GOVERNMENT REFUSED TO ACCEPT THE MAIN DEMANDS OF THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.

CONFEDERATION OF CENTRAL GOVT. EMPLOYEES & WORKERS

      1st Floor, North Avenue PO Building, New Delhi – 110001

      Website: www.confederationhq.blogspot.com

            Email: confederationhq@gmail.com

Circular No. 13

Dated 2.3.2014

GOVERNMENT REFUSED TO ACCEPT THE MAIN DEMANDS OF THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.

CONFEDERATION NATIONAL SECRETARIAT CALLS UPON THE ENTIRE CG EMPLOYEES TO PROTEST AGAINST THE ARBITRARY AND UNILATERAL DECISION OF THE GOVERNMENT.

HOLD NATION WIDE PROTEST DEMONSTRATION IN FRONT OF ALL OFFICES AND AT ALL IMPORTANT CENTRES ON 7TH  MARCH 2014 OR AT ANY IMMEDIATE CONVENIENT DATE.

SEND PROTEST SAVINGRAM TO THE PRIME MINISTER.

PREPARE for AN INDEFINITE STRIKE IMMEDIATELY AFTER GENERAL ELECTION DEMANDING , MERGER OF DA , INTERIM RELIEF , INCLUSION OF GDS UNDER 7TH CPC, PARITY IN PENSION, DATE OF EFFECT 1/1/2014, SCRAP NEW PENSION SCHEME, SETTLE ANOMOLIES,INCLUSION OF LABOUR REPRESENTATIVE IN THE PAY COMMISSION AND OTHER DEMANDS IN THE 15 POINT CHARTER OF DEMANDs.

CONDUCT INTENSIVE CAMPAIGN AND MAKE THE 4TH APRIL NAGPUR NATIONAL CONVENTION A GRAND SUCCESS

Dear Comrades,

The Union Cabinet approved the Finance Ministry’s proposal on terms of reference of the 7th CPC.  We have placed the full text of the same on our website.  None of the suggestions made by the Staff Side was accepted by the Government. 

However, our concern over the date of effect seems to have been taken note of.  The terms of reference has left the effective date of its recommendations to be decided by the Commission itself.  A united stand backed up by struggles will enable us to clinch this demand in our favour.  Undoubtedly it has been our endeavours and the two days strike action that has compelled the Government to have a rethinking on their earlier stand of Decennial (Ten years} wage revision for Central Government employees and the date of effect as 1/1/2016

Unlike on the earlier occasion, the Government has not decided to grant Interim Relief and merger of Dearness allowance.  Nor has it asked the Commission to consider and make appropriate recommendation in this regard specifically.  As pointed out in our earlier communication, inclusion of a labour representative in the Commission being not an idea the UPA Government cherishes, for it is diametrically opposite to its economic policies and ideology, they have stuck to the position of sandwiching the Honourable Judge with bureaucrats.  In the light of the agreement penned by Com. Mahadeviah, the General Secretary of the recognised GDS union with the Postal Board to the effect that a separate one man committee will look into the service conditions of the Grameen Dak Sewaks, it is not surprising that the Government chose to ignore our demand to cover them within the ambit of the 7th CPC.   Our demands for parity between the past and present pensioners and scrapping of the new pension scheme also stand rejected. 

As you are aware, the 6th CPC (and the earlier Commissions also) had refused to entertain the demand for removal of anomalies despite Government referring the same to the Commission specifically.  Therefore, the omnibus clause in the terms of reference requiring the Commission to submit interim reports may not be of any help to us to raise the anomalies before the 7th CPC.

At the conclusion of the meeting held on 24/10/2013 by Secretary, DoPT, with the staff side on terms of reference of the 7th CPC, it was agreed that the Government will consider our suggestion in the matter and will convene another meeting with the presence of Secretary (Expenditure) to iron out the differences, if any, and explore the possibilities of an agreement in the matter. But no such meeting was convened and no attempt was made by the official side to arrive at an agreed Terms of Reference.

We must now react to the arbitrary and unilateral decision of the Government.  We appeal all the State Secretaries, District Secretaries and Branch Secretaries of the affiliated organisations and the State/District COCs to immediately send the following Savingram to the Prime Minister.

THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES WORKING IN THE    ..........................................(NAME OF THE STATION)/ OFFICE OF...........................CONDEMN THE ATTITUDE OF THE GOVERNMENT IN NOT HONOURING ITS COMMITMENT OF HOLDING DISUCSSION WITH THE STAFF SIDE JCM NATIONAL COUNCIL BEFORE FINALISING THE TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE 7TH CPC AND DEMAND IMMEIDATE ACCEPTANCE OF :

(i) Interim Relief

(ii) Merger of DA

(iii) Bringing the Grameen Dak Sewaks within the ambit of the 7th CPC

(iv) Date of effect from 1/1/2014

(v) Parity in pension entitlement between the past and present pensioners

(vi) Coverage of the existing defined benefit pension scheme to employees recruited on or after 1.1.2004.

(vii) Include a representative of the Labour in the 7th Central Pay Commission.

(viii) Settle the anomalies raised in the National Anomaly Committee

While the National Convention scheduled to be held at Nagpur will chalk out detailed and phased programmes of action, we call upon our State Committees and Affiliated Unions to organise massive demonstration in front of all offices and important centres on 7th  March, 2014 (Friday) or any other immediate convenient date. Kindly instruct all the Branches to mobilise their members so that the demonstration has the participation of cent per cent of the membership of the concerned branch.  The State Units and affiliated Unions may issue pamphlets and posters and ensure its wide circulation throughout the country.

As already declared by the National Secretariat of the Confederation, we shall have to go for an indefinite strike action immediately after the General Election if our demands are to be settled.

With Greetings,

Yours fraternally,

M. KRISHNAN.

Secretary General.

Source : http://confederationhq.blogspot.in/

7th CPC ToR to be taken up by Union Cabinet Tomorrow 28/02/2014

Cabinet Committee recommends Parliament prorogation Unprecedented number of proposals including the possibility of draft ordinances on anti-graft bills expected to be cleared by Cabinet on Friday

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs on Wednesday recommended prorogation of Parliament ahead of Friday’s Cabinet meeting which is scheduled to clear an unprecedented number of proposals including the possibility of draft ordinances on the pet anti-graft bills of the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

“It is a choc-o-bloc agenda. I have never known seen such heavy agenda before the Cabinet. We are working feverishly as if for the last supper,” a senior Finance Ministry official told The Hindu. The UPA government is keen on clearing as many proposals as possible before the expected general election announcement of the Election Commission after which the Code of Conduct comes into vogue. Among the items for clearance include 54 new Kendriya Vidyalayas and GSLV-Mark III.

Marathon Cabinet meeting expected

With the schedule for the Lok Sabha likely to be announced on Saturday, the UPA government is working “feverishly” on a record number of announcements, appointments and initiatives before the model code of conduct kicks in.

The Cabinet meeting on Friday is expected to be a “marathon” one as it will be the last opportunity for the government to take policy decisions as well as ‘populist’ sops, top Finance Ministry sources told The Hindu.

The proposals lined up for Friday’s Cabinet include 54 new Kendriya Vidalayas, space programme GSLV-Mark III, a six-lane bypass for Delhi, terms of reference for the 7 Pay Commission which was set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently.

It is expected to consider Rs. 3,500 crore budget for new broadcasting infrastructure for All India Radio and Doordarshan, 10-per cent Dearness Allowance for government employees and 600 MW hydro-power projects in Bhutan. The dearness allowance hike to 100 per cent from the existing 90 per cent is expected to benefit to benefiting 50 lakh employees and 30 lakh pensioners.

Officials believe some more items could be put on the block-buster agenda. A Cabinet Minister told The Hindu that the government expects the Election Commission to announce the general election schedule on Saturday or latest by Monday.

Source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/cabinet-committee-recommends-parliament-prorogation/article5729869.ece

Inclusion of DA Merger and Interim Relief in 7th CPC ToR - Cabinet likely to approve 7th CPC ToR

Inclusion of DA Merger and Interim Relief in 7th CPC Terms of Reference - Union Cabinet likely to approve the 7th CPC Terms of Refernce in the next meeting, media sources said.

"To woo central government employees ahead of the general elections, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is expected to ask the Seventh Pay Commission to consider merging 50 per cent dearness allowance (DA) with basic pay of employees. 

This will form part of the terms of reference (ToR) for the Commission, to be considered by the Cabinet this week.

According to officials, the Pay Commission’s ToR categorically states a proposal in this regard should be actively considered.

The increases will be even more appealing as the Centre is expected to increase the DA by 10 per cent to 100 per cent by the end of February. Usually, the DA is merged with basic pay when the former goes beyond 50 per cent. It is 90 per cent now, but has not been merged so far.

Assuming an employee gets Rs 100 as basic pay and Rs 100 as DA at present, the basic will rise to Rs 150, even if 50 per cent allowance is merged. . A higher basic pay will also impact the house rent allowance (HRA) of employees as it is calculated at 30 per cent of the basic pay for central government employees.

DA is linked to the consumer price index (industrial workers). The government uses CPI-IW data of the past 12 months to arrive at a quantum for calculating any DA hike. The allowance will be announced from January. As such, the retail inflation for industrial workers between January 1 to December 31, 2013 would be used to take a final call on the matter. The average inflation during this period had stood at 10.66 per cent.

Earlier this month, the government had constituted the Pay Commission under the chairmanship of former Supreme Court Judge Ashok Kumar Mathur.

The other members of the panel are Petroleum Secretary Vivek Rae (full-time member), National Institute of Public Finance and Policy Director Rathin Roy (part-time member) and Officer on Special Duty in the Expenditure Department Meena Agarwal (Secretary).

The Commission’s recommendations would be implemented from January 1, 2016, officials said. However, it may recommend interim relief as well, they added.

The Commission’s recommendations will directly benefit almost five million employees and three million pensioners. Employees of state governments, which will adopt the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission will also benefit.

Some officials said the Cabinet is also expected to consider another proposal to modify the Prime Minister’s 15-point programme for minorities, which will enable allocation of at least 15 per cent of the total funds for welfare of minorities in major programmes such as National Rural Health Mission, Rashtriya Mahila Shiksha Abhiyan, Employment and Skill Development".

Source:http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/centre-plans-big-bonanza-for-central-govt-employees-114021901256_1.html