments,  like purchasing about 111 planes where there was requirement only for about 35 planes, merging Air India and Indian Airlines, handing over its routes to private companies etc. created such a situation that Air India started incurring losses. The non-payment of large amount of bills by the Central and State governments was another reason. It is understood that many such amount has been written off.

In short, the government itself is fully responsible for the present state of affairs of Air India. Even while it is in loss as per accounts due to the large loans, interest etc. Air India has been posting operational profit for the last few years. A good management with the support of the government would have restored Air India to its glorious past. But the government is intended on sale of the Air India as per its neo-liberal policy completely supporting the corporates to garner profit.

The latest information is that Indigo Airlines has informed its interest in taking over Air India, mainly its international flights. There will be other companies also including foreign airlines.

Will Air India become a nostalgic memory of the past? Whether struggles by the Air India Staff, central trade unions and progressive section of the  people will save Air India from privatisation?

Cabinet decides to disinvest Air India

28 Wednesday Jun 2017

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The Cabinet today decided to disinvest Air India. The report by the PTI is given below:

“The Union Cabinet today, 28th June 2017,  cleared disinvestment of debt-laden Air India but the final modalities, including the quantum of stake sale, will be decided by a group of ministers.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the Cabinet has given “in-principle” approval for disinvestment of Air India.

A group will be set up to finalise modalities/details of disinvestment of Air India, including the quantum of stake sale, he said.

The civil aviation ministry is charting out the disinvestment of the state-run carrier.

Surviving on taxpayers’ money, Air India has been in the red for long and various proposals, including government think tank Niti Aayog’s suggestion for complete privatisation, have been made.

The airline has a debt of more than Rs 52,000 crore and is surviving on a Rs 30,000-crore bailout package extended by the previous UPA government in 2012. “

Cabinet considers Outright Sale of Air India

27 Tuesday Jun 2017

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Modi government is on the move to outright privatise Air India, the prestigious PSU airline  of India. Air India has been on obstacle for the private airlines to increase the charges. Further they want to take over the domestic and foreign routes now being run by Air India.

There are three proposals before the Cabinet; outright sale, disinvestment of 76% and 49%. Whatever is the decision, the PSU will be in the hands of the private company.

We express our strong protest against the anti-PSU, anti-people move!

Merger of Vijaya, Dena Banks with Canara Bank

25 Sunday Jun 2017

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‘Merger’ has become the most important word in the banking sector. It is only a few weeks back that the 5 associated banks and the Mahila Bank were merged with SBI, despite strong protests from the employees and their unions.

Now it is the turn of other PSU Banks. Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank is being merged with Canara Bank. The government says that mergers are necessary for creating big banks. Whether such merger will benefit the customers and workers?

 

Jaipur and Ahmedabad Airports being sold to private

24 Saturday Jun 2017

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There is not a single day without news about selling of the central PSUs. The latest is the privatisation of the airports at Jaipur and Ahmedabad. The government has proposed to hand over these two airports to the private for a period of 10 years. The private companies want the period to extended to more years. As usual, the government is likely to surrender to the corporates and increase the period from 10 to 15 or 20 years.

Modi government will convert all the PSUs in to private companies, unless might opposition and struggles take place by the workers and the central trade unions against this selling of the government assets.

Agitation against privatisation of HLL Life Care Limited

24 Saturday Jun 2017

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The decision of the central government to privatise the HLL Life Care Limited, the PSU manufacturing contraceptives etc. stationed at Thiruvananthapuram, is strongly opposed by the 20,000 workforce as well as the trade unions in the city. Stated in the 1970s, the Hindustan Latex Limited 9 the former name of HLL Lifecare Limited), the company has grown in a big way with continuously posting year after year.
19 acres of prime land was allotted by the government for the HLL at the nominal rate of Rs.2? and the Tamilnadu and Karnataka Governments also have contributed. There is anger and frustration among the workers and the local people, since a good percentage of the workers belong to the area itself. Realising the anger, the HLL management has now proposed to the government 49% stake sale.

Neither there is any need for stake sale nor privatisation. CITU, along with the union in HLL have strongly protested privatisation. The company is running well, it is profitable and it is supporting the local people.The government should withdraw its proposal for privatisation/stake sale and allow the PSU to function as before.