Archives-News
The Delhi High Court has dismissed the appeals submitted by Department of Telecom and Department of Pension & Pensioners Welfare etc. in the Pension Anomaly case originally filed by our Association. 8 Weeks times is given to the DoT to implement the order of CAT, Principal Bench dated 16th December 2016.
High Court judgement dated 24-1-2020 is given here: Please click on this link to see the judgement: delhi-hc-order-in-anomaly-case.pdf.
BSNL was formed on 1-10-2000. Three lakhs employees were enmasse absorbed in BSNL. About 4300 of them retired from service on superannuation between October 2000 and July 2001. They could not complete ten months' service in BSNL. Their pension was fixed at 50% of ten months average pay as per the extant rules. A portion of those 10 months fell in CDA pattern and another portion in IDA pattern of pay scales. This fixation created a serious anomaly. Those 4300 people got less pension than their juniors and their seniors as well. This matter was discussed by service unions for many years. No result.
Then, our Association took up the matter with DoT authorities. We submitted concreted proposals, based on precedence, to solve the problem. But, the adamant officers in DoT were not willing to listen.
Finally our Association filed and a case before CAT Principal bench in 2014. 13 Pensioners including Late Com. Chiddu Singh, Com. R L Kapoor of Delhi, Com. G R Dharmarajan of Madurai, Com. R Ranganathan of Chennai, Com V Ramachandran of Tirur etc. were individual petitioners in the Case. On 16th December 2016, CAT ordered that the anomaly should be removed by DoT. The method too was specified.
But Officers in DOT were not ready to settle the anomaly. They delayed the matter. Then we filed a Contempt of Court case. To avoid contempt, the Departments filed appeals in High Court of Delhi. Now, the High Court has dismissed the Appeals from Departments.
Good number of affected pensioners have already left this earth. Those living are 79 years or 80 years old.
WE hope that the Honourable minister for communications, Shri Ravi Shankr Prasad, a legal luminary himself , and the Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji will not drag the old people to Supreme Court by filing unwanted Appeal. The CAT order should be implemented immediately. All consequential benefits should be granted to the affected pensioners alive and to the family pensioners of those who departed.
NO COLLECTION:
AIBSNLPWA has not collected a single paisa from any pensioner for this protracted legal fight. Original Case, Contempt of Court petition, Appeal in the High Court. On the other hand, members of our Legal Committee had spent lot of their time and energy to prepare the papers, running in hundreds of pages. We express our deep appreciation and thanks to late Com. Chhidu Singh, Com. D Gopalakrishnan, Com. R L Kapoor and Com. R H Mitkary for the efforts made.
for the Attention of District Secretaries:
There are 46 affected pensioners in Madurai (TN) SSA itself. Every DS of our association is requested to find out the pensioners who retired during the said period and inform them all.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL.
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Please click here to see the order: deferred-option-caee-bsnl-ortder-for-vrs-optees..pdf
Those who retired on 30, June should get the benefit of their next annual increment in the Pension and attendant benefits, if that increment falls on 1, July. Once again it is reiterated by the Madhya Pradesh High court.
Please click here to see the judgement: mp-hc-judgement-on-increment.pdf
NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court on Tuesday (today, 21-1-2020) agreed to hear the modification plea filed by telecom operators Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel, and Tata Teleservices on giving them more time to pay off adjusted gross revenue (AGR) related dues which total over Rs1 trillion. The deadline to pay off these dues is 23 January.
The development will allow telecom operators to negotiate a “sustainable payment schedule" for AGR dues. The Cellular Operators Association of India had earlier sought a 14-year period to pay off these dues.
The matter was mentioned before a bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde today, and the case is likely to be heard next week. The government, meanwhile, will not take any coercive action against telcos till the plea is heard.
(News in LIVEMINT)
The Dept. of Telecom has, finally, issued its first order on VRS pension. It contains the standard operating procedure to be followed by BSNL Circle Offices, CCA Offices, BSNL Corporate Office and DoT HQ. The procedure is very complicated. It is regarding payment of ex gratia only, Not related to pension and issuance of PPO. Let us wait for the reaction of Staff unions. ....PSR
A new branch of AIBSNLPWA is opened at Narsipatnam under Visakhapatnam SSA unit. Com. S V S N Murthy (DP, Vizag) and Com. K Somasundara Rao (DS, Vizag) attended the meeting. 40 pensioners have joined the branch. Comrades M Venkateswarlu, K Siva Prasada Rao and P Venkita Rao are elected as President, Secretary and Treasurer of the branch. CHQ welcomes the new branch and the comrades.
Large number of VRS in Bhavnagar, Gujarat have promised to join AIBSNLPWA in a special convention organized by NFTE there on 12-1-2020. Our leaders attended the meeting and reported the steps we have taken and we are taking to settle the issues of BSNL retirees.
