CONFEDERATION WRITES TO CENTRAL TUs SEEKING SUPPORT FOR ONE DAY STRIKE ON 12.12.12

CONFEDERATION OF CENTRALGOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AND WORKERS

Manihsinath Bhawan,A/2/95 Rajouri Garden,New Delhi. 110 027.

Website: confederationhq. Blogspot.com,E mail:confederation06@yahoo.co.in.

 

Dated: 22^nd November, 2012

D/14/2012(1)(CTU)

 

Dear  Comrade,

 

                The Confederation of Central Government employees and workers, the apex level organisations of Associations/Federations/Unions of CG employees other than those working in the Railways and Defence had to take a decision to call upon its members to organise a day's strike on 12^th December, 2012 due to the persisting nugatory attitude of the Government in settling the long pending demands.   The Government has almost shut down all negotiation in the JCM forum in so far as employees of the departments who we represent are concerned.  The Departmental Council meetings are not convened for decades; with the result none of the issues could be even discussed.

 

                The demands inter alia include the scrapping of the new pension scheme; withdraw the PFRDA Bill; reintroduce the universal Public distribution system to help out the workers and other poor people; stoppage of outsourcing and the consequent contractorization; regularisation of the casual and contingent and daily rated workers and the Grameen Dak Sewaks whose number has increased phenomenally in the last two decades; setting up the 7^th CPC for wage revision which has become due on 1.1.2011(having completed 5 years since the last revision in 2006); removal of the arbitrary restrictions on compassionate appointments; revival of the negotiating forum i.e. JCM etc. We send herewith an explanatory Note on these demands in pursuance, of which we are organising the strike on 12^th December, 2012. 

 

                We shall be grateful for your support and solidarity to make our struggle successful.  We shall also be thankful if you will kindly take up our demands with the Government for settlement.

 

                Thanking you and with greetings,

 

Yours fraternally,

 

K.K.N. Kutty

Secretary General

CONFEDERATION WRITES TO HONOURABLE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

CONFEDERATION OF CENTRALGOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AND WORKERS

Manihsinath Bhawan,A/2/95 Rajouri Garden,New Delhi. 110 027.

Website: confederationhq. Blogspot.com,E mail:confederation06@yahoo.co.in.

 

Dated: 22^nd November, 2012

D/14/2012(2)(MP)

Dear Sir,

                The Confederation of Central Government employees and workers is the apex level organisation of all Federation/Association/Unions of CGEs other than in the Railways and Defence establishments.  In our last National Council meeting, we were constrained to decide to call upon our members to organise a day's strike on 12^th December, 2012 in pursuance of a 15 Point charter of demands.

                As you are aware, it was in the wake of a strike action in 1960s by the Central Govt. Employees, the Govt. of India set up permanent negotiating machinery called JCM so that the employees will be able to raise their demands and grievances and seek settlement thereof through dialogue.  This machinery has now come to a standstill as the Govt. does not convene the meetings of the councils at the Departmental levels on one pretext or the other.  A new set of rules were promulgated in 1993 to grant recognition to Service Associations.  Many Ministries, despite the employees organizations abiding by the stipulated conditions, have not afforded recognition to the Associations/Federations, thereby closing all channels of communication.  The JCM had the facility of referring the issues on which the Government could not agree upon to the Board of Arbitration.  The decision/award of the Board was binding on all parties.  However, of late the Government had been rejecting the awards in favour of the employees on the specious plea of adverse impact on national economy by presenting resolutions in the Parliament.  We need not emphasise the unethical character of this approach which undermines the confidence of the employees in the fairness of the system.  Two such awards have been moved for rejection in this session of the Parliament. 

                The 6^th CPC recommendations and its implementation had given rise to various anomalies.  The employees genuinely felt that the said anomalies would be removed through discussions for which the Government had set up a committee.  The Committee despite meeting on four occasions had not been able to settle the issues; nor could it be referred to the Arbitrator. The 6^th CPC recommendations were implemented with effect from 1.1.2006.  The revision of wages was due on 1.1.2011. The Government has not so far come forward to set up the 7^th CPC. 

