Interim Relief and Merger of DA Issue

          Interim Relief and Merger of DA Issue - Holding of National Convention of the National Council (JCM)(Staff Side) 11th December 2014

           The Staff Side, JCM National Council had, as desired by the 7th CPC, submitted a separate memorandum on Interim Relief and Merger of DA, copy of which had also been sent to the Finance Ministry. 

 

            During the Informal Discussions the Staff Side had with the Pay Commission, they had assured us to take up the issue with the Government seeking amendment to the Terms of Reference to enable them to act upon our memorandum. We have received reply from the Finance Ministry, which is indicative of a refusal of both the demands. The NDA Government has adopted the same plea made by the UPA II Government to reject our demands. The 7th CPC have so far not communicated to us, the decision they have taken on our memorandum.

      From the steps so far taken by the BJP Government, it is unambiguous that they would be pursuing the neo-liberal economic policies with much more intensity than even the UPA Government. Having got a clear majority in the Parliament, they would be able to push through necessary legislations to pursue reforms.

The outsourcing of Railway functions, privatization of Defence manufacturing Units, increased FDI inflow in various core sectors of economy, dismantling of the administrative price mechanism, de-nationalization efforts in the Banking, Insurance and Coal Sectors and above all the adherence to New Contributory Pension Scheme are some of the bold anti worker steps taken by the new Government.

The matter of fact approach and urgency which was visible in the initial days of the 7 th CPC appears to have vanished. It is a matter of pride for all of us that we could submit our final memorandum on common issues to the Commission within the stipulated time frame. We are also happy to note that almost all service organizations of Central Government employees have endorsed our formulations on the wage structure and other service benefits. It is also a fact that all these organizations have submitted their memoranda on department-specific issues before 31st July, 2014. Despite having received such large number of memoranda, the 7thCPC has so far not commenced taking oral evidence giving an indubitable impression that the Commission might not be able to submit its report within the stipulated time of 18 months.

All these issues came up for the consideration of the members of the Staff side when they met a few days back. The unanimous opinion was to pursue the issues through organizational methods. Accordingly, it was decided to hold a National Convention, eliciting the participation of the representatives of all Service organizations participating in the JCM to discuss the emerging situation and decide upon future course of action. Incidentally, we must mention that the JCM conceived as a negotiating forum has been made ineffective by the Government over the years by not convening its meetings periodically.

The National Convention will be held at MPCU Shah Auditorium, Sree Gurjarathi Samaj, Raj Niwas Road, Civil Lines(Opposite Civil Lines Metro Station), Delhi, on 11th December, 2014. The Convention will commence at 12 Noon and will be concluded by 4.00 PM. 740 delegates will participate in the convention, of which 370 shall be Railwaymen(AIRF and NFIR), 150 will be Defiance Civilian employees (AIDEF and INDWF) and the rest 220 will be represented by other Central Government employees (Confederation of Central Government employees and workers). The participating organizations will issue separate circular letter indicating the number of delegates of each Branch/Unit, Divisions/Zones,Circles/States, and affiliates may deploy to the Convention.

The Staff side will meet again to finalize the draft declaration to be placed before the Convention for discussion and adoption.