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Kozhikode (Calicut) branch in North Kerala has a great tradition of active participation by its members in all activities. The SSA Unit has a Welfare Committee. The committee collects donation from our members regularly for charity work. Last Year, the Committee collected more than Rs. 1.5 lakh from our members alone and distributed to the very needy people suffering from chronic diseases, to those living in orphanages, old age homes, leprosy rehabilitation centres etc. etc.
The Calicut branch had its general body meeting on 12-7-2018 in he main telephone exchange. (See photo 1 and 2) During the meeting Smt. Anmnie Preman on behalf of the Welfare Committee handed over an amount to the wife of a person suffering from kidney problems. (See photo 3 below.) Com. T Ramachandran (Prdesident) and com. C K Surendran (DS) are also seen in the photo.
BSNLMRS; WITH VOUCHER SCHEME: ANNUAL CEILING: QUANTUM IS REDUCED
On 11-7-2018, Corporate Office of BSNL has issued an order for taking 78.2% IDA instead of 68.8% for calculating yearly ceiling of entitlement for reimbursement of outdoor treatment with voucher. While IDA is raised from 68.8% to 78.2% for the purpose, the entitlement is reduced from 25 days to 23 days in an year.
Result: If the basic pay of an employee is Rs. 10000 per month, the entitlement was Rs 13874 till this time. it is now reduced to Rs 13475. Net reduction of Rs 399 per year. The change is from 1-4-2018. It is applicable to Retirees also.
REGARDING WITHOUT VOUCHER AND QUARTERLY ALLOWANCE, NO DECISION IS GIVEN SO FAR.
As decided by the Patna CWC meeting, a conference of Delhi Circle Unit of our Association was held on 7-7-2018 with representatives of the reorganized three districts. Com. G Natarajan (GS) and Com. J S Dahiya (AGS) were present on the occasion in addition to Com. Anupam Kaul (AGS from Delhi). The circle conference elected unanimously a new team of office-bearers with Com. Munshilal as President, Com. Anupam Kaul as the Circle Secretary and Com. Shekhar Chand Jain as Treasurer.
Thus the Delhi circle unit is cleaned and strengthened.
We congratulate Delhi comrades. .... few photos:
GENERAL SECRETARY IN NEW DELHI
Com. G Natarajan, our GS is in Delhi from Fourth July onwards. After attending the Delhi circle conference today he will return to Chennai. During these days GS met many officers in BSNL and DOT. Com. Anupam Kaul, AGS, Com. J S Dahiya, AGS, Com. R L Kapoor and others accompanied GS in these meetings.
Medical allowance:
As all know, in April last year, quarterly medical allowance was restored for pensioners, due to our persistent persuasion. First, it was allowed up to September 2017; then it was extended up to March 2018. Sufficient fund was not allotted by Corporate Office. Hence many pensioners have not yet received the allowance. After March 2018, neither allowance is granted nor vouchers are accepted. Filed offices do not know what to do.Corporate Office has not issued any order on it. From the talks GS had with Director (HR), GM (Admn), etc. it is understood that Corporate Office has not taken any decision whether the allowance should be continued or withdrawn after March 2018. It is unfortunate. It is told to GS that BSNL will take a decision very shortly.
Pension Revision:
GS and others met the member (Services) in DOT and discussed about pension revision. Detailed discussion took place with Director (Estt) on 6-7-2018 on it. It is understood that our demand for pension revision with VII CPC fitment benefit is being referred to Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare shortly. Along with our demand, DOT is pointing out that pension revision has taken place in the past after pay revision. It is a wrong notion. But, DoT is not willing to change its stand. Some other organizations too had such wrong notion and hence they demanded pension revision also with PRC fitment benefit. DoT took advantage of their demand.
Those organizations realized their blunder and changed their demand subsequently. Now they all want delinking pension revision from pay revision. It is good. But damage was already done. Linking our Pension Revision with Wage Revision in BSNL with III PRC recommendations is dangerous. Wage Negotiation Committee is recently constituted. We do not know when the negotiation on Pay Revision will start and finish. Final outcome is quite uncertain. Employees have bitter experiences. BSNL was formed in 2000. Even after 18 years, there is no pension scheme for the directly recruited BSNL employees. They are getting pittance as pension. (A lady retired in 2017 after 16 years of service is getting only Rs 1311 as pension. Her income is suddenly reduced from Rs 45000 to Rs 1311 per month!)
Against this background, linking of our Pension Revision with Pay Revision in BSNL is detrimental to all of us. It is high time for all organizations to understand the danger and move together. I hope better sense will prevail on all.
I find an improvement in the situation. Till this time DoT was silent on our demand. Deliberately DoT did not disclose their approach. Now something is known. GS is successful to find out the position. He could collect a copy of one letter written by Minister Shri Manoj Sinha to one MP on the pension revision. In that letter also it is indicated that pension revision will be taken up only after pay revision of serving staff.
As such, pension revision is not easy. We have to struggle a lot.
….. P S Ramankutty
Department of Public Enterprises has issued three orders yesterday evening on rate of DA from 1-7-2018.
(1) For those who got pension/pay revision from 1-1-2007
(2) for those who got last Pension/Pay revision w.e.f 1-1-1997
(3) for those who got last Pension Revision w.e.f. 1-1-1987
The July-August 2018 issue if Patrika has been posted to all on 3-7-2018.. july-aug-issue.pdf
On 30-6-2018, 55 BSNL pensioners of Uttaranchal Circle assembled in the Telephone Exchange at Dehradun and unanimously decided to form a new circle unit of AIBSNLPWA.
Com. J S Dahiya (AGS, CHQ), Com. Kailash Gautam (Circle Secretary of UP West) and Com. Shahabuddin (ACS UP West) spoke on the activities of AIBSNLPWA and issues taken up by the Association.
All the pensioners present agreed to become life members of AIBSNLPWA and form District bodies and thereafter new Circle body after holding formal District/Circle conferences. To begin with, an adhoc body with Com. Ramji Dubey as President, Com. Gopal Daddar as Secretary and Com. Dhan Singh as Cashier has been formed today.
The District Conference of Visakhapatnam was held on 24-6-2018. Comrades M Sreemannarayana, K Soma Sundara Rao and P Babu Rao are re elected as District President, District Secretary and District Treasurer respectively. Shri J Ramachandra Rao, Retired CGM is the Chief Advisor.
Telangana circle has now formed branches in all the SSAs. Today, on 29-6-2018, a new District branch is formed in Nizamabad SSA with Coms. A Gangaram, Syed Saber Ali and Aravind Kumar as District President, District Secretary and Treasurer.
A branch at Nizamabad also is formed today with Comrades G Laxminarayana, Sheik Ali and Md. Umerderaz Khan as branch President, Secretary and Treasurer respectively.
CHQ welcomes the new District Unit and the new branch.
A new branch at Ariyalur in Tiruchirapalli Dist of Tamilnadu has been formed on 27-6-2018. Comrades G Veerasamy, R Arumugam and Sheikh Dawood have been elected as the President, Secretary and Treasurer of the branch.
CHQ welcome the new branch
A photo of the formation meeting:
Com. R Venkatachalam , Asst. Circle Secretary, Tamilnadu speaks
IDA FROM JULY 2018 WILL BE 128%
All India Consumer Price for Industrial Workers (AICPI) for May, 2018 is announced.It is 289 points. In April 2018 it was 288 points.So, there is an increase of 1 point.Based on this, the rate of IDA applicable from July 2018 can be calculated as 128%.
IDA Increase of 0.8% from 127.2% to 128%.
WE SHOULD HELP THEM, THE FAMILY PENSIONERS.
One SDE of BSNL retired on 30th June 2008. Before receiving his first pension itself, on 17th July 2008 he expired after a heart attack. His wife was granted family pension.
She was entitled to get pension revision with 68.8% IDR from 1-1-2007 as per the order dated 15-3-2011. It was not given. She was not aware of the revision.
Now Again, she was entitled to get revision with 78.2% IDR. That was also not granted. When some pensioners informed her about this, she approached us. We studied all her papers and took up the case and found that she was getting same basic pension from July 2008 to April 2018. Almost Ten years.
Finding no action from the CCA Office Kerala we got her case registered with CPENGRAMS.
Now the case is settled. She is granted revision with 68.8% and again with 78.2%.
The State Bank of India has credited a sum of Rupees 9.7 Lakh in her account on last Friday (22nd June 2018).
[Note: THE PHOTO: The photo on top is just a representative one of family pensioners; not of the lady of above case.]
SOME MORE PHOTOS
ARA
MUMBAI TEL. FACTORY
CUTTACK
HUBLI
KARAIKUDI
KURNOOL
MUVATTUPUZHA
NAGERCOVIL
NAGPUR
PONDICHERRY
TRICHY
SALEM EAST AND WEST
TUTICORIN
VELLORE
As per the Call given from CWC meeting of AIBSNLPWA, the BSNL pensioners in large number participated in protest demonstration at SSA level today. The demonstration took place in every circle, in every SSA headquarter despite inclement weather. In North India it was under scorching Sun. In far south, Kerala, it was heavy rains. Come what may, BSNL pensioners came out and made the protest programme so effective and impressive. CHQ of AIBSNLPWA greets the BSNL pensioners all over India for the enthusiasitc response given to the call. Some photos are given below:
NEW DELHI : IN FRONT OF CORPORATE OFFICES OF MTNL AND BSNL
CHENNAI
AGRA
ANANTHAPUR AND BAGALKOT
BATALA
CHANDIGARH
BHUBANESWAR
BILASPUR
ERNAKULAM
DRENTCHED IN WATER AT CALICUT
KANNUR AND MALAPPURAM
HYDERABAD AND GUNTUR
JAIPUR AND MATHURA
JALANDHAR AND PATIALA
EAST GODAVARI AND TRICHUR
THANJAVUR AND PATNA
TRIVANDRUM AND THIRUPATHI
VIJAYAWADA AND BANGALORE
VIZIANAGARAM AND VISAKHAPATNAM
All Circle Secretaries and District Secretaries are requested to adopt and send following resolution to
(1) Minister for Communications, Sanchar Bhavan New Delhi 110001 and
(2) Secretary, Telecom, Sanchar Bhavan, New Delhi 110001,
after the demonstration on 20-6-2018. Resolutions may be typed/written in letter pads and sent.
"IT IS REQUESTED TO REVISE THE PENSION OF BSNL/MTNL PENSIONERS W.E.F. 1-1-2017 ON THE BASIS OF 7th CPC FITMENT FORMULA IMMEDIATELY....
..... CIRCLE/DISTRICT SECRETARY,
.............................................................."
HOLD DEMONSTRATION TOMORROW, 20-6-2018. RECORD OUR PROTEST.
WE WANT PENSION REVISION FROM 1-1-2017
WITH SAME FITMENT BENEFIT GIVEN
TO OTHER CENTRAL GOVT. PENSIONERS IN INDIA.
ON 18-6-2018 OUR Dy. GS COM. GANGADHARA RAO, KARNATAKA CIRCLE SECRETARY COM. R CHANGAPPA AND OTHERS MET SHRI ANANTHKUMAR, HON'BLE MINISTER AND APPRAISED HIM OF THE PRESENT SITUATION AND ALSO REQUESTED HIS INTERVENTION .