                The new contributory pension scheme was introduced by the Government on the plea that the pension liability has become unbearable and is a drag on the exchequer.  In our Memorandum to the Prime Minister, we had raised several issues and had pointed out that the financial outflow on account of the new scheme will be much more than the existing defined benefit scheme. We had indicated in our memorandum quite a number of aspects which would be detrimental to the interest of workers. We were not even favour with a reply to our memorandum.

                Recently the Union Cabinet has decided to allow FDI in pension fund operations.  This will only result in the flow of Indian Savings for investment outside the country.  The PFRDA Bill is slated as Item No. 8 for the consideration of the Parliament in this session.  The real intent of the bill is reflected from the decision taken by the Union Cabinet to allow FDI in this Sector.  This bill being not in the national interest must not be allowed to become an Act. 

                We enclose an explanatory Note on our charter of demands, which include setting up of the 7^th CPC for wage revision, regularisation of GDS as Postal employees, raising the Bonus ceiling in the case of GDS on par with other workers in the country, removal of restriction of compassionate appointments, withdrawal of PFRDA Bill and grant of defined benefit pension to all Central Govt. employees; acceptance and implementation of the awards of Board of Arbitration, revival of public distribution system for making essential commodities available to the people at affordable prices; vacation of victimisation in the IA&A  Department etc.

                We seek your solidarity and support and request you to kindly raise these issues in the Parliament and ask the Government to settle the demands of the Government employees.

                Thanking you and soliciting your help once again,

Yours faithfully,

K.K.N. Kutty

Secretary General

CONFEDERATION WRITES TO POLITICAL PARTIES SEEKING SUPPORT

CONFEDERATION OF CENTRALGOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AND WORKERS

Manihsinath Bhawan,A/2/95 Rajouri Garden,New Delhi. 110 027.

Website: confederationhq. Blogspot.com,E mail:confederation06@yahoo.co.in.

 

Dated: 22^nd November, 2012

D/14/2012(2)(PP)

 

Dear Sir,

                We write this to request you to kindly intervene and take up the issues/demands and grievances of the Government employees with the Government.

 

                As you are aware, the Government had been systematically and continuously shedding its functions since 1991.  This policy decision has resulted in outsourcing many of the sovereign functions of the Government.  Presently as much as one third of the manpower employed by the Government is casual/contingent/daily rated or contract workers who are given pittance of emoluments. Half of the workforce of the Postal Department, (which employs more than three lakhs of employees,) is Grameen Dak Sewaks.  They are not even treated as Government employees.  For decades they work on hourly rate salary system.  Both the GDS and the other casual workers are employed for carrying out permanent and perennial nature of work.  The Government thus violates the laws of the land with impunity.  No scheme is in vogue today for their regularisation. The Govt. refuses to induct them as regular employees even after decades of service to their credit.

 

                The Government employees were entitled for a statutory defined benefit pension scheme.  The Government has denied it to those whoa re recruited after 1.1.2004. The post 2004 entrants are brought within the purview of the New Contributory Pension scheme, thereby making their pension entitlement subject to the market vagaries.  The reason adduced by the Government for effecting the switch over from the defined benefit scheme to the defined contributory scheme was the increasing financial burden on account of the pension liability. The Committee set up by the Govt. to go into the matter itself has opined that the new contributory scheme would only make the financial burden to increase further. 

 

                The Union Cabinet has now decided to allow FDI in Pension fund operations.  This will pave way for the foreign monopoly houses to garner the savings of Indian people and maximise their profit. The real intent of brining in the PFRDA Bill has become unambiguously clear from the decision of the Union cabinet to allow FDI in pension fund management.

 

                The  negotiating machinery which was set up by the Government in 1964 to address the issues and grievances of the Civil servants called the JCM in the wake of the 1960- strike has been made non functional for the Govt. do not convene its council meetings, especially at the Departmental levels.  Even when it meets occasionally, the art of procrastination prevails. The machinery had a dispute settlement mechanism whereby the issues on which the Government could not agree could be referred to the Board of Arbitration, whose decision was to be final and accepted by both the parties.  There are presently seventeen awards given in favour of the employees.  The Govt. has decided to move resolution in the Parliament to reject every one of them.  Two such awards are coming up for rejection in this session of the Parliament.

                There are very many other issues, which are of extreme concern to the employees' viz. the never abating rise in prices of essential commodities, the restoration of compassionate appointments; the overdue wage revision; the untenable vindictive actions against the union functionaries especially in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department etc.  Having failed to reach any reasonable settlement through dialogue the Confederation in its last National Council meeting was constrained to take decision for a one day token strike on 12^th December, 2012 in pursuance of the 15 point charter of demands.  We send herewith a copy of the Explanatory Note on these demands.

 

                We once again request you to kindly intervene and persuade the Government to settle these issues.

 

                Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,

K.K.N. Kutty

Secretary General

Kids paint 'Holiday' for postal stamp design

ALLAHABAD: Holidays are always a welcome sign in the life of kids who delve deep into their imaginative world to make Holidays more memorable and meaningful. Given a chance to put his imagination on the canvas, a multitude of colors come out in the process. Many such colors found place in "Design a stamp" competition organized by Department of Posts on Friday based on the topic 'Holiday'.
A total of 389 children participated in the competition from Allahabad Region, out of which 37 were from Allahabad, 78 in Pratapgarh, 79 in Jaunpur, and 192 in Varanasi. In Allahabad, children of 18 schools participated in the competition, which include participants from Saint Anthony Girls Inter College, Bishop Johnson Inter College, Dr KN Kaatju Inter College, Jwala Devi Saraswati Vidyamandir, VashisthVatsalya Public School, PatanjaliRishikul etc. All the participants were divided in three categories- Students of up to class 4th, Students from class 5th to 8th and students from class 9th to 12th.
Director, Postal Services, Allahabad region, Krishna Kumar Yadav said that all these entries will be evaluated at Regional level and best entry from all three categories will be sent to Circle office, Lucknow for further submission to Directorate for inclusion in National level competition.
First, second and third winners from all three categories will be awarded cash prizes of Rs. 10000, 6000 and 4000 respectively at National level. On the basis of winning entries at national level Postage Stamps, First Day Covers and Miniature sheets will be published next year on the occasion of Children's Day.
Yadav added that on this occasion children, teachers and guardians evinced keen interest in opening Philatelic Deposit Account under which they will receive Philatelic Postage Stamps each month at their home address.

Source : The Times of India, 26, Nov, 2012

Can India wall its corruption mart?

It is rare for Wal-Mart to find itself in the role of victim.

Normally, when the retailer is in the news for reasons other than being ultra-big or ultra-inexpensive, it is for being unfair to its employees, beating down producer prices or some other such activity, in which its role is that of perpetrator. In India, however, it is almost inevitable that it is at the receiving end of injury.

The Indian operation is being investigated by the parent for violations of the US law that restrains American companies from indulging in corrupt practices abroad, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Its makers, no doubt, intended the law to prevent American companies from seeking unfair advantage through illegal gratification. They might not have anticipated a situation in which an American company doing business abroad has to pay bribes not to garner a privilege or do in a competitor but merely to survive, just to do business.

In Incredible India, expect the unexpected. Here, a long tradition of collecting political funding almost exclusively through graft has ensured that all businesses must grease some palms somewhere to exist, is a growing concerns. There is no way a retail outlet would get a power connection or a licence from whoever licenses shops and establishments without paying the mandatory tribute along with the official fee.

All a law like FCPA does is to stimulate some creativity in how to camouflage such tribute. You could bill it as fees to a consultant who procures the needed permits, you could claim the expenditure even as expenses on educating the decision-making community, as Enron had famously claimed in the nineties.

Globalising India cannot afford to continue with such a corrupt administrative culture, in which corporate victims of state-sponsored extortion have, in turn, to find victims in its own managerial ranks, to comply with some sanctimonious law. Indian democracy has to start funding itself through transparent means. 

Source : The Economic Times, 24 Nov 2012

10 sure-shot ways to save money & improve your finances

One of the quickest ways to improve your finances is to reduce your spending and find more ways to save money. Unfortunately, there are still many people around who find it difficult to save, most of the times putting the blame on their 'insufficient' income. This is, however, not true as various studies have already proved that how much you save has little to do with how much you make.

If you are also among those who usually find it hard to save, there are some innovative and sure-shot ways which can help you save more and also improve your financial health in line with your goals.

Here we take a look at some of them:

1. Stick to the budget: One of the surest ways to cut your spending and save more is sticking to the monthly budget and resorting to forced savings. This system always works, regardless of the kind of job you have or your income.

Giving an example, Lovaii Navlakhi, MD & chief financial planner, International Money Matters Pvt Ltd, says that he knows of a client who segregates her monthly expenses in envelopes, for example, for groceries, eating out, fuel costs for two wheelers, etc. If the family decides to go out at the end of the month, the venue is dependent on what amount is left in the 'eating out' envelope. Similarly, the children may resort to travelling by bus if the 'fuel costs' have run out. This way they are able to budget their expenses and save as per their goals.

2. Take a 'no buy' day or week: Another important way to help with saving money and keeping a quality budget is 'spending freezes'. This means for the entire time of the 'no buy' break, you aren't allowed to buy anything new, or to go shopping. Exceptions to the 'no buy' time might include paying for medicines, food and emergencies that come up like a car breaking down. "Save the money you would have normally spent during the day or week you are on the 'no buy' break and invest that amount by the end of the month," says Navlakhi.

3. Avoid buying on impulse: Do you often purchase something and then get it home to find you aren't excited about it any longer? It happens with most of us. Therefore, if you are in the habit of spending on impulse, make an effort to have a moment of reflection before buying anything. "If you see something you would like to buy, try waiting a day or two before actually committing yourself to buying. If you really want it, you will come back. This will not only help you save more money, but also give you the chance to find other things that may be better," says Atul Surana, certified financial planner and MD of Mangalore-based Catalyst Financial Planning.

4. Avoid spending by habit: Quite often a lot of our spending is a daily habit. However, this spending could easily be unnecessary. For example, if you buy a takeaway coffee everyday for your office staff / visitors, why not invest in a coffee machine? "Just because you spend Rs 200 a day on lunch, doesn't mean this habit has to continue for ever. Try taking your own lunch. Re-evaluate all your habitual spending patterns and decide whether it is necessary," says Surana. This will help you cut your unnecessary spending and save more.

Source : The Economic Times, 24 Nov 2012

Unions accuse DHL of labour violations worldwide

GENEVA: Two international unions on Wednesday accused German postal giant Deutsche Post's DHL division of blocking unionisation efforts around the world, and moved to force Berlin to take action.

International postal workers union UNI Global Union and the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) said they had filed a formal complaint directly with the German government, a major shareholder with Deutsche Post.

In it, they argued that the world's largest logistics company was violating global guidelines for multinational corporations.

"We allege in our case that across the world ... DHL wants to remain non-union and is taking steps to ensure that happens," UNI deputy chief Christy Hoffman told AFP.

They also argue that the company is not doing the required due diligence to ensure its affiliates around the world are respecting workers' rights to join unions.

"It's clear that there is no message coming from DHL telling managers they have to get serious about labour rights, and that's what we want to see," she said.

Hoffman maintained that both UNI and ITF affiliates in countries -- from Guatamala, to Vietnam to Turkey, to South Africa, to the United States and even Norway -- had run into "hostilities" from DHL when employees tried to unionise.

