U.P. Cabinet gives nod for Sixth Pay panel benefits to staff of 8 PSUs

The state government has decided to implement the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission for the employees of the eight profit-making Public Sector Undertakings (PSU). This decision was taