Trade unions to strike despite labour minister’s assurance

Union labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya’s latest effort to stop the proposed labour strike on September 2 has fallen on deaf ears.

While Dattatreya dished out how the NDA government fulfilled many promises and is on course to settle other issues, labour unions remain unimpressed.

“In the letter he mentioned that the Centre is working towards giving a minimum national wage to workers. We have been hearing this for the last one year,” said Tapan Sen, general secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU).

The Left and Congress-affiliated unions have planned the general strike to oppose the NDA government’s economic and labour policies, exempting hospitals, medical stores, milk distribution and other emergency services from the day-long strike.

Dattatreya’s letter mentions measures like the price stabilisation fund, PM crop insurance and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, which have been taken, while a national carrier service has been launched for generating employment.

While the minister claimed that the government is ensuring strict enforcement of all labour laws, trade unions disagree. In a letter to Dattatreya, CITU said that “no tangible proactive steps” have been taken in favour of millions of workers.

During the UPA rule, the opposition trade unions had managed to bring Congress-affiliated Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) on the streets to protest against its government.

This time, the government has found its face-saver as the RSS’ trade union arm, Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh, has not jumped on to the protest bandwagon

Source:HindustanTimes

AIREF cry injustice by Railway Board

Bhubaneswar: All India Railway Engineers Federation (AIREF) on Sunday alleged that Railway Board has done injustice towards around 80,000 junior engineers and senior section engineers working in Indian Railways by not promoting them from grade C to grade B.

The AIREF leaders told this at the annual general body meeting of the East Coast Railway Engineers Association (ECoREA) organized here. They said several safety committees- Wanchoo, Sikiri, Khanna and Bibek Debroy- have strongly suggested improvement of social status, pay structures and promotional avenues of the railway engineers in order to provide quality services to rail users.

“But the Railway Board is deliberately ignoring the recommendations of the committees. Even now seventh pay commission has not included them for pay revision,” said AIREF president Sanjib Kumar.

He said they look after safety and operations of trains across the country. “We work more than eight hours due to staff crunch. We can’t even spend time with families because of heavy pressure at workplace. But railway pays the qualified engineers less than a nurse’s salary,” Kumar said.

ECoREA president Bobin Mohanty said members of both the outfits decided to hold special safety and passengers amenities drive on July 4 as a mark of protest. This drive will continue for indefinite period, he added.

Mohanty said they (junior engineers and senior section engineers) put more than 100 per cent efforts for safe journey of 23 million passengers daily despite acute shortage of manpower and materials. From July 4 onwards, they won’t compromise with safety for the sake of punctuality, he added.

“We have been maintaining our work pace without sufficient manpower and materials, but the Railway Board doesn’t pay heed to our demands. From July 4 onwards, we will work as per availability of manpower and materials. It will delay several passenger and goods trains across the country. And it will give Railway Board a strong message that how railway functions without their dedicated effort,” said Mohanty.

Railway Convention Committee chairperson Bhartruhari Mahtab and Parliament Standing Committee on Railways member Balabhadra Majhi, who attended the meeting, assured the engineers to take up the matter with the Railway Board and railway minister Suresh Prabhu.

“We have met railway minister on the issue and requested him to resolve the matter. Even BJD MP Nagendra Pradhan has filed a petition before the Committee on Petitions of the Lok Sabha to discuss on the issue. But nobody pays heeds to the engineers’ demands,” said Mahtab.

Majhi admitted that injustice has been done towards the engineers. “I will take up the issue with Railway Board and discuss this at standing committee meeting,” he added.

Source:RailNews

Railway engineers from across the country gathered at the Jantar Mantar area of central Delhi on Tuesday to voice their objections to the recommendations of the Seventh Central Pay Commission.

Collecting under the banner of the All India Railway Engineers Federation (AIREF), the engineers said that their protest would continue till Wednesday (December 2).

Engineer Sanjib Kumar, the president of the AIREF, told ANI, "Due to the faulty policies made by railways and erroneous report given by Seventh Central Pay Commission, the railway engineers have been frustrated seriously for which there will be a tremendous threat to railway safety in the future".

He further stated that the AIREF represents about 80,000 degree and diploma engineers of Indian Railways, all of whom play a crucial role in ensuring the safe and efficient running of trains; construction and production; design, repair and maintenance of tracks, bridges and buildings; rolling stock, locomotives, coaches, electrical services, OHE, signals, telecommunications.

Kumar also revealed that the railway engineers also assume the responsibility for the safe movement of 23 million passengers daily.

