7th CPC Recommendations - Confederation National Secretariat Decisions

7th CPC Recommendations - Confederation National Secretariat Decisions

Date : 27-11-2015

Dear Comrades,

National Secretariat of the Confederation of Central Govt Employees  & Workers held on 27-11-15 at New Delhi after detailed deliberations on the recommendations of the 7^th Central Pay Commission (CPC) has decided as follows :

1.The National Secretariat has come to the unanimous conclusion that many of the recommendations of the 7^th CPC are most retrograde and require to  be modified before implementation by the Government, especially the faulty and depressed  minimum wage arrived at by the 7^th CPC and the fitment formula. Some of the recommendations such as abolition of certain allowances etc., are to be rejected.

2. The National Secretariat is of the firm opinion that a united struggle of entire Central Govt Employees including Railways, Defence and Confederation under the banner of National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) can only compel the Government to modify or reject the retrograde recommendations of the 7^th CPC and hence it is decided to further strengthen the unity.

3. The National Secretariat further resolved that the form of the united struggle of NJCA should be an indefinite strike, within a time frame, as Govt is moving fast to implement the recommendations. Negotiation with the Government should precede declaration of indefinite strike and intensive campaign among the employees and mobilization, to create sanction behind the demands.

4. In case the requisite movement is not coming about for any reason, Confederation National Secretariat will meet and chalk out its own independent action.

5. Regarding the sector-wise issues relating to the employees of each department, the affiliated organizations of the Confederation in those departments shall take initiative for uniting all like-minded Federations/Associations/Unions in their department and shall organize agitational programmes on departmental specific demands.

6. The National Secretariat decided to insist that the charter of demands of the NJCA and Confederation should include the demands of Gramin Dak Sevaks, Casual/Contract labourers, filling up of vacancies and scraping the New Contributory Pension Scheme.

7. All affiliated organizations of Confederation are requested to intimate by e-mail to the Confederation CHQ  (confederationhq@gmail.com or mkrishnan6854@gmail.com) on the required modifications or additions / deletions in the common recommendations (not department-specific) of the 7^th Pay Commission on or before 05-12-2015.

8. Available Secretariat members of the Confederation will meet on 07-12-2015 at New Delhi and finalize the common demands to be included in the charter of demands of NJCA. (NJCA meeting is being held at JCM National Council, Staff-side office on 08-12-2015 to finalize the charter of demands and the further course of action).

9. The National Secretariat congratulated all the Central Govt Employees who made the 27^th November 2015 ‘All India Protest Day’ at the call of NJCA, a grand success all over the country by wearing ‘black badges’ and participating in protest demonstrations.

Other Decisions:

1.Next All India Workshop-cum-Trade Union Camp of Confederation will be held at Dehradun (Uttarakhand) before March 2016.

2. The National Secretariat extended full support and solidarity to the proposed agitational programmes of Passport Employees Association including ‘Indefinite hungerfast’.

=M.Krishnan

Secretary General

DECEMBER 1st & 2nd , 2015 STRIKE DEFERRED

Friday, November 27, 2015

DECEMBER 1st & 2nd , 2015 STRIKE DEFERRED

SECRETARY GENERAL AND ALL GENERAL SECRETARIES OF NFPE & AIPEU GDS (NFPE) WILL SIT ON TWO DAYS HUNGER FAST INFRONT OF DAK BHAWAN, NEW DELHI ON 1^st & 2^nd DECEMBER 2015.

ONE DAY MASS HUNGER FAST IN FRONT OF ALL CPMG / PMG & DIVISIONAL OFFICES ON 11^th DECEMBER 2015.

TO EXPRESS OUR ANGER, RESENTMENT AND STRONG PROTEST AGAINST THE REJECTION OF THE LEGITIMATE DEMANDS OF THREE LAKHS GRAMIN DAK SEVAKS BY THE NDA GOVT.

The Federal Secretariat of NFPE held at NFPE Office, New Delhi on 26-11-2015, reviewed the whole situation prevailing among the postal employees in general and the Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) in particular after the submission of the 7^th Central Pay Commission Report to the Govt and also after the appointment of a separate committee for GDS by the Govt, headed by a retired Postal Board Member as Chairman.