Please click here: items-for-website.pdf
A new branch of our Association is opened in Shahjahanpur SSA of UP East Circle with Com. R P Kanaujia as President, Com. O P Verma as DS and Com. P N Ojha as the Treasurer.
CHQ welcomes the new branch and new members.
In some Circles the BSNL employees and Retirees were provided with WLL telephone connections as Rent free Residential Telephone connections because the normal landphone connections were not technically feasible. Some time in 2011, such WLL services were withdrawn in Haryana circle, followed by some other circles. Our Circle Unit in Haryana took up the case with the CGMT for GSM connections to such retirees. In 2013 the case was referred to our CHQ as the efforts at circle failed. Com. G Natarajan , the then GS took up the matter with Corporate Office. He met the Director (HR) Smt. Sujata Ray for the purpose several times and pursued. Director HR gave assurances repeatedly. But no formal order was issued. Now, on 3-01-2020 the BSNL CO has issued orders for providing GSM based connections to such staff and retirees residing in the Technically Non feasible areas. Concerned comrades may approach the authorities in the SSA;
Please click here to see the order:wll-gsm.jpg
OUR TRIBUTES
Today, we pay our respectful tributes to late Com. Om Prakash Gupta,
on the seventh anniversary of his death on 6th January, in 2013 at the age of 90 years.
Copy of the DPE order is forwarded to 42 CPPCs of 23 banks all over the country.
Click here to see the DPE order :ida-january-2020.pdf
IDA INCREASE BY 5.3% AGAIN
Yesterday evening, the Labour Bureau of India has released the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers for the month of November 2019. It is 328 points. 3 points increased from October.
Average for the three months (Sept, Oct, and Nov. 2019) is 325.
Based on the above, it can be assessed that IDA rate will increase from existing 152% to 157.3% from January 2020.
CDA RATE
CDA will also increase from January 2020. But that will be known only on 31-01-2020.
CDA is calculated on the basis of average Index for 12 months; January-December 2019. The Index for December will be announced only on 31-1-2020. Existing rate of CDA from July 2019 is 17%. It may increase to 21% from January, 2020.
Dear Comrades,
Happy New Year to you.
Calendar is a concept only. In India itself we had different new Year Days and different Calendars. In the Calendar, we get in Kerala, four Dates are shown; 1) Roman Calendar date 2)Saka Varsha date 3) Hijara Date and 4) Malayalam (Kollam) date. Old people, especially in our villages, follow their traditional calendar for rituals.
Today is the first day of the year according to the Gregorian calendar, introduced from 15-10-1582 by the Pope Gregory modifying the Julian calendar that existed for 1600 years. Both are known as Roman Calendars.
Many people think that now 2020 years have passed since cruzification of Jesus Christ. It is not correct. Because Julian calendar was modified several times. Originally the year started with March; then changed to January. The seventh month was named after Emperor Julius Caesar of Rome. Hence known as July. After some time his grand nephew Augustus Caesar took over the reins. The eighth month was named after him and known as August. Not only that. Since July had 31 days August was also given 31 days modifying the system. So, it need not be exactly 2020 years.
It is a concept only.This Gregorian Calendar was imposed on us by British rule.It is now universally accepted and hence is the only standard one approved by Governments all over the world.
INDIAN TELECOM IN 2020
Analysts say that 2020 will be a tough year for all Telcos in India. Some companies will exit from the field. Some will survive.
The article in Business Standard on 30, December 2019 states that Vodafone Idea has lost 3.66 crore subscribers in the previous month. The company is facing the largest loss. Bharti Airtel is also in trouble. After VRS, the BSNL will face the problem of acute staff shortage. When the management is very stiff, how many VRS retirees will go back and work on contract basis?
Both the employees and retirees have to struggle a lot. We have crossed many rough waters. We shall move ahead. Let us face the challenge. Let us make it a memorable year. Move to 2020 with confidence and determination to settle our demands.
…. P S Ramankutty
01-01-2020
Namaskar to everyone ,
Today on 23-12-19 , Com. PSR ,our CHQ President ,a great personality and an excellent human being I have come across till now, has come to visit me third time after my suffering started . Com. Changappa is always with me during my difficult days.
Through this message today I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone not only in our Association but also the members of the CBMPA Constituents. I strongly believe that but for the prayers of thousands and thousands of my well-wishers , perhaps , I would not have found a solution for the terrible suffering I had undergone, so early.
Anyway , I would like to inform everyone that I am on my way of recovery. It is slow but definitely steady. Stitches will be removed on 27-12-19. Then the recovery may pick up little faster.
With great difficulty and pain I prepared this message on my phone. For the time being ,.I profusely thank each and everyone ONCE AGAIN.
...
P Gangadhara Rao GS , AIBSNLPWA
and CONVENOR , CBMPA.