In Turkey, for instance, more than 20 workers were recently fired in what the unions claimed was retaliation for trying to unionize, said Hoffman.

Other employees there and elsewhere had been threatened and harassed when they tried to organise, she added.

As a result, far more DHL employees backed off from making the effort to unionize "because they've been told it's just not allowed," Hoffman said.

Since Germany is a signatory to the international guidelines set up by the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the government had an obligation to ensure DHL follows the OECD guidelines, she said.

While they were not seeking punitive action against DHL, they wanted Berlin to pressure the company to adhere to OECD rules -- and for DHL to pass that message on to its managers around the world.

Source : http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

ID Proofs Compulsory During Train Journey in All Reserved Classes from 1st December 2012

With effect from 01.12.2012, one of the passengers booked on a ticket for undertaking journey in any reserved class will have to produce any one of the prescribed proofs of identity failing which all the passengers will be treated as travelling without ticket and charged accordingly.

This provision shall, however, not affect the existing provision of Tatkal scheme where during the journey, the passenger is required to show the original proof of identity indicated on the ticket.

The number of prescribed proofs of identity have been increased from nine to ten by adding following identity card to the list of prescribed proofs identity:-

“Photo identity cards having serial number issued by Public Sector Undertakings of State/Central Government, District Administrations, Municipal bodies and Panchayat Administrations”

This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today. 

Source : PIB, 23 Nov, 2012

Implementation of NPS

The New Pension System (NPS) has been implemented for various sectors like Central Government, State Government, Private Sector and NPS-Life.  The status of NPS in these sectors as on 10^th November, 2012 is as under:-

Sector	No. of Subscribers (Figures in lakhs)	Assets under Management (Rs. In crores)
Central Government	10.62	14,846
State Government	14.67	7,445
Private Sector	1.64	835
NPS-Life	13.05	344
Total	39.98	23,470

The number of subscribers is increasing every year in all the sectors.

There is no proposal to increase the monthly contribution of subscribers by the Government.  The Government provides matching contribution for the Central Government employees who are covered under the NPS scheme.  In case of NPS Swavalamban accounts, Rs. 1000/- per annum is being contributed by the Government.

NPS Trust consisting of professionals with expertise in the field of Investment and Asset Management has been constituted.  The NPS Trust regularly monitors the performance of the Pension Funder Managers (PFMs) appointed by Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA).  PFMs manage the investments of subscribers of NPS in conformity with the Investment Management guidelines prescribed by the NPS Trust.

             This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri   Namo Narain   Meena in written reply to a question in Lok  Sabha today.

Source : PIB, 23 Nov., 2012

Information Note( 22.11.2012) of DoP&T

The following 2 officers of Indian Postal Service of 1987 batch have been empanelled for appointment to the post of Joint Secretary or equivalent in the Centre:-

S.No.                                     Name of officers
1.                                           Shri Charles Lobo
      2.                                           Shri S. M. Alexander

Notice for periodical meeting of Secy(P) with NFPE & FNPO affiliated unions.

Government of India

Ministry of Communications & IT

Department of Posts

(SR Section)

                                                                                     Dak Bhawan, Parliament Street

                                                                                                               New Delhi 110001

No. 8/15/2011-SR (ATR)                                                                  Dated: 21^st November, 2012

   

Sub:   Meeting notice of next periodical meeting with National Federation of Postal Employees (NFPE) and Federation of National Postal Organisations (FNPO) affiliated Unions.

Secretary (P) will take next periodical meeting with NFPE and FNPO affiliated Unions on 29^th November, 2012 in Committee Room, Dak Bhawan as per the following timings:

(i)	National Federation of Postal Employees affiliated Unions.	1000 hrs to 1300 hrs.
(ii)	Federation of National Postal Organisations and its affiliated Unions.	1400 hrs to 1700 hrs.

2.         Please make it convenient to attend the meeting.

            Sd/-

        (Arun Malik)

           Director(SR)