We are happy to announce formation of a new Circle Unit of our Association in Kolkata Telephone District Circle in a meeting held on 14, October 2015.

Following are elected as office-bearers of the ad-hoc body:

President: Com. Kalyan Chakraborty

Vice President: Com. Sushil Kumar Halder

Vice President : Com. Gora Chandra Halder

Circle Secretary: Com. N N Goswami

Asst. Circle Secretary: Com. Nirmal Chakraborty

Asst. Circle Secretary: Com. Pradip Kumar Bose

Treasurer: Com. Dulal Chandra Dey

CHQ welcomes the new Circle Unit.

The Finance Ministry has issued orders today granting ad-hoc bonus (Non Productivity Bonus) to all central government employees, not covered by any PLB scheme. One employee will get 30 days pay as the ad-hoc bonus. For calculating the bonus the pay shall be taken as Rs 3500.00 p.m.

In other words, every employee will get a sum of Rs 3454.00 as ad-hoc bonus, no matter the department/institution earns any profit or not.

Unfortunately, this order is also not applicable to BSNL staff.

The Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare has issued a fresh order reiterating that they should be consulted in all cases, involving a policy, before filing an appeal against a court order or before implementing the court order.

The Central Trade Unions, barring BMS, organised a general strike on 2-9-2015. Before that, the Government had some negotiations with the TU leaders. Government assured then that it would consider favourably the demand for raising ceilings for grant of Bonus. The calculation ceiling was Rs 3500. It would be raised to Rs 7000.

But, when the orders were issued for grant of bonus to Railway workers etc. the old ceiling of Rs 3500 is retained.

Now, it is understood that the Government will announce raising the calculation ceiling limit from Rs 3500 to Rs 7000. The announcement will be made after Bihar elections are over.

The File on 78.2% case has moved from DDG (Est.) to Member (Service) and then from Member(S) to Member(Finance). Further movement will be ascertained next week.

… R L Kapoor, New Delhi

Today, on 9^th October 2015, about 60 BSNL pensioners of Belgaum district in Karnataka circle have joined our Association.

Com. G A Majali, Com. G B Kittur and Com. M K Waingade are elected as the President, Secretary and Treasurer of the new unit. CHQ welcome the new members.

Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has issued orders enhancing rate IDA from 1-10-2015. The orders are given in the page: DA

For those who got pension revision with effect from 1-1-2007, the new rate of IDA from October 2015 is 107.9%. We have already calculated and informed this earlier.

For those who got pension revision with effect from 1-1-1997, the new rate of IDA from 1-10-2015 is 251%.

The pension anomaly case filed by our Association is again postponed to Third December 2015. The government advocate wanted time again to file some reply on behalf of Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Finance and Department of Expenditure. This is a usual game of government advocates to delay the case in court of law.

The principal bench of CAT posted the case to 3-12-2015.

The Cabinet has approved PLB to Railway staff. An employee will get his/her 78 days wages as Productivity Linked Bonus. But, the Wage Calculation Ceiling for payment of PLB is the same Rs 3500.00. There is no change even though there was some report about hiking this limit. A Railway employees will get Rs 8975.00 as PLi

[ PLB FOR TELECOM WORKERS?

THERE IS NO BONUS THIS YEAR TOO.....

United Forum staged demonstration on 6-10-2015 demanding adhoc Bonus.]

The Indian Bank Association is introducing a new mediclaim scheme for the existing retired bank employees at par with serving staff. It is proposed to take affect from 1-11-2015.

The annual premium to be paid by the retired officer is Rs 6573.00 plus service tax to get medical coverage up to Rs 4 lacs per year. Workmen and sub staff have to pay Rs 4930 plus service tax to get coverage of Rupees three lacs per year.

[Director HR of BSNL had indicated that the company is preparing a new scheme for medical claims for the BSNL staff and pensioners. A Committee is being constituted to review the Medical policy in BSNL. Against this background, the scheme for bank pensioners attains some significance.]

AP CIRCLE HELD ITS CEC MEETING WAS HELD AT TIRUPATHI IN A GRAND MANNER. CIRCLE PRESIDENT M.R.S. PRAKASA RAO PRESIDED. DISCUSSIONS WERE MAINLY AROUND THE DELAY ID GETTING THE 78.2% IDA BENEFIT. COMS G.NATARAJAN AND S.GUNASEKARAN PARTICIPATED AND EXPLAINED THE ISSUES. CIRCLE ISUES WERE REPLIED BY COM K.S.K RAO CIRCLE SECRETARY. AN OPEN SESSION WAS HELD IN WHICH G.M.BSNL TIRUPATHI AND SSPO PARTICIPATED. WE CONGRATULATE TIRUPATHI DISTRICT COMRADES FOR THE EXCELLENT ARRANGEMENTS THOUGH THEY ARE A SMALL DISTRICT.

Despite repeated instructions, many circle offices of BSNL do not process the pension cases of staff.

Some circles forward the cases to CCAs without some documents. Smt. Sujata T Ray, new Director (HR) of BSNL Board, after taking over charge recently, is issuing instructions again and again to circles. She is very much concerned of pensioners. But the Circles do not change their habit. Director should take stringent action against those who do not comply the instructions from Corporate Office.

The latest letter from Director (HR) is given in the page: "Important Orders".

