Tuesday, October 30, 2012
INTRODUCTION OF FACILITY OF AUTOMATIC CREDIT OF PLI/ RPLI MONTHLY PREMIUM FROM SAVINGS ACCOUNT OF INSURED PERSONS.
Copy of PLI Directorate letter No.
29-08/2009-LI (Pt) dated 25.10.2012
To
All Heads of Circles
Addl. DG (APS)
Sub: Introduction of
facility of automatic credit of PLI/ RPLI monthly premium from savings account
of insured persons.
In the last few years, there has been massive expansion of Postal
Life Insurance (PLI) and Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI). However, it has
been noticed that a number of policies particularly in RPLI lapse after a
while. One of the reasons for lapsation is absence of convenient ways of
depositing premia of the policy(ies). As such, it was under consideration of
the Department to provide facility of automatic deduction of premia from
Savings Account so that (i) the policy holder(s) need not have to visit Post
Office every month for depositing premia of his PLI/ RPLI policy and (ii)
lapsation of PLI/ RPLI policies gets reduced.
2. The competent authority has now approved the proposal for
providing the facility to the policy holder of PLI and RPLI to get premium
deposited/ credited by deduction of the same directly from his Savings Account
standing in Post Offices. However, this facility can be opted by only those
policy holders of PLI and RPLI whose Savings Accounts are maintained in the
Departmental Post Offices (GPOs, HOs, MDGs or SOs).
3. It is requested to kindly take necessary action for
implementation of aforesaid scheme and wide publicity may also be given for
this scheme through various publicity channels.
4 Accounting and operating procedure for automatic transfer
of premium of PLI/ RPLI from Savings Accounts of the policy holder is enclosed
for information and action accordingly.
5 It is further informed that till the provisions are made
in the software, automatic credit of PLI/ RPLI monthly premium by deduction
from savings account of the policy holder will have to be done manually.
Sd/-
(A.K. Poddar)
General Manager (O)
Rail travel, govt services may cost more
NEW DELHI: Get ready to shell out more for your train journey and
several other services provided by the government — from parcels to
patents.
Pawan Kumar Bansal, the new railway minister, on Monday hinted at an increase in passenger fares with a caveat that it was not meant to earn a profit for the state-run transporter. "Fares will not be increased for the sake of increasing fare. If fare will be increased, then it will be for providing better services to passengers," Bansal said soon after taking charge of the ministry, which has returned to the Congress-fold after 17 years.
"We want to run the railways on sound financial principles," Bansal said, adding that he would discuss the issue with the railway Board on Tuesday, and then take it up with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Ordinary passenger fares have not been raised for nearly a decade, and earlier this year the government was forced to limit the hike to air-conditioned sleeper coaches after stiff opposition from Trinamool Congress, its erstwhile ally. The national transporter is under financial strain and funds earmarked for several projects are being curtailed.
Bansal, himself a frequent traveler on Shatabdi Express, said that even passengers are willing to pay more for better services. "Many a time, people suggest to me they won't mind the government hiking fares if the services are made better," he said while identifying safety and modernization as his priorities.
Unlike the railway minister, several other ministries are ready with plans to raise user charges, or the cost a consumer pays for accessing services as part of a finance ministry-driven move to raise more resources. For instance, the postal department is in the process of "rationalizing" tariffs although the aam aadmi services such as post cards may be spared. An official said that the exercise would include an increase in money order and parcel tariffs apart from the commission that the state-run India Posts earns by rendering services.
Similarly, since the Patent Office is in the midst of an increase in the application fee, the move is unlikely to raise any eyebrows.
Already, passport charges have been raised by 50% from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500, while for tatkal the tariffs have increased from Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,500 from October 1.
The finance ministry has repeatedly flagged the issue of raising these charges but given the acute financial stress it is only now that the move has acquired some seriousness. For the government an increase in passport and patent fees is unlikely to result in a significant gain as they together generate around Rs 3,500 crore annually. Even the increase in postal charges will only reduce the postal deficit marginally from a little over Rs 5,700 crore budgeted for the current fiscal.
Officials, however, said that the move will signal the government's intent to fiscal consolidation.
Pawan Kumar Bansal, the new railway minister, on Monday hinted at an increase in passenger fares with a caveat that it was not meant to earn a profit for the state-run transporter. "Fares will not be increased for the sake of increasing fare. If fare will be increased, then it will be for providing better services to passengers," Bansal said soon after taking charge of the ministry, which has returned to the Congress-fold after 17 years.
"We want to run the railways on sound financial principles," Bansal said, adding that he would discuss the issue with the railway Board on Tuesday, and then take it up with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Ordinary passenger fares have not been raised for nearly a decade, and earlier this year the government was forced to limit the hike to air-conditioned sleeper coaches after stiff opposition from Trinamool Congress, its erstwhile ally. The national transporter is under financial strain and funds earmarked for several projects are being curtailed.
Bansal, himself a frequent traveler on Shatabdi Express, said that even passengers are willing to pay more for better services. "Many a time, people suggest to me they won't mind the government hiking fares if the services are made better," he said while identifying safety and modernization as his priorities.
Unlike the railway minister, several other ministries are ready with plans to raise user charges, or the cost a consumer pays for accessing services as part of a finance ministry-driven move to raise more resources. For instance, the postal department is in the process of "rationalizing" tariffs although the aam aadmi services such as post cards may be spared. An official said that the exercise would include an increase in money order and parcel tariffs apart from the commission that the state-run India Posts earns by rendering services.
Similarly, since the Patent Office is in the midst of an increase in the application fee, the move is unlikely to raise any eyebrows.
Already, passport charges have been raised by 50% from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500, while for tatkal the tariffs have increased from Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,500 from October 1.
The finance ministry has repeatedly flagged the issue of raising these charges but given the acute financial stress it is only now that the move has acquired some seriousness. For the government an increase in passport and patent fees is unlikely to result in a significant gain as they together generate around Rs 3,500 crore annually. Even the increase in postal charges will only reduce the postal deficit marginally from a little over Rs 5,700 crore budgeted for the current fiscal.
Officials, however, said that the move will signal the government's intent to fiscal consolidation.
Source : The Times of India, Oct. 30, 2012
No ease of access for disabled to post offices
NEW DELHI: Gulmohar Park's
post office exists in the basement of DDA market, down a flight of
stairs in a structure with no ramps or lift. That, however, hasn't
deterred the south division of the India Post from declaring it
"barrier-free" in its reply to an RTI enquiry filed by Dr Satyendra
Singh, professor of physiology at University College of Medical Sciences
and doctor at GTB Hospital.
Singh, himself disabled, filed a query under RTI Act in July requesting information from the postal department on the levels of accessibility at Delhi post offices. The reply is worrying as many first-floor post offices have no lifts and many of those declared "barrier-free" have stairs leading to them.
South division claims 65 of their 67 post offices (including Gulmohar Park's), are "barrier-free". The ones at Chittaranjan Park and Kailash Colony, it admits, are on the first floor "without any facility of lift". South division also claims that "ramps have been constructed for free movement of wheelchairs" and "height of all the counters has been lowered for easy access".
West division, too, claims "all the post offices of this division are easily accessible and barrier-free". "The two post offices in Rajouri Garden are both on the ground floor. The one in Janta Market has a very high pavement in front of it and the one in the main market is on a narrow and potholed bylane frequently flooded by sewage water and is slippery. A visually-impaired person can't reach that one," says Singh. The postal department didn't reply to his queries immediately but responded only after a first appeal was filed.
Singh travels 10 kilometers to Vasundhara, Ghaziabad, to send a speed post as the post offices closer to home all are inaccessible. "We only have impairments, it's the society which makes us disabled," he says.
North division runs 81 post offices of which 14 are above ground-floor or occupy multiple-floors. As per the division's own admission, "there is no provision of lifts in any post office building". However, the division had written to the executive engineer, postal civil division, for providing assistance as per the Disability Act, in seven post offices (including Ashok Vihar, Civil Lines, Malka Ganj and Rohini Sector 7) first in January 2009 and again in July and September, 2010, "but the needful has not been done yet". Southwest division runs 60 post offices, mostly from rented buildings, and 46 of them don't have ramps for wheelchairs. None of the post offices in the southwest division are on the first floor.
In central division, four post offices are operating from first-floors, "without having the lift" or any "separate arrangement for the people with disability". East division, too, states that "no post office under this division is with the facility of lift" and "no facilities were provided" for people with disability on POs above ground-floor. They say that barring seven post offices (at Krishna Nagar, Azad Nagar, Old Seemapuri, Mayur Vihar, Shahdaramandi, Gandhi Nagar Bazar and GTB Hospital), the rest of their 62 offices are "accessible to all persons with disabilities". Apparently, the stairs (without even handrails) at the PO in Jhilmil Industrial Area are not a barrier.
In the first question, Singh had sought "accessibility status" and explained what he meant by adding parenthetically, "whether accessible/barrier-free or not to persons with disabilities". In reply to this query, the office of the director, General Post Office, informs, "The GPO is centrally located and it is, therefore, accessible for all".
Singh, himself disabled, filed a query under RTI Act in July requesting information from the postal department on the levels of accessibility at Delhi post offices. The reply is worrying as many first-floor post offices have no lifts and many of those declared "barrier-free" have stairs leading to them.
South division claims 65 of their 67 post offices (including Gulmohar Park's), are "barrier-free". The ones at Chittaranjan Park and Kailash Colony, it admits, are on the first floor "without any facility of lift". South division also claims that "ramps have been constructed for free movement of wheelchairs" and "height of all the counters has been lowered for easy access".
West division, too, claims "all the post offices of this division are easily accessible and barrier-free". "The two post offices in Rajouri Garden are both on the ground floor. The one in Janta Market has a very high pavement in front of it and the one in the main market is on a narrow and potholed bylane frequently flooded by sewage water and is slippery. A visually-impaired person can't reach that one," says Singh. The postal department didn't reply to his queries immediately but responded only after a first appeal was filed.
Singh travels 10 kilometers to Vasundhara, Ghaziabad, to send a speed post as the post offices closer to home all are inaccessible. "We only have impairments, it's the society which makes us disabled," he says.
North division runs 81 post offices of which 14 are above ground-floor or occupy multiple-floors. As per the division's own admission, "there is no provision of lifts in any post office building". However, the division had written to the executive engineer, postal civil division, for providing assistance as per the Disability Act, in seven post offices (including Ashok Vihar, Civil Lines, Malka Ganj and Rohini Sector 7) first in January 2009 and again in July and September, 2010, "but the needful has not been done yet". Southwest division runs 60 post offices, mostly from rented buildings, and 46 of them don't have ramps for wheelchairs. None of the post offices in the southwest division are on the first floor.
In central division, four post offices are operating from first-floors, "without having the lift" or any "separate arrangement for the people with disability". East division, too, states that "no post office under this division is with the facility of lift" and "no facilities were provided" for people with disability on POs above ground-floor. They say that barring seven post offices (at Krishna Nagar, Azad Nagar, Old Seemapuri, Mayur Vihar, Shahdaramandi, Gandhi Nagar Bazar and GTB Hospital), the rest of their 62 offices are "accessible to all persons with disabilities". Apparently, the stairs (without even handrails) at the PO in Jhilmil Industrial Area are not a barrier.
In the first question, Singh had sought "accessibility status" and explained what he meant by adding parenthetically, "whether accessible/barrier-free or not to persons with disabilities". In reply to this query, the office of the director, General Post Office, informs, "The GPO is centrally located and it is, therefore, accessible for all".
Source : The Times of India, Oct. 29, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Divisional Union writes to free the SPMs / Postmasters from obtaining the targeted business in P L I
To
The Senior Superintendent of Post
Offices
Bhubaneswar Division, Bhubaneswar –
751 009
No.
UN-BN/AIPEU-Gr.-C/ 04 – 10 / 2012, Dated at Bhubaneswar the 29th October, 2012
Sub: Organization of RPLI Mela on 04.11.2012 (
Sunday )
Ref.- Divisional Office letter No.
PLI-RPLI/Misc/2012-13, dated 19.10.2012
Sir,
In
response to Divisional Office letter under reference on the above subject, we
would like to intimate that C O letter No.
LI/Misc-2/09-10/Ch-IV, dated 25.09.2012
initially issued to organize PLI Mela on 28.10.2012 with instruction to treat
the failure to attend / procure policy [Para – 5 (e)] and other condition for
providing tea/snacks/lunch to the policy procurers [ Para – 5 (d) ] were subsequently
deleted/modified after the facts were brought to the kind notice of the Chief
PMG and DPS ( BD & Mktg.) by AIPEU, Group-C, Odisha Circle branch and fresh
order was issued by C O on 05.10.2012
rescheduling the Mela to 04.11.2012.
But we are highly shocked to notice that SSPOs has threatened
vide Divisional Office letter under reference to view the absence of anyone
seriously which has not been a clause/condition in the original letter issued
by C O afresh. No other Division except Bhubaneswar has also issued such a
letter threatening their staff members for the purpose. While we do agree that
a lot of staff motivation is required to achieve the target given to this
Division, the present threatening has de-motivated the staff members of this
Division a lot.
It is needless to
reiterate that due to the sincere efforts of our staff members only,
Bhubaneswar Division has ranked 1st in procuring highest business in
premium products, 1st in procuring highest number of PLI Policies, 1st
in procuring highest business in PLI sum assured and 3rd in earning
revenue on e-Payment during the year 2009-10 in Odisha Circle for which the Chief Postmaster General,
Odisha Circle has already awarded the SSPOs, Bhubaneswar Division on
10.09.2010. Such tempo is still continuing and our staff members have proved
their efficiency several times before without any threatening from Divisional
Office. We are completely aware of the trend in which the Department is
proceeding ahead and we are not against achieving the target fixed for our
Division/Circle.
As such, with due
regards to the sentiments of the staff members, we would like to request the
SSPOs to withdraw the clause threatening the staff members in Divisional Office
letter under reference.
Secondly, it has also brought to the notice of this union that
only Premium Receipt Books [LI-7(a)] and some blank Proposal Forms for PLI (
LI-24) have been supplied in a hurry to the SPMs/Postmasters just a few days
before without any brochure. Admittedly, for earlier non-involvement, many SPMs/Postmasters
are also not aware of following the premium calculation tables and thus need
some guidance and time to be conversant with the rules and procedures for
collecting the PLI proposals correctly. Further, it is aware that the SPMs / Postmasters are not field staff and
their job is quite confined to the four
walls of the office overburdened with excessive workload.
As such, considering
the nature of job, untrained quality in procuring PLI business and excessive
workload now a day, we once again request the administration to relax the
target fixed for collection of PLI proposals exclusively by SPMs / Postmasters.
A line of reply is
highly solicited.
With regards.
Yours
faithfully,
( B SAMAL)
Secretary,
AIPEU, Gr.-C
Bhubaneswar Divisional Branch
Copy to Com. R C
Mishra, Circle Secretary, AIPEU, Group-C, Odisha Circle for information and
necessary action. He is requested to appraise the Circle administration to free
the SPMs / Postmasters from obtaining the targeted business and not to create a
fear-psychosis of disciplinary action in the minds of the peace loving devoted staff
members for not attending melas on Sundays/Holidays.
( B SAMAL)
Secretary,
AIPEU, Gr.-C
Bhubaneswar Divisional Branch
Selection of Players in Odisha Postal Circle for All India Civil Services Athletics Tournament 2012-13
Shri Malaya Ranjan Pati, PA,
Bhubaneswar G.P.O and Shri
Budhuram Singh, PA, Balasore Dn have
been selected to attend Civil Service Athletics Trial of Bhubaneswar Zone at
the Recreation Club of the Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax Department,
C.R.Building, Rajaswa Vihar, Bhubaneswar-7 at 02.00 PM on 01.11.2012 in Hammer / Discuss Throw and Long Jump / Triple
Jump respectively.
Wishing every success, the AIPEU, Group-C,
Bhubaneswar Division congratulates both of them .
Dr. Kruparani Killi takes over as MoS for C&IT
Dr. Kruparani Killi has taken over as the new Minster
of State for Communications and Information Technology in Electronics
Niketan, New Delhi today.
On joining office, she was received by Sh. J. Satyanarayana, Secretary, Dept. of Electronics & IT (DeitY).
Dr. Killi is a Congress Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh. Born on 19th November, 1965, Dr. Killi studied Medicine.
On joining office, she was received by Sh. J. Satyanarayana, Secretary, Dept. of Electronics & IT (DeitY).
Dr. Killi is a Congress Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh. Born on 19th November, 1965, Dr. Killi studied Medicine.
Source : PIB Release, Oct. 29, 2012
ILO Nine Decades Later
THE International Labour
Organisation (ILO) a tripartite body of
the representatives of governments, employees and
employers, came into
existence in Paris on
April 11, 1919, under the
Treaty of Versailles, as an organ of the League of Nations.
However, though the League of
Nations suffered
demise after the outbreak of the second world war in
1939, the ILO survived. On
May 10, 1944 the 26th International Labour Conference
at Philadelphia
(Pennsylvania,
US) adopted a declaration reaffirming the major
objectives of ILO and strongly
underlining the universal dimension of the struggle
for social justice. This declaration
is termed as the first universal Charter of
Fundamental Human Rights to have been
adopted by an international organisation.
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
Subsequently the
Philadelphia Declaration was permanently annexed
to the ILO’s constitution whose very first article
states that the ILO would promote
the objectives set forth in the declaration. The
fundamental principles
proclaimed in the Declaration are as follows:
“Labour is not a commodity.
“Freedom of expression and
of association is essential to
sustained progress.
“Poverty anywhere
constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere.
“All human beings,
irrespective of race, creed or sex, have the
right to pursue both their material well-being and
their spiritual development
in conditions of freedom and dignity, of economic
security and equal
opportunity.”
As per a resolution of the
27th session of the ILO held at Paris on November
3, 1945,
the ILO entered an agreement with the United Nations
whereby the latter recognised
the former as a specialised agency responsible for
labour issues. Since then
the ILO is a constituent of the UNO.
Starting with 42 member
states, the ILO now has more than 170
member states.
Under article 2 of its
constitution, the organisation of ILO is
composed of a general conference (better known as
International Labour
Conference of ILO or ILC) composed of the member
states’ representatives, a governing
body elected every third year in the ILC, and the
International Labour Office
located at Geneva
and controlled by the governing body. The ILO director
general is the functional
head, elected by the governing body every third year.
Then there are the chairman
and two vice chairmen from the governments, employers
and employees
respectively, elected by the ILC.
The member states are
entitled to send four representatives to the
general conference of whom two shall be government
delegates and one each
representing the employees and employers.
However, each delegate may be accompanied by
not more than two advisors for
each item on the agenda of the conference. When
women’s questions are to be
considered by the conference, at least one woman
advisor has to be sent. The governing
body consists of 56 persons, of whom 28 represent
governments and 14 each are from
employee and employers. They are elected every third
year in the ILC.
The ILC is a jumbo
tripartite conference held every year at the
huge UN buildings complex at Geneva
for two weeks --- generally around June 1 to 14. The
vastness of the conference
can be understood from the fact that as per current
practice more than 4,500
participants attend the conference. They are
representatives of governments
(including around 200 ministers from different
countries), trade unions and
employers’ organisations from the member states.
Here it is necessary to note
that representation in the ILC, in the
governing body, in various committees set up by
conferences and the
International Labour Office, deployment of employees
or experts in the office etc,
etc continue to be the absolute monopoly of ITUC ---
the class collaborationist
international trade union body. But the class oriented
trade union organisation,
World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), is denied
representation. Refusing to
accept the scientific norm of proportionate
representation, representation in
all the ILO fora is decided on the ground of number of
unions participating there,
without considering the membership represented by the
affiliates concerned. This
is an atrocious injustice of ‘one size fits all,’
against which the WFTU has
been consistently campaigning. This distortion is
seriously affecting the
quality of ILO’s functioning. The interest of the
working class is often
compromised by class collaborators in league with the
employers’ side.
CONVENTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Since its inception, one
setting international labour standards
through adoption of ‘conventions’ and
‘recommendations’ has been of the most
vital functions of ILO. These are decided in the ILC.
Once an item is
undertaken for consideration, it is for the ILC to
determine what kind of
instrument should be adopted for the item concerned. In any case
two-thirds of the votes cast by
the delegates present is necessary for the adoption of
an instrument. The obligations
of member states in respect of conventions and
recommendations are regulated
under article 19 (5) and 19 (6) of the constitution
respectively. The difference
is that while the conventions are communicated to all
members for ratification,
the recommendations are communicated for
consideration.
In the matter of
ratification and administration of the
instruments, ILO extends various services to all three
constituents in the
member states. This is called ‘Technical Cooperation,’
defined as “assistance
to governments and employers’ and workers’
organisations to fulfil their
functions and roles in the standard-setting and
supervisory system.”
Up to the ILC 2011, 189
conventions and 201 recommendations had
been adopted. These conventions broadly pertain to
freedom of association,
employment and training, matters related to conditions
of work including health
and safety, social security etc. The conventions on
freedom of association,
abolition of forced labour, non-discrimination, equal
remuneration, employment
policy, social security, migrant workers, labour
inspection and tripartite
consultation are generally considered to be the major
ones. There are also the core
conventions which are discussed later.
In standard setting
activities, if the ILO was very fast in its
early years it slowed down gradually. Within the first
two years of its
establishment, it adopted as many as 16 conventions.
More than 50 per cent of
the conventions were adopted within 20 years of its
existence and less than 50
per cent conventions in the next 55 years. Thus from
the angle of issues
covered and number of conventions adopted, the period
1919-60 was termed as the
“Golden Age of Standards.” The period since 1991 has
been the worst --- only 17
conventions in the last 21 years. Clearly the evil
onslaught of neo-liberalism has
seriously hampered the standard setting process. Later
we will see how the
imperialist powers wanted to break the ILO itself.