The striking railway engineers said that they have submitted a charter of 27 demands for the government to implement, failing which they warned that their strike could turn into an indefinite one.

The demands are as follows:

1. Group-B/Gazetted status to all railway engineers (JE, SSE, SE/IT, CMA/CMS & DMS/CDMS) as per DOPT Gazette Notification no-605 dtd. 09.04.2009 as implemented in all other departments of Central Government.

2. Recognition of All India Railway Engineers Federation (AIREF) and its affiliated Zonal Railway Engineers Associations as per Khanna Committee recommendation.

3. To remove anomaly of 6th CPC: Grant upgraded Pay matrix equal to Rs. 5400 (PB-3) to JE and Rs. 6600 (PB-3) to SSE with standard designation of Assistant Engineer.

4. Time bound promotion from JE to Junior Administrative Grade Officer.

5. Scrap new pension scheme in Railways or make it optional.

6. Grand Technical Allowance @ 30% to all railway engineers.

7. Inclusion of father and mother in definition of family as per Indian culture.

8. Remove anomaly of Modified Assured career progression (MACPS)

a. Counting of apprentice period for MACP for regular service since it is qualifying service for pension and increment.

b. Financial up-gradation under MACPS to the directly recruited Graduate Engineers (head Draftsman) Considering entry Grade Pay as Rs. 4,600/- for the purpose of MACP to all the directly recruited Engineering Graduates and treating GP-4200 to diploma engineers recruited as Asstt Draftsman in Design/Drawing Cadre and other Cadres, those recruited one stage lower at that time.

c. Third financial up-gradation under MACPS on completion of 20 years of service from the first promotion or 10 years after second promotion or 30 years after regular appointment whichever is earlier.

9. Stop immediately implementation of integrated seniority as per Rly Bd. Letter no. RBE 92/2015 for the purpose of promotion/selection to Group-B posts.

10. Open a promotional channel to qualified loco pilots to become JE / SSE through LDCE / GDCE.

11. Provide entitlement in Tatkal ticket through privilege / duty passes/ PTOs.

12. Provide e-ticket facility to Railway employees on pass/ PTOs / e-pass.

13. Remove restriction of no. of tickets in Rajdhani/ Shatabdi / Duranto express trains on passes / PTOs.

14. Provision of accidental insurance of Rs. 20 lakhs to all railway engineers.

15. Provision of LTC to railway engineers on inland or foreign tours once in two years.

16. No corporatisation in Indian Railways and its Production Units.

17. Provision reimbursement of tuition fee of children studying in higher education ( Engg. / Medical / MBA etc)

18. Provision improved rest house facilities at all major railway stations for Railway Engineers or provide hotel / retiring room facility as admissible to all Central Govt. employees.

19. Rename the training institutes as Railway Engineers' Training Institutes instead of Supervisors' Training Institutes.

20. Ensure CUG facilities to all Railway Engineers and increase the CUG utility amount to minimum Rs 500/- for JE and equivalent and Rs 1000/- for SSE and equivalent.

21. Provide brief case to all Railway Engineers irrespective of any condition.

22. Set up technical library in all divisional / HQ office including workshops, loco sheds under functional management of Engineers Associations of the unit.

23. Stop unnecessary inspections on Sundays & holidays by higher officers except during unusual incidences like accidents, derailments. etc.

24. Ensure compulsory weekly rest to field staff and to implement 8 hours duty schedule, sanction additional night duty posts of Engineers where it is not yet exists

25. Fill up all existing vacant posts to stop short-cut method.

26. Create new posts as per new assets.

27. Increase exemption limit Income tax to Rs 8 Lakhs and exemption of all allowances from Income tax.

Maintaining that the seventh CPC has ignored all factors i.e. education, duties and responsibilities of the railway engineers, and only concentrated on upgrading the pay structures of non-core, non-technical and non safety categories, Engineer Sanjib warned that it will affect seriously the government?s dream project to run a bullet train in the future.

He said that when several railway safety committees such as the Justice Khanna Committee, the Justice Wanchoo Committee and the Justice Sikiri Committee have categorically recommended giving railway engineers separate recognition in view of their separate nature of duties, responsibilities, mode of recruitment and training etc., why was this government shying away from granting it.

"We have had a good meetings with the commission at several places at different cities of the country. The chairman has assured to give justice by giving Group-B status and good pay structures with perks. But now, we have found that the commission has betrayed us", Engineer Kumar said.

AIREF Secretary General Engineer Ashok Kumar Tyagi described the lot of railway engineers as disappointing and unfortunate. "It is the worst ever pay commission report among seven pay commissions", he maintained.

