Over three lakh Bihar govt employees to lose pay over strike

More than 3,00,000 Bihar government employees who had struck work for 33 days will not receive their salaries for this period as the state government has taken a "no work no pay" stance.

"The government is firm on not paying them salaries to ensure its policy of 'no work no pay'," an official of the state finance department said, adding that a letter to this effect had already been issued.

"Soon after the employees went on strike (last month), the government warned them to return to work or face 'no work no pay'," another official said.

The state government has, for the first time, taken a decision to deduct the salaries of its employees for the striking period as it badly affected the functioning of the offices and delayed development schemes for over a month.

The employees went on an indefinite strike Jan 7 demanding revised salaries as recommended by the Sixth Pay Commission "in letter and spirit". The government refused this, citing a funds crunch. The strike ended Feb 9 following a Patna High Court order.

Source : The Hindu.

MP govt to implement Sixth Pay Commission recommendations

Madhya Pradesh Government on Saturrday announced to implement the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission with effect from January 2006, a decision aimed to benefit around five lakh government employees in the state.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, in an official communication, said the benefit of the Pay Commission's recommendations will be payable to state government employees with effect from January 1, 2006 to February 28, 2009.

The mode of payment for benefits from January 1, 2006 to August 31, 2008, will be decided by the government at a later date, the communication said.

However, benefits from September 1, 2008 to February 28 this year will be paid along with the salary payable on April 1.

The notification said the decision would also help around three lakh pensioners and there would be a proportionate increase in salaries of government school teachers and Panchayat Secretaries

Source : The Hindu.

See the notification here

PSU Banks wage hike : Leaders met Mr Pranab Mukherjee, submitted memorandum.

BANK UNION'S DEMAND FOR WAGE REVISION AND PENSION OPTION

"We had informed our units and members that further to the last round of Talks with IBA held on 21-2-2009, in terms of the decision taken in our UFBU meeting held thereafter, a Delegation of UFBU met Mr. Narayanaswamy, Chairman of IBA at Chennai on 23-2-2009 and submitted a memorandum on our above demands and seeking expeditious resolution without any pre-condition.

Further to this, on 26-2-2009 we met Mr. Oscar Fernandes, Minister of State for Labour and impressed upon him to intervene in the matter so that industrial unrest is avoided in the banking sector. He assured to look into the matter.

Today (27-2-2009), we met Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister and submitted our memorandum to him. We explained to him that in terms of the MOU signed between the IBA and UFBU dt. 25-2-2008, while discussions have taken place on our demand, the approach of the IBA in insisting upon an unknown new pension scheme for the future employees is unfair. We further informed him that UFBU is ready to discuss the issue with an open mind upon receiving the IBA’s proposed new pension scheme and that this should not be made a pre-condition for finalising our present demand for pension option and wage revision. We also submitted that the delay in the settlement of our demands is causing anxiety and restlessness amongst the membership. Mr. Pranab Mukherjee listened to our demands patiently and assured to examine the same and advise IBA suitably in the matter.

In both these meetings Members of Parliament Com. Gurudas Dasgupta, General Secretary AITUC (who arranged for these meetings) and Com. Tapan Sen, Secretary, CITU were present and they also requested the Labour Minister and Finance Minister to settle the matter amicably.

Comrades, UFBU is quite aware of the anxieties of the rank and file and we assure that all necessary steps are being taken to find amicable and satisfactory resolution of our demands.

Further developments in the matter will be informed to units in due course."

Source : AIBEA

Uttar Pradesh Teachers warn of agitation

Angry over delay in implementation of the 6th Pay Commission recommendations, higher education teachers in the state may take to war path, posing a threat on the annual examinations due to begin in all the state universities from March 2. 

What has made the situation even more complicated is the fact that the Election Commission is expected to issue notification for the Lok Sabha elections on March 2, after which the government will not be able to issue an order on pay hike, thereby delaying the matter further till elections are over.