We are reproducing hereunder a news item appeared in NDTV. Even before the 7th Pay Commission finalises its report, the Finance Ministry has asked the CPC to consider the "concerns of the Government". Viewers can understand the impact of these informal instructions/guidelines.

NEWS ITEM

" New Delhi: Finance Ministry on Monday said the Seventh Pay Commission will be mindful of the fiscal concerns of the government while giving its report on new pay scales and remunerations for central government employees and pensioners.

The Commission, headed by Justice A K Mathur, has been given time up to December 2015 to submit its report on revising emoluments of nearly 48 lakh central government employees and 55 lakh pensioners.

“We have communicated our concerns with regard to sustainability of public expenditure to Pay Commission. I am sure the members and chairman of the commission are aware of and will be sensitive to our concerns,” Finance Secretary Ratan Watal told reporters here. The Commission has time till December to submit its report, he said, adding thereafter it would be scrutinised by a secretariat to be set up in the Finance Ministry.

Mr Watal said although the recommendations would be implemented from January 1, 2016, the burden on the exchequer would not be much in the current financial year. However, he added, it would have implications in next fiscal....."

A NEW DISTRICT BRANCH AT HAJIPUR IS FORMED IN BIHAR CIRCLE ON 27-9-15 WITH

COM R.L.P.SINGH AS PRESIDENT AND COM GAUTAM RAI AS DISTRICT SECRETARY

WE CONGRATULATE THE NEW OFFICE BEARERS AND

COM A.K.SINGH CIRCLE SECRETARY BIHAR CIRCLE.

"Mahatma Gandhi came and stood at the door of India's destitute millions, clad as one of themselves, speaking to them in their own language...who else has so unreservedly accepted the vast masses of the Indian people as his flesh and blood...Truth awakened Truth.” ---- Rabindranath Tagore

“Great men and eminent men have monuments in bronze and marble set up for them, but this man of divine fire managed in his life-time to become enmeshed in millions and millions of hearts……..He lives in the hearts of millions of and he will live for immortal ages.” --- Jawaharlal Nehru

Com. K Gururajan, Treasurer, Reception Committee for the All India Conference at Bangalore

has intimated receipt of Special AIC Fund from the following branches up to 30th September 2015.

AP ANANTHAPUR 2500.00

AP RAM.PURAM 1200.00

AP VIZINAGARAM 5000.00

AP WEST GODAVARI 25000.00

ASSAM BONGAIGAON 2000.00

BIHAR ARA 3500.00

BIHAR CHAPRA 4000.00

BIHAR PATNA 5000.00

CHENNAI CS 36550.00

JHARKHAND CS 8000.00

KERALA CS 90000.00

KERALA CALICUT 10000.00

MP BALAGHAT 1800.00

MP JABALPUR 15000.00

MH LATUR 1900.00

MH NAGPUR 19750.00

MH MUMBAI 10600.00

ORISSA SAMBALPUR 6600.00

PUNJAB CS 25550.00

TN CHENNAI TFC 7500.00

TN COIMBATORE 5000.00

TN CUDDALORE 15000.00

TN KARAIKUDI 5000.00

TN MADURAI 35000.00

TN NAGERCOVIL 5000.00

TN PUDUCHERRY 4650.00

TN SALEM EAST 11300.00

TN SALEM WEST 10000.00

TN STR 10000.00

TN THANJAVUR 15000.00

TN TUTICORIN 13000.00

TN VIRUDHUNAGAR 10000.00

Please Note: Reception has received two more remittance to their Bank account. But no details are received. Concerned branches may please intimate..

Shri K G B Pillai, AGM retired from Alleppey SSA has sent to us a Table showing the increase of IDA every quarter from 2001 to 2015.

An interesting factor is that the IDA increase has been the highest in the last quarter
(October - December) of every year (except 2010).

OCTOBER 1 HAPPENS TO BE THE FORMATION DAY OF BSNL.

NOT ONLY THE DAY FOR ELDERLY PEOPLE.

BUT, ELDERLY PERSONS WHO GAVE THEIR BLOOD AND SWEAT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TELECOM INFRASTRUCTURE IN INDIA, WHICH GAVE ALL THE FORTUNES TO BSNL, ITS MANAGEMENT AND THE STAFF ARE THE MOST NEGLECTED LOT.

BENEFIT OF 78.2% IDA IS NOT YET GIVEN TO THEM.

MEDICAL BILLS SUBMITTED BY BSNL PENSIONERS ARE DELAYED OR REJECTED ON FLIMSY GROUNDS,

THEIR ANOMALY CASES ARE NOT SETTLED EVEN AFTER 14 YEARS.

ANY REPRESENTATION FROM PENSIONERS ARE THROWN TO THE WASTEPAPER BASKETS.

THIS IS HOW BSNL IS TREATING THE ELDERLY PERSONS.

IN 1991 THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANISATION (UNO) IDENTIFIED OCTOBER 1

AS THE DAY FOR OLDER PERSONS. EVERY YEAR IT IS OBSERVED WITH A NEW THEME.

The 2015 celebration of the 25th anniversary of International Day of Older Persons (IDOP), in anticipation of the third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) to be held in 2016, will focus not only on the impact of the new urban environment on older persons, but also the impact of older persons on the new urban environment.