The Federal Secretariat  further reviewed the proposed two days strike call given by NFPE and AIPEU GDS (NFPE) for realization of the legitimate demands of the Gramin Dak Sevaks, which  include bringing the GDS also under the purview of 7^thCPC treating them as Civil Servants.

The main demand of NFPE and AIPEU GDS (NFPE) in the charter of demands submitted to Govt and Postal Board is “inclusion of GDS under the purview of 7^th CPC”. NFPE organized series of agitational programmes for the GDS demands including dharnas, hunger fast, GDS Parliament March, Parliament March under the banner of Postal JCA (NFPE & FNPO), one day strike on 12^th December 2012 and 48 hours strike on 12^th & 13^th February 2014. Due to our agitational programmes the Postal Board was compelled to submit the proposal for inclusion of GDS under 7^th CPC to Finance Ministry with favourable recommendations. But the Finance Ministry rejected the proposal three times and it is in this background NFPE & AIPEU GDS (NFPE) decided to go for two days strike on December 1^st & 2^nd demanding the Govt to include GDS under the 7^th Pay Commission.

Even though the Govt refused to include the GDS under the 7^th CPC, the 7^th CPC has suo moto examined the main demand of the GDS ie., treating them as Civil Servants and extending them all the benefits of the departmental employees, ofcourse proportionately. It is most unfortunate that the Pay Commission headed by a retired Supreme Court Justice as Chairman, has considered our demand and categorically stated that Gramin Dak Sevaks are holders of Civil Posts but outside the regular civil service and hence can not be treated at par with other civilian employees. After this observation of the Seventh CPC even if the GDS are included in the 7^th CPC they are not going to get a fair deal. This has compelled us to modify the demand placed by us before the Govt in the charter of demands.

NFPE, from the very beginning has opposed the appointment of an Officer Committee for GDS and NFPE & AIPEU GDS (NFPE) has tried their best to prevent appointment of an Officer Committee and compelled the department to make effort for inclusion of GDS under 7^th CPC itself. But now NDA Govt rejected our demand and has unilaterally appointed GDS Committee with a retired Postal Board Member as Chairman and cheated three lakh GDS employees. From our past experiences we know that the retired officers of the Postal Department will never do justice to the Gramin Dak Sevaks.

In view of the fact that 7^th CPC has rejected our demand for Civil Servant status and also the Govt has unilaterally imposed the officer committee on GDS, the Federal Secretariat felt that it is not appropriate to go for an immediate strike with the demands raised by us in the charter of demands, i.e., inclusion of GDS under 7^th CPC. Now GDS can get justice only if NDA Govt take a policy decision to regularize the services of GDS treating them as Civil Servants. Federal Secretariat is fully aware that we can not expect such a decision from the present NDA Govt and it requires change in the policy of the Government towards GDS. To make a change in the policy decision of the Govt., a bigger mobilization and strike of all postal employees including GDS with the active support and solidarity of other central Govt employees under the banner of Confederation of Central Govt Employees and workers and also the JCM National Council Staffside organizations is required.

The Federal Secretariat decided to explore all possibilities and wider consultations for such a united struggle. The Federal Secretariat felt that to pave way for wider consultations, the independent strike call of NFPE & AIPEU GDS (NFPE) need to be deferred and all likeminded organizations are to be brought under a common platform. Accordingly Federal Secretariat unanimously decided to defer the proposed two days strike scheduled to be held on 1^st & 2^nd December 2015.

The Secretary General and all General Secretaries of NFPE shall sit on two days hunger fast in front of Dak Bhawan, New Delhi on 1^st & 2^nd December 2015 expressing our strong protest to the Govt and also demanding regularization of Gramin Dak Sevaks by granting them civil servant status with all consequential benefits of regular employees.

The Federal Secretariat, while saluting the grass root level workers for their intensive campaign and preparation for the strike, calls upon them to organize one day hunger fast infront of all CPMG / PMG and Divisional Offices throughout the country on 11^th December 2015 to ventilate our anger, resentment and strong protest against the callous and inhuman attitude of the NDA Govt towards three lakh Gramin Dak Sevaks who are the backbone of the Postal Department catering to the needs of the rural population of this country in postal sector.

Federal Executive of NFPE will meet shortly  to review the situation and shall decide future course of action.

=R.N.PARASHAR

SECRETARY GENERAL

INDIA POST PAYMENTS BANK

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

INDIA POST PAYMENTS BANK

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Why govt employees hate the NPS - Business Standard

Why govt employees hate the NPS - Business Standard

Written By Admin on November 25, 2015 | Wednesday, November 25, 2015

The 7th central pay commission (CPC) was not supposed to look into the National Pension System (NPS). The terms of reference of the body headed by ex-judge Ashok Mathur limited the mandate in this regard to only the Old Pension System (OPS). Yet, the number of grievances and complaints were so many that the commission decided to deal with it in detail. The grievances ranged from lack of basic elements such as a grievance redressal mechanism to disadvantages in the tax regime and structural issues.

Amusingly, over a decade into its existence and after mopping a corpus of over Rs 24,000 crore as of 2013-14 from a little over 1.3 million people, the NPS still has critics, who wanted it scrapped. “The larger federations and staff associations advocated scrapping the NPS on the ground that it discriminates between two sets of government employees,” the commission noted. Some subscribers pleaded for reverting to the OPS, citing uncertainty regarding the actual value of their future pension in the face of market related risks.

Being a defined contribution scheme, NPS effectively shaves 10 per cent off an employee's take-home salary. While this is a concern for many, they also harboured the opposite worry —that this 10 per cent plus 10 (matching contribution from employer) might not be enough to give them a pension that is about half their last salary. The commission has asked the government to consider if the number can be reviewed.

The bad state of grievance redressal and absence of consultation with stakeholders has generated insecurity in stakeholders. Even senior Group-A officers of the central government, as well as All India Service (AIS) officers, are sceptical about NPS, the commission has noted.

Family pension, for widows/dependents of a deceased employee, is another common grievance. Staff associations have complained that this, after death of an employee, is not ensured in the NPS. More, if an employee dies at an early age, the family would suffer, since annuity from the contribution would be grossly inadequate.

Other such comparisons to instruments such as GPF, PPF and the OPS were widely heard by the CPC. Some were worried about the lack of choice for government employees, the asset allocation and fund managers under the NPS. The commission has asked the pension regulator to provide a range of options and investment mixes, calibrated on a life cycle approach, wherein younger employees are given an exposure to high risk, high return choices.

Another example of shoddy implementation of NPS came up in the case of AIS officers in some states, where contributions by the state governments concerned are yet to be fully made and deployed. The net result is contributions for 2004-2012 have not been fully made or have earned simple interest and did not get any market linked returns. Worse, contributions by some have been returned to them without interest.

This goes against the fundamentals of a defined contribution scheme. A typical employee’s service is 30-35 years. If he loses compounding benefits for a third of that period, what will he/she be left with? A lot of media coverage and official focus has been spent on where the NPS money is invested and its impact on the stock market. In the process, the source and the channels seem to have not received adequate attention. It is time for the government and the regulator to take serious note of the commission’s recommendations and make the NPS a Swachh Pension System. 

Source : http://www.business-standard.com

COMRADES ---- TODAY  IS  NFPTE'S  BIRTHDAY

    24th November, 1954 ...... A proposal was accepted by 9 (nine) All India Organisations and Federations to form 'ONE UNION IN ONE INDUSTRY' .......

AND

   'National Federation of Post & Telegraph Employees Union'  was born. Com. Bhupendranath Ghosh (Dada Ghosh) was elected as the first Secretary General.

         Today is the 61st anniversary of the Federation Day.

This poster has been prepared by Com. Arijit Chowdhury, P.A. (Sys Admin.), Jhargram H.O., Midnapore Divn. on this glorious day.  

Central govt one of the biggest user of temps and contract workers in India

Central govt one of the biggest user of temps and contract workers in India

The central government spent Rs300.49 crore on contract or temporary workers in 2012-13, according to the data.

Among ministries and departments, Indian Railways spent the highest, about Rs35 crore a year. Photo: Mint 

 

New Delhi: India’s central government is among the biggest users of temporary staff or contractual workers and spends around Rs.300 crore a year on them. 

According to data collected by the Seventh Pay Commission, in 2012-13, the central government spentRs.300.49 crore on contract or temporary workers. Among ministries and departments, Indian Railways spent the highest, about Rs.35 crore a year.

Though this is a fraction of the salaries the government pays its permanent workers, the pay commission believes that this will further increase. In 2012-13, the central government spent Rs.129,599 crore on salaries for its permanent employees. 

“While the expenditure incurred on contractual manpower is relatively small compared to expenditure on salaries of personnel serving in the government, they are in their own right significant and also likely to increase in the coming years,” the pay commission report said.

“If you join central government, state government and public sector undertakings – then jointly government will be a clear leader in temporary staffing space,” says Rituparna Chakraborty, senior vice president of TeamLease Services, a human resource company. 

Chakraborty, who is also the president of Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), a lobby group of staffing companies in India, says the Rs.300 crore annual expenditure on contract workers seems to be an “understatement”. Much of the temps are provided by small companies, she added. 
“Still, it’s good to see that government has openly started talking about temp staffing as contract workers is the way forward,” she said.

The Indian Audit & Accounts department (Rs.28.47 crore), health ministry (Rs.26.9 crore) and police including central armed police force (Rs.25.72 crore) and department of posts (Rs.19.55 crore) are other big spenders on temps. 

There are three kinds of contractual appointments made by government departments. First, work of routine nature like housekeeping, maintenance, data entry are normally bundled and entrusted to staffing agencies. These agencies then depute the necessary persons to carry out these tasks. Second, the sixth pay commission had recommended introduction of contractual appointments for select posts, particularly those that need high professional skills. Under this, suitable persons from outside are inducted in the government on negotiated salaries.

The third category is hiring on contractual basis retired government employees whose skills and expertise acquired during their tenure in government is found to be useful.

However, there is no unanimity among ministries over the use of contract workers. For example, the department of atomic energy while supporting outsourcing, recommended that a standard operating procedure be introduced through legislative means to enable outsourcing for routine activities such as maintenance, transport services, canteen services through professional agencies so as to avoid legal complications and exploitation of persons who have been taken on contract. 

Similarly, the Central Board of Direct Taxes told the pay commission that it supports “outsourcing, though it felt the need for effecting some streamlining”.

In contrast, the department of economic affairs was strongly against outsourcing and stated that “it should be used in the rarest of rare case for duties of a peripheral nature”. They were clearly against outsourcing of data processing, the pay commission report said. And the central government employees union was completely against contractual employment.

The commission’s report has underlined that the remuneration of temp workers is relatively low across several ministries and departments due to the nature of the work involved. However, it also showed that the department of electronics and information technology did engage a fair number of contractual workers at higher levels of remuneration. 

The commission did not give the exact remuneration or number of contract workers but suggested devising a clear guideline on the same to avoid exploitation even while addressing needs such as confidentiality and accountability. 

India’s flexible staffing market, mostly favoured by private companies, was worth Rs.19,900 crore in 2014, according to a report by Staffing Industry Analysts. 

Source :  http://www.livemint.com

 Interest-Free Advances Recommended By 6th CPC

9.1.2 Presently 12 interest-free advances are permissible. Their details are as follows:

Table 1 : Interest-free Advances

S.No.	Name	Amount	Eligibility	Remarks
1	Bicycle Advance	Rs.4500	GP<=2800	Recoverable in max 30 monthly installments
2	Warm Clothing Advance	Rs.4500	All Group C employees posted at a hill station either on first appointment or on transfer, for a period of not less than one year	Recoverable in max 12 monthly installments
3	Advance of Pay on Transfer	1 month’s pay OR2 months’ pay in case of transfer due to shift of HQ as a result of government policy	All employees transferred from one station to another in public interest	Recoverable in max 3 monthly installments
4	Advance of TA on Tour/ Transfer/ Retirement	An amount sufficient to cover the officials’ personal travelling expenses for a month or six weeks in case of prolonged tours	All cases where TA is admissible	The advance shall be adjusted immediately after completion of tour
5	Advance of TA to the family of a deceased government employee	Limited to 3/4th of probable expenses admissible under the rules	Same as for retirement/transfer
6	Advance of LTC	Up to 90% of the fare	All eligible Central Government Employees
7	Advance of Leave Salary	An amount not exceeding the net amount of leave salary including allowances for the first 30 days of leave after deduction of PF, House Rent, Income Tax, Recovery of Advances, etc.	All officials proceeding on leave for a period not less than 30 days	Adjusted against the monthly salary bills
8	Advance in connection with medical treatment	90% of the package deal for specific major illnesses.Rs.10,000 for indoor treatment or outdoor treatment of 3 months or less for cancer.Rs.36,000 for treatment of TB where duration is more than 3 months	All Central Government employees except Railway employees
9	Festival Advance	Rs.4500	GP<=4800	Recoverable in max 10 monthly installments
10	Advance in the event of natural calamity like flood, drought, cyclone, etc.	Rs.7500	All non-Gazetted employees	Recoverable in max 12 monthly installments
11	Advance for training in Hindi through Correspondence Course	Rs.450	For those Central Government employees who undergo training through correspondence course conducted by the Central Hindi Directorate
12	Advance for Law Suits	Rs.500	All Central Government employees	Recoverable in max 24 monthly installments