DEPLORABLE RECORD OF RATIFICATION
So far, hardly 30 per cent
of the conventions have been ratified (with
varying figures) by member states. The ILO conventions
are adopted by its
conference, half of whose participants are from the
governments of respective
member countries while the other half are equally
distributed between the
employees’ and employers’ organisations of member
countries. As the
governments’ and employers’ representatives constitute
three fourth of the total
“tripartite” body, they have a decisive voice in
adoption of conventions whose adoption
requires two-third votes in favour. Moreover,
it is they who oppose the ratification of various
conventions in their
respective countries.
This is a glaring instance
of doublefacedness. A convention is
binding on a country only after its government
ratifies it. Thus, saving a few,
the whole lot of adopted conventions are confined only
to the record book. Advanced
capitalist countries are leading defaulters in the
matter of ratification of
ILO conventions. While the G-7 countries have ratified
on an average 77 conventions,
the USA
and Japan
have
individually ratified only 11 and 40 respectively. Out
of the 189 conventions, India,
a member
of ILO since its very beginning, has so far ratified
43 only.
Article 24 of ILO
constitution says that on receipt of
representation against any member state’s failure for
effective observance of a
convention to which it is a party, the governing body
may invite its government
to make statement. As per provision, if no statement
is received within a
reasonable time or if the statement received is not
deemed to be satisfactory,
the governing body has the right to publish the
representation and the
statement. Obviously, in absence of any punitive
powers regarding violation of
democratic decisions of the world’s highest tripartite
body, the ILO could not
achieve the trust of the working class.
The governing body of the
ILO has identified eight conventions as
fundamental to the rights of working class. These,
given alongside, are
referred to as the core conventions.
|
S No
|
Nomenclature
|
Convention No
|
Year of Adoption
|
Total Ratifications As On
December 31, 2007
|
|
1
|
Freedom
of Association and Protection of the Right
to Organise
|
87
|
1948
|
148
|
|
2
|
Right
to Organise and Collective Bargaining
|
98
|
1949
|
158
|
|
3
|
Forced
Labour
|
29
|
1930
|
172
|
|
4
|
Abolition
of Forced Labour
|
105
|
1957
|
170
|
|
5
|
Minimum
Age
|
138
|
1973
|
150
|
|
6
|
Worst
Form of Child Labour
|
182
|
1999
|
165
|
|
7
|
Equal
Remuneration
|
100
|
1951
|
164
|
|
8
|
Discrimination
(Employment and Occupation)
|
111
|
1958
|
166
|
Of these, India,
a founder member of ILO and holding a non-elective
seat in the governing body,
has so far ratified only four --- Convention No 29,
100, 105 and 111 in the
years 1954, 1958, 2000 and 1960 respectively. Notably,
it has not yet ratified the
two most important core conventions --- 87 and 98.
AN IMPORTANT
STEP
TOWARDS WORKERS’
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
The 86th session the ILC,
held at Geneva in June 1998, adopted
“The ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and
Rights at Work and Its
Follow-up,” identified as a new instrument for
promoting these principles and
rights, especially for the member states that have not
ratified conventions 87
and 98. The declaration itself is really the result of
an intense campaign by
trade unions demanding more vigorous promotion and
monitoring of fundamental
rights by ILO. This achievement of the trade unions
was recognised “as an
important step towards securing more universal respect
for the fundamental
rights of workers as essential values of the ILO and
the international
community as a whole.” Since 2000, ILO has been
bringing out a Global Report
every year on any one of the four fundamental
principles and rights at work,
and also conducting special plenary sessions during
the ILC.
The adoption of this
declaration put every member state under
obligation to respect the fundamental rights of
workers irrespective of whether
it has adopted the concerned conventions or not. Para 2 of
the declaration notes: “…..all members,
even if they have not ratified the conventions in
question, have an obligation,
arising from the very fact of membership in the
organisation, to respect, to
promote and to realise, in good faith and in
accordance with the constitution,
the principles concerning the fundamental rights which
are the subject of those
conventions.”
The declaration further
said: “It should be remembered that
proceedings can be initiated against governments even
if they have not ratified
the ILO conventions No 87 and 98. Indeed, membership
of the ILO presupposes
formal acceptance of the obligation of its
constitution, which proclaims the
principle of freedom of association.”
The freedom and rights
conferred on workers by convention 87 can
be summarised as follows: 1) The right freely
exercised by workers to organise
for furthering and defending their interests. 2) The
right to establish or join
an organisation of their own choice, without
interference from public
authorities. 3) Organisations have the right to
establish and join federations
and confederations, which shall enjoy the same rights
and guarantees; they also
have the right to affiliate with international
organisations. 4) The
acquisition of a legal personality by these
organisations shall not be subject
to restrictive conditions. 5) A country’s laws will
not impair the guarantees
provided in this convention.