Significantly, while the government has made a budgetary provision of over Rs 169 crore for the 6th Pay Commission, an order to implement it has not been put before the cabinet for approval so far. The government only has to bear 20 per cent of the hike as University Grants Commission will pay 80 per cent of the amount. 

"We are unable to understand why the government is taking so long when the hike will not amount to any significant burden on the state exchequer," said Moulindu Mishra, president, Lucknow university  Associated Colleges' Teachers' Association (LUACTA). He pointed out that in the past UP had always been first to implement pay commission recommendations for higher education teachers. 

According to the provisions, the UGC will pay for 80% of the hike for five years and thereafter government will have to bear the entire amount for next five years before next pay commission report comes. 

There are 17,500 teachers in 12 state universities, 345 government-aided colleges and 125 government colleges in the state. Over 20 lakh students enrolled in these institutions will be hit if teachers decide to launch an agitation in midst of the examinations. 

Government foot the entire salary bill of the teachers in the colleges but for universities it has frozen the grants to the level fixed in 1997. Hence, government will only have to bear the 20 per cent expenses required for pay revision of teachers in colleges. 

Sources in the government said that while pay hike proposal for higher education teachers had been cleared by finance and law departments, it was pending at the level of higher education minister, who was supposed to table the proposal in the state cabinet for clearance. 

"Teachers will vote against this government in the LS elections, if it fails to implement the pay commission report soon. We are also considering to launch an agitation, but are keeping quiet for a while for the sake of students," said Mishra, who is in contact with teachers' association of other universities and state federation to draw out a plan to pressurise government for meeting their demand.

Source : Times of India.

Bank Wage Hike : UFBU’s Memorandum to IBA Chairman

Update : UFBU IS MEETING ON 7th SEPTEMBER 2009 at CHENNAI to discuss further course of action.

You are kindly aware that in the backdrop of a series of agitational programmes and strike actions in the banking sector in 2007/08 , at the intervention of the Central Government and by mutual agreement between UFBU and IBA, an MoU was signed on 25-2-2008 ( copy enclosed) covering the important demands of the UFBU. Based on the MoU, UFBU withdrew all agitational programmes and strike actions and restored normalcy.
The main contents of the MoU are as under:
“ The representatives of the IBA agreed to hold discussions with the United Forum of Bank Unions [UFBU] on 3rd March 2008 to set a definite time frame for holding discussions on each of the UFBU’s following proposals.
1) Reconcile the actuarial calculations relating to pension with a view to consider extending one more option of pension to the remaining employees who are under CPF.
2) The issue of allowing coverage to the employees and officers through pension scheme recruited in the banks between 1-11-93 and 28-9-1995 which will be once again taken up with the Government for reconsideration.
3) As regards restoration of compassionate appointment scheme, the IBA requested the UFBU to suggest improvement, modifications etc. to the scheme to enable IBA to refer the matter to the Government for further consideration.
4) On the demand of UFBU that proper recruitment is not taking place in banks resulting in increased workload for the employees and officers, the representatives of IBA maintained that recruitment is a bank specific function. However, the UFBU maintained their own view that the IBA should advise the banks to ensure adequate recruitment in the banks through proper procedure etc.
5) As regards outsourcing, the representatives of IBA agreed to discuss the matter with UFBU keeping in view the existing parameters and regulatory guidelines.
6) As regards merger of the public sector banks the representatives of IBA submitted that there are no directions or guidelines from Government of India to banks on the subject of merger/consolidation of banks and as such the demand is premature. The UFBU did not agree to the view of IBA and strongly maintained that IBA should ensure that management of Banks should not proceed with the merger unilaterally without addressing the concerns of the Unions.
7) As regards revision of wages the representatives of IBA submitted that the machinery has been set in motion and once the mandates from all the banks are available bilateral negotiations will commence.
The representatives of UFBU brought to the notice of CLC(C) during conciliatory proceedings held on 22nd February 2008 that some of the banks have been violating the pension regulation by excluding the newly recruited officers from the existing pension scheme and offering them an alternative pension scheme without amending the pension regulation which is discriminatory and beyond the competence of the concerned banks. ”
You will kindly observe that nowhere in the MoU, neither the IBA raised the issue of introduction of the new Pension Scheme nor the Unions agreed to make it a part of the discussions in the proposed discussions. On the other hand, we objected to some of the Banks trying to unilaterally introduce such a scheme and this has been recorded in the MoU also.
You will further recall that after signing the MOU, in the very first round of meeting held on 3-3-2008 between IBA and UFBU it was agreed that the issue of pension option should be resolved within a period of three months. But we are now observing the anniversary of that MoU and yet the issue remains unresolved.

In this regard we are constrained to bring to your kind attention the following:
1. The MoU is a culmination of a long drawn struggle on our demand for another option for pension. IBA agreed to consider our demand on our recognising the need for and agreeing to sharing a portion of the additional cost. On our part we have stood by our commitment and even offered to take a substantial share of Rs.1500 crores out of the total additional cost.

2. Instead of finalizing and resolving the issue of pension option with mutually acceptable cost sharing, the IBA Negotiating Committee has been asking for our consent to introduce the Central Government’s New Pension Scheme for the new recruitees as a pre-condition for extending another option for the existing employees to join the pension scheme.

3. The MoU dt. 25 2 2008 does not contain any pre-condition by the IBA that our demand for another option for pension would be considered only on the condition that this new pension scheme would be accepted by us for the new employees.

4. The pension settlement dated 29 10 1993 stipulates that all the new recruitees from 1-11-93 would be governed only by the pension scheme as outlined in that settlement. Pension Regulations have also reiterated this service condition.

5. No central trade union or the unions of the Central/State Government employees have so far accepted this new Pension Scheme. The Parliament is also unable to pass the Bill on the Pension Regulatory Authority. Even for the Government employees, the full details of the scheme are really not worked. We learn that even the amount accumulated in the Fund has not been invested so far.

6. The IBA has also not outlined the full details of the new scheme which it wants to impose on the new recruitees in Banks from now on. Can any trade union accept a new scheme the details and implications of which are not known ?

7. Notwithstanding all these, you should appreciate that UFBU has offered that upon IBA providing us the full details of the proposed new pension scheme, we shall be willing to discuss with an open mind, the feasibilities of introduction of the new scheme to the new recruitees who will join the bank in future if such a scheme is going to be really beneficial to them. But the present exercise of working out the cost sharing and extension of pension option to the existing employees should not be linked up with the discussion on the new pension scheme.

8. Our above offer itself is a major deviation from the MoU dated 25-2-2008 and is in fact beyond the mandate to us from our constituency.

9. When IBA and Bank managements are conscious about the cost and quite rightly too, it must be kept in mind that on all earlier occasions like the 7th and 8th Bipartite settlements, we have recognized the additional cost and have agreed to account for the same in the wage revision even though the Pension Settlement does not provide for the same.

10. IBA suddenly taking a rigid position that the new pension scheme, the full details of which are not made known to anyone, should be accepted by the unions or foisted on the new recruitees as a pre-condition to extend an option to the present employees is unfair and unreasonable.

11. From the UFBU, during discussions held on 21-2-2009, having regard to the longstanding bilateral relationship between IBA and our Unions and the earnestness to find solution to the issue raised by IBA, we have offered as under.
a) Existing scheme to continue.
b) IBA should give the full details of their proposed new pension scheme.
c) After study of the new scheme, IBA & UFBU can discuss the feasibility of introducing the new scheme after one year.
d) In the meantime, the issue should be delinked and option for the existing employees should be extended by finalizing the sharing formula without any further delay.
You will appreciate that the above suggestions are well-meant and reasonable.
We have been informed that our above suggestions would be discussed in the next Managing Committee meeting scheduled on 27-2-2009.

WAGE REVISION:
Similarly you are aware that our demands for wage revision have been submitted as far back as October, 2007 and given the increasing roles and responsibilities of the employees and officers in the banking industry, the increased volume of work and productivity, etc., there is a need and expectation for a fair wage revision. But the offer made by IBA so far does not meet such expectations and does not form a reasonable basis for an early settlement of the demand.
Hence the present avoidable conditionalities and stand points of IBA and the delay in the settlement of our demands are creating unrest amongst the rank and file. We are afraid that if the IBA would persist with such an approach and attitude, we may have to revive the agitational programmes and strike actions which would inevitably disturb the present peaceful and cordial industrial relations in the banking sector.
In view of the above, we urge upon you to intervene in the matter for an expeditious settlement of our demand for pension option and wage revision on the basis of the MoU signed between IBA and UFBU on 25-2-2008 and the subsequent discussions held between UFBU and IBA and spare the industry of the avoidable industrial unrest.

Source AIBEA.

Govt announced 6% Dearness Allowance for Central staff

As informed earlier in this blog, Central government employees and pensioners will get an additional six per cent dearness allowance from next month, putting a burden of over Rs 6,000 crore on the exchequer. Employees and pensioners will get the additional DA with retrospective effect from January one this year, as per a decision cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) here.

The revised DA would be 22 per cent, payable from next month's salary, against 16 per cent at present, Home Minister P Chidambaram told reporters here. The combined burden of the increased DA to employees and the retired will be Rs 6,020 crore from January 2009 to February 2010, he said.

However, the exchequer will take a hit of Rs 5,159 crore for the full year, Chidambaram said here.

Source PTI

IITs non-teaching staff demand salary hike

The Officers Forum comprising of Group `A' officers and the `Karamchari Sangathan' comprising of Groups B, C and D staff have demanded the revival of the professor VS Ramamurthy Committee. The committee will look into the revision of pay scales in respect of all non-teaching staff across all IITs. CP Singh, an official at the IIT-Kanpur said, "The ministry of HRD had earlier constituted two committees. One under the chairmanship of Professor Goverdhan Mehta to suggest pay revision and other under the Chairmanship of Professor VS Ramamurthy to suggest pay revision in respect of non-teaching staff of all IITs." "Professor VS Ramamurthy committee was subsequently withdrawn and instead a lop-sided pay revision proposed by the ministry officials is being implemented in respect of non-teaching officers and employees of all IITs", Singh further added. Singh further told that non-teaching officers were earlier enjoying parity with the teaching staff up to 3rd pay commission, however pursuant to the 4th Pay Commission, they lost their parity with the teaching staff of IITs and were instead brought at par with the teaching staff of UGC. However, this time around they have been deprived of their parity with the teaching staff of UGC. In this, regard, several representations sent by the non-teaching officers to the ministry and various forums have gone unheeded. Another senior administrative official of the IIT-Kanpur, Mohd Shakeel said, "The non-teaching officers of IITs are in minority as compared to the teaching staff and hence they are always discriminated against and subjected to the arbitrary decisions of the teaching staff who are holding sway in all decision making bodies such as Board of Governors, Finance committee etc." Mohd Shakeel further said that none of these fora have any member from the non-teaching segments and thus the aspirations of non-teaching staffs are always left unattended, which can be gauged from the fact that there is no promotion scheme in respect of non-teaching officer across the IITs for the last several years. The Officers Forum has demanded for the revival of the Professor Ramamurthy Committee and has further resolved to stall all the meetings of the statutory and non-statutory committees, till the restoration of the Professor VS Ramamurthy Committee.
Source : The Times of India.

ROPA : 2009,WB Govt accepts Fifth Pay Commission recommendations

With Lok Sabha elections round the corner, the West Bengal Government announced the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission with certain improvements, which will be effective from April 1 this year.
"The state government has accepted, by and large, the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission, constituted by it, with certain improvements," Finance minister Asim Dasgupta said.
Beneficiaries will include ten lakh government employees, teachers and other staff, while the government has to incur an additional expenditure of about Rs 5,700 crore annually, he said.
Dasgupta said that replacing the existing pay scales, a revised pay structure with five Pay Bands and distinct Grade Pay for each of the unrevised pay scales have been introduced.
Giving an example, Dasgupta said a Group-D employee now drawing a basic pay of Rs 2,600 plus dearness pay of Rs 1,300 would get Rs 6,600 as basic pay in the revised pay structure.
The highest basic scale in Pay Band-5 will be from Rs 37,400 to Rs 60,000, he said.

ROPA RULES 2009

Revision of pension / family pension etc.

Pension Fixation Table

Probable Pay Scale of West Bengal Govt. Employees

Probable Pay Scale of West Bengal Govt. Employees as recommended by fifth pay commission.

 

{As information collected from our own source in the Govt. Viewers are requested to check from the Govt Notification which is likely to be published this week}

 

Pay Band & Grade Pay recommended against existing pay scales

 

Existing Pay Structure		Revised Pay Structure
Scale No	Present Scale	Name of Pay Band	Pay Band	Grade Pay
1	2600-55-2985-60-3525-65-4175	PB 1	4900-16200	1700
2	2700-60-3120-65-3770-70-4400	PB 1	4900-16200	1800
3	2850-65-3305-70-4005-75-4680	PB 2	5400-25200	1900
4	3150-80-3390-90-4380-90-5230	PB 2	5400-25200	2100
5	3150-80-3390-4380-100-5680	PB 2	5400-25200	2300
6	3350-90-3800-100-4700-125-6325	PB 2	5400-25200	2600
7	3600-100-4200-125-5700-150-7050	PB 2	5400-25200	2900
8	3800-100-4100-125-4725-150-6375-175-7775	PB 3	7100-37600	3200
9	4000-125-4250-150-5300-175-7050-200-8850	PB 3	7100-37600	3600
10	4500-150-5250-175-7000-200-8800-225-9700	PB 3	7100-37600	3900
11	4650-150-5100-175-6325-200-7925-225-10175	PB 3	7100-37600	4100
12	4800-175-5850-200-6650-225-8675-250-10925	PB 4	9000-40500	4400
13	5000-175-5700-200-6500-225-8525-250-11275	PB 4	9000-40500	4600
14	5500-220-6300-225-8325-250-11325	PB 4	9000-40500	4700
15	6000-225-7800-250-9800-275-12000	PB 4	9000-40500	4800
16	8000-275-13500	PB 4	9000-40500	5400
17	10000-325-15525	PB 4	9000-40500	6600
18	12000-375-18000	PB 4	9000-40500	7600
19	14300-400-18300	PB 5	37400-60000	8700
20	16400-450-20000	PB 5	37400-60000	8900
21	18400-500-22400	PB 5	37400-60000	10000
22	10000-300-15100-350-16500-375-18000	PB 4	9000-40500	7000
23	14300-450-22400	PB 5	37400-60000	9500
24	12500-375-18500	PB 4	9000-40500	8000

 

Note : The Pay Band 4 cited above looks very odd as very often the new scale is lower than existing. We have doubts over the particular Pay Band. Viewers are requested to verify it from the official notification which is likely to be published within this week.

 

Fixation Formula :

 

Revised Gross Salary : [{Old Basic X 1.86} + Grade Pay as applicable ] + DA @ 16% {As on Date}. + HRA @ 15% + Rs 300 as Medical Allowance

 

There is no proposal of Transport Allowance or Children Education Allowance like the Central Govt.

 

Arrear will be from 01/01/2008 and will be paid in equal installment in three years.

 

 

Source : Reliable source in the Finance Ministry of West Bengal in condition of annonimity.