9.1.3 There is a general demand from the JCM-Staff Side to increase all interest-free advances to three times their present value. 

Analysis and Recommendations

9.1.4 As can be seen from the table above, the amount of most of the advances is quite low. With the increased salary packages provided after successive Pay Commissions, these advances have lost their relevance. Hence, to do away with outdated provisions and thereby save on the costs involved in administering these advances, it is recommended that all Interest-free advances should be abolished. 

 Interest-bearing Advances

 9.1.5 The following four Interest-bearing advances are presently admissible: 

Table 2 : Interest-bearing Advances

S.No.	Name	Amount	Eligibility	Remarks
1	Motor Car Advance	Rs.1,80,000 on first occasion and Rs.1,60,000 subsequently OR 8 months’ Basic Pay OR anticipated price of car, whichever is least	Pay in the pay band of Rs.19,530 or more, excluding GP	Recoverable in max 200 monthly installments
2	Motorcycle/ Scooter/ Moped Advance	Rs.30,000 on first occasion and Rs.24,000 subsequently OR 4 months’ Basic Pay OR anticipated price of Motorcycle/ Scooter/Moped, whichever is least Rs.20,000 OR anticipated price of Moped only, whichever is less if pay<8560 td="">	Pay in the pay band of Rs.8,560 or more, excluding GP	Recoverable in max 70 monthly installments
3	Advance for purchase of Personal Computer	Rs.80,000 on first occasion and Rs.75,000 subsequently OR anticipated price of PC, whichever is less	Pay in the pay band of Rs.19,530 or more, excluding GP	Recoverable in max 150 monthly installments
4	House Building Advance (HBA)	34 months’ Basic Pay OR Rs.7,50,000 OR Cost of House OR repaying capacity, whichever is the least for new construction/purchase of new house/flat. For a new house, the cost ceiling limit shall be 134 times the pay in the pay band subject to a minimum of Rs.7.50 lakh and a maximum of Rs.30.00 lakh relaxable up to a maximum of 25% of the revised maximum cost ceiling of Rs.30.00 lakh. The maximum limit for grant of HBA for enlargement of existing house shall be 34 months’ of pay in the pay band subject to a maximum of Rs.1.80 lakh or cost of the enlargement or repaying capacity, whichever is the least.	All permanent officials or officials with at least 10 years of continuous service	Recovery of principal in max 180 monthly instalments and Recovery of interest in max 60 installments subsequently

Analysis and Recommendations

9.1.6 The present position is that meagre funds are allotted for these advances and only a few manage to avail this facility. In fact, budget provision for all of them, except Advance for purchase of Personal Computer, has been reducing over the years, as can be seen from the graph below 35:

9.1.7 Regarding Motor Car Advance and Motor Cycle/Scooter/Moped Advance, we are of the view that quite a few schemes for purchase of vehicles are available in the market from time to time. The employees should avail of these schemes and both these advances should be abolished. 

9.1.8 Regarding other interest-bearing advances, the following is recommended:

S.No.	Name of Advance	Recommended Ceiling	Recommendations
1	P C Advance	Rs.50,000 or actual price of PC, whichever is lower	May be allowed maximum five times in the entire service.
2	HBA	34 times Basic Pa y ORRs.25 lakh OR anticipated price of house, whichever is least	The requirement o f m inimum 1 0 y ears o f continuous service to avail of HBA should be reduced to 5 years. If both spouses are government servants, HBA should be admissible to both separately. Existing employees who have already taken Home Loans from banks and other financial institutions should be allowed to migrate to this scheme.