A.V. Swamy, Member of the Rajya Sabha from Odisha and a member of the Parliament's Standing Committee on Water Resources, and a former engineer, justified the railway engineers protest. He said, "When the rights and demands of railway engineers are denied, the chance of technical advancement of the railways is remote".

Lok Sabha Member B. Majhi and ex-engineer-in-chief of E. Co. Railways, said, "Pay commissions have continuously ignored the just demands of the railway engineers".

Rajya Sabha Member A.B. Rapolu said, "The Railway Board has denied justice to its technocrats. Junior engineers and SSEs must be granted Group B gazetted status at par with other central government departments".

The AIREF said that the railway ministry has been giving only conventional replies and this would eventually affect the safety and economy of the railways seriously.

Source :DNAINDIA

BPMS Circular on Postponement of Strike of 02.09.2015

BHARATIYA PRATIRAKSHA MAZDOOR SANGH
(AN ALL INDIA FEDERATION OF DEFENCE WORKERS)

No. BPMS / 12 / CIR / 2015

Dated: 29.08.2015

To,
The Office Bearers, CEC Members,
President / Secretary of the unions
Affiliated to BPMS

Subject: Postponement of proposed Strike on 02.09.2015

Dear Brothers & Sisters

Sadar Namaskar,
Your attention is invited to this federation’s Circular No BPMS / 11/ CIR / 2015, dated 17.07.2015 whereby all the unions have been directed to take strike ballot and serve the strike notice to the head of establishments to go on strike on 02.09.2015 on the call of Central Trade Unions along with Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh.

Now, it is worth to mention here that an Inter Ministerial Committee meeting held on 26th & 27th August, 2015 under the Chairmanship of Shri Arun Jaitley, Hon’ble Finance Minister and assured for justifys of workers, welfare of labour, concepts of tripartism in the matter of labour relations and appealed to reconsider the proposed call for strike on 02.09.2015.

Since the Government has come forward with positive assurances on the basic demands and assured to continue dialogue, it has been decided to defer/postpone the proposed strike on 02.09.2015 for next date to be decided in future.

Therefore, you are requested to apprise to your Head of Establishment regarding postponement of the proposed strike of 02.09.2015. Kindly see the format in this regard.

With regards,

Brotherly Yours
(M. P. SINGH)
General Secretary

Copy to:
1. General Secretary, B.M.S. New Delhi, 2426, Ram Naresh Bhawan, Tilak Gali, Pahar Ganj, New Delhi – 110055
2. Secretary General, GENC, Kanpur – For your kind information please

Click to read in Hindi

Source: BPMS

New Delhi:  Railway minister Suresh Prabhu on Saturday said that employees’ unions are on board in revamping and revitalizing the decaying state-run transporter. The minister emphasized that everyone, from staff to officers of 17 zones and 68 divisions of railways across the country are working together to meet the common goal.

In an interview, the minister said that leaders of two big railway employees unions (All Indian Railwaymen Federation and National Federation of Indian Railways) have assured support in reviving railways. “I am very happy to say leaders of two big railway unions are also involved. They have said we want to work together to make railways better. We are trying to bring in transparency, improve efficiency, bring in more accountability and make management participatory. The leaders said they also want all these changes. So why do we oppose them,” Prabhu told.

Prabhu indicated that he is not in a hurry to push radical reforms that may annoy powerful unions and instead is trying to take them on board in his effort for capacity augmentation and modernization of railways. Replying to a question regarding recommendations of Debroy panel in its interim report, Prabhu said, “We have to wait for the final report. I have suggested to the committee that they should also seek views from our employees and our unions because sometimes communication gap causes misunderstanding. They also agree with that.”

On departmentalism in railways killing big ideas, the minister said, “This is an inherent problem that we need to address together. When we meet in my conference room, which has a round table, I say nobody is against each other and we are on the same side. So, let us work to realize the target. There is no distinction between six different members in the board, 17 zones and 68 divisions. All of them work together to meet the common goal. We are sorting out these issues with open discussions.”

Prabhu said that working with railway unions is a unique experience. He said railway unions are very strong and probably there is not one commercial organization in the world which has as many employees as the Indian Railways. “China’s PLA may have more employees, but that is not a commercial organization so the railways is the largest,” said the minister.

The unions have rejected some recommendations, saying the Debroy report has given a roadmap for privatization of the Indian Railways as a whole, which will neither help passengers nor the country. However, they have welcomed some proposals such as prioritization of projects, reimbursement of subsidy, setting up of training, R&D, IT centres and universities, integration of IT infrastructure and reform of accounting structure.