The salient features of
convention 98 can be thus summarised: 1) Protection
to workers in exercising the right to organise;
non-interference from employers’
organisations. 2) Promotion of voluntary collective
bargaining. 3) Workers will
enjoy adequate protection against anti-union
discrimination. 4) They cannot be refused
employment on ground of trade union membership. 5)
They cannot be dismissed or harmed
in any other way for the reason of membership or
participation in trade union
activities.
Outlining the immense
importance of these core conventions, the
Global Report, submitted by the ILO director general
to the 97th session of the
ILC, noted: These enabling rights make it possible to
promote and realise
decent conditions at work. Strong and independent
workers’..… organisations and
the effective realisation of right to engage in
collecting bargaining are major
tools for engagement between employers’ and workers’
organisations to address
economic and social concerns….. The exercise of these
rights has a major impact
on work and living conditions.”
RIGHT TO STRIKE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Recently the ILO
commissioned a worldwide survey to update the data on
right to collective
bargaining in different countries. However, the ILO
report 2004 on the coverage
of collective bargaining --- the proportion of workers
in a country whose pay
and conditions of employment are set primarily by
collective agreements --- presents
the picture as below.
In most EU member
countries as well as some others like Australia and
Norway, coverage is 80 per cent
or higher. In
Austria, France, Germany
and the Netherlands, sectoral agreements are extended
to employers and
employees who are not members of the signatory
organisations. Coverage is lower
in other developed countries, ranging from 37 per cent
in Switzerland, 34 in
Canada, 20 in Japan down to 15 per cent in the US.
The figures for
developing and so called transition economies are less
reliable. In Asia,
coverage ranges from less than two per cent in India
to 14 per cent in the
Republic of Korea, 19 per cent in Singapore, and 33
per cent in the
Philippines. In
Latin America, the
variation is noticeable, ranging from 65 per cent in
Argentina to less than three
per cent in Costa Rica.
The information
available for African countries shows a coverage of 30
per cent; in South
Africa it is almost 50 per cent.
Though there is no explicit
ILO convention on right to strike, convention
105 (1957) --- on the abolition of forced labour,
prohibiting the use of forced
or compulsory labour “as a punishment for having
participated in strikes” ---
mentions it. The
recommendation 92
(1951), on voluntary conciliation and arbitration,
states that there should be no
provision which “may be interpreted as limiting, in
any way whatsoever, the
right to strike.” Apart from that, there are specific
ILO resolutions and
specific observations of the Committee on Freedom of
Association (since 1952)
and the Committee of Experts on the Application of
Conventions and
Recommendations (since 1959) established by the ILO
governing body which emphasised
the recognition of this right by member states.
In the context of convention
87 and 98, it is observed that without
the right to strike, the right to collective
bargaining cannot have a decent
outcome. As an expert opined, “The right to strike is
the logical corollary of
the effective realisation of the right to collective
bargaining. If it does not
exist, bargaining..… becomes a dead letter.”
INDIA’S
REFUSAL TO RATIFY
CONVENTIONS
The government of India has
been continuously refusing to ratify
the some core conventions under different pleas. Its
stand can be noted from
the writing of a former secretary to the union
ministry of labour: “The
guarantee provided for in conventions 87 and 98 are by
and large in conformity
with the relevant provisions of the Indian
constitution, national laws and
regulations. The rights guaranteed under these two
Conventions are also available
to industrial and other workers through laws and
practices. However, there are
some technical problems in ratifying these two
Conventions.” On
non-ratification of two other core conventions --- 138
and 182 --- the government’s
position is: “these conventions will be considered
only when their provisions
are fully brought out into our national law and
regulations.”
The core conventions stress
four fundamental components of trade
union rights: (i) Freedom of association and the
effective recognition of the
right to collective bargaining. (ii) Elimination of
all forms of forced or
compulsory labour. (iii) Effective abolition of child
labour. (iv) Elimination
of discrimination in respect of employment and
occupation. Now the working
class has to intensify its fight for these basic trade
union rights in context
of the bourgeois onslaught that is going on since the
last five years.
THE SCENARION SINCE SOVIET DEBACKLE
The capitalist class had had
its own motive and interest behind
the foundation of ILO as a part of the League of
Nations. They wanted to defuse
the then rising struggle of the working class in the
post- First World War
situation and also to divert the growing working class
enthusiasm on the USSR
providing an alternative to capitalism.
But with the setback because
of the demise of the USSR and the socialist
states of Eastern Europe, the earlier equilibrium of
forces in the world has seriously
altered. It naturally has its implications for the
ILO, as is reflected in its
slide to a ‘Northward bias.’ This has been admitted by
none other than a former
ILO director general: “The end of bipolar world
dissolved a structure of
international relations that took shape in 1945 and
generally influenced the
work of the organisation.” Similarly, a comparative
study of the role of ILO
during the Keynesian state sponsored demand management
so as to save capitalism
during the great depression of the 1930s and then
during the period of
neo-liberal economic onslaught is startling. While the
study termed the former
period as the ‘golden period’ in regard to adopting
standards, the latter is the
darkest one in the life of this 93 years old
organisation.
During the period of
neo-liberal onslaught of capitalism, till the
outbreak of the current systemic crisis of capitalism
which exploded with a financial
meltdown in the USA, the ILO was made to play to the
tune of the bourgeoisie, unabashedly
neglecting the issues and interest of the working
class. Moreover, during
2006-07, when reforms (!?) of the UN system were
attempted, imperialists tried to
erase the ILO’s autonomy. To push the ILO into the
grip of imperialist globalisation,
a proposal was mooted to have annual meetings among
ILO, IMF, World Bank, WTO
etc. Yet another proposal was of merging the different
UN agencies including
ILO and to switch over to a so-called structure of
“four Ones” --- one leader;
one programme; one budgetary framework and one
officer. These would have ended
the distinct identity of the ILO, making it just a
tool of imperialist powers. It
was the stiff resistance from trade unions that threw
the move into the cold
storage.
Interestingly, the
directional demarcation in the policy documents
of ILO is noticeable. Immediately after the onset of
the current crisis a report
of the then ILO director general came out eloquently
against the neo-liberal
policies: “This
crisis was preceded by
growing imbalances in the way globalisation
unfolded, notably a protracted
aggravation of income inequalities amongst and
within countries. Moreover, the
crisis occurred in context of a dominant policy
vision that overvalued the
capacity of markets to regulate themselves,
undervalued the role of the state
and devalued the dignity of work, respect for
environment and the delivery of
public goods and social protection.”
Analysing the crisis as the
culmination of more than a 100 crises,
the report further said: “Since the 1970s over 100
systematic financial crises
of various kinds have been recorded. Since 1997 we
have experienced the Asian
crisis, followed by crises in the Russian Federation,
Turkey, Brazil and
Argentina, the bursting of the “dot-com” bubble in
2000 and now the sub-prime
mortgage crisis in the United States and its
reverberations throughout the
world. That is a lot in just ten years and suggests
that there are fundamental
imbalances in the mechanisms of the new global economy
that need attention.”
NEED FOR
PROTRACTED, UNITED
STRUGGLES
Despite all the limitations
and shortcomings inherent in the ILO’s
structure and functioning, it has played a significant
role in equipping the
international working class with valuable labour
standards in the form of conventions
and recommendations. Of course there has always been
attempt to maintain an inclination
towards the governments and employers’ class at the
cost of the working class. But
it is certain that the ILO has deep insight into the
impact of the world situation
on workplace and workforce. It has the privilege of
regularly exchanging views with
government representatives, employers, workers and
others. This gives it a
great deal of varied insights into what is happening
in the world of work and
the reasons thereof. While steering clear of any
illusions, we can well utilise
its conventions, its recommendations and the other
voluminous materials it has
been producing, so as to expose the pro-capital and
anti-labour faces of governments
and to sharpen the class struggle.
When the ILO is now
preparing for its centenary celebrations, the
working class in our country has to organise various
phase-wise joint
programmes in order to mobilise for in protracted a
countrywide campaign. Through
propaganda and action, it has to popularise the core
conventions among the mass
of workers and effectively prevail upon the government
to make it ratify the remaining
core conventions.
It is a matter of great
encouragement that the 10-point charter of
demands adopted by the central trade unions for
uniting the entire working
class on one platform includes the demand for
ratification of conventions 87
and 98. In view of the growing ferocity of attacks on
trade unions rights, ratification
of these conventions has acquired an urgency, and the
trade union movement in
the country has to launch powerful struggle to compel
the government on this
score.
By : Swadesh
Dev Roye
Courtesy : http://pd.cpim.org/2012/1028_pd/10282012_19.html
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