Today, I am going to Bangalore. On 23rd I will attend the Pensioners Day celebration there and will visit our GS who is taking rest after a major surgery. Thereafter I will consult some doctors in Bangalore. Depending upon the medical advice I will stay back or go to my native place during Christmas holidays and come back to Trivandrum on 31-12-2019.
Till then, there is a break.
.........................................................P S Ramankutty
HAPPY NEWS
Our GS, Com. Gangadhara Rao, took Ayurvedic treatment for three weeks in a hospital at Palakkad in Kerala for the severe pain on spinal cord. Finding no relief desired, he went back to Bangalore, consulted the specialists in the Mahavir Jain hospital there. On their advice he underwent a surgery. Now he is better and improving slowly. Bandage is to be removed on 27-12-2019. Still, he may have to take rest for one or two months to be normal. I will meet him in Bangalore on 23-12-2019 instant.
Comrades,
This year, large number of our branches in the entire country observed Pensioners Day on 17, December 2019 enthusiastically. Keeping the tradition, Andhra branches organized charity activities on the day visiting orphanages, poor homes, Old age homes and distributing food items, clothes, study materials etc. Other branches held meetings and explained the importance of Nakara case, its impact on the pension system in India since 1982 and paid homage to the two people - Mr. D S Nakara and Mr. H D Shourie – who brought these changes through legal fight and also to the eminent judges - late Justices Y V Chandrachud, D A Desai, O Chinnappa Raddy, V D Tulsapurkar and Bahrul Islam.
Since 17th evening till 8 AM today, I received 362 photos of the meetings. I was on tour to some stations for attending pensioners’ day meetings. On 17th night, while waiting for the train in Kottayam railway station for about two hours in the night, I uploaded all the photos received in the whatsapp groups. Some photos could not be downloaded. Some photos were repeated by the branches.
For e.g.; I received 20 photos of Ajmer three times. STR branch sent 28 photos. it shows their enthusiasm but it was a difficult job to sort out and delete duplication sitting in the railway station.
Hence, now, I am left with the only option to upload some photos showing the mass of pensioners attending the function. Names of stations are not given to avoid mistakes. Please bear with me .. P S Ramankutty
17, December is a memorable day for all the pensioners of india, be from Central Service or State service or from PSUs.
It is on 17, December 1982 that the Supreme Court of India delivered is landmark judgement in famous Nakara Case. The judgement is treated as magna carata of Indian pensioners. We have written lot of the judgement and the case. Hence not repeated here. Let us remember Shri D S Nakara the man behind the Case. He was not a Trade unionist. He was an officer in Defence ministry. He fought against discrimination, against injustice caused by an order of the Government of India issued on 25th May 1979 introducing a Liberalized Pension Scheme. Pensioners retired before 31-3-1974 were denied the benefit of the new scheme. Nakara, retired before that cut of date was denied the benefit . Hence he filed the case.
D S Nakara
Shri H D Shourie, the man of Public Interest Litigation helped Shri Nakara in preparing the petition. Basic issues concerning pension were raised in the petition that compelled the Supreme Court make very important observations on pension in the judgement.
H D Shourie
The five eminent judges who were the icons of Judicial activism in India delivered the judgement. They are Justice Y V Chandrachud, the chief justice then, Justice D A Desai, Justice O Chinnappa Reddy, Justice V D Tulsapurkar and Justice Bahrul Islam.
OBSERVE PENSIONERS DAY TOMORROW, 17 DECEMBER
Some friends ask what is Cause of Action in legal terms? How much important it is? Following is quoted from the Law journal:
..." The term Cause of Action refers to a set of facts or allegations that make up the grounds for filing a lawsuit. A Cause of Action is therefore by its very nature essential to a Civil Suit, since without a Cause of Action a Civil Suit cannot arise.
The parties being represented in the suit need not have the same cause of action as the person they are being represented by. The plaint must mention the cause of action if it is to be instituted as a suit. Thus, it can be seen from the beginning that not only is a Cause of Action an important part of the Civil Suit but is in essence the reason that the civil suit exists in the first place. Any claim that is made in the suit flows from the cause of action, and as is stated by the above mentioned part of the code, the claims made must be with respect to the cause of action from whence they arise."
Many people, while going to the Court, used to say "going to file an injustice" in the colloquial language. It means they are going to report an injustice/injury by an action of another person, or authority or the government. They seek justice from the Court. Court will intervene only if an injustice or injury is pointed out. If you file a suit asking the Government to issue a new order for revising pension the Court may not accept the suit or may direct the Government to look into the matter. Back to square One. If some benefit is given to others and not given to you, it becomes an injustice. Court has to give its decision. So an action is essential for the Court to examine if that is justified as per law or not. It is Court of Law. NEED NOT BE COURT OF JUSTICE ALWAYS.
In our opinion, the answer given by the learned minister on our pension revision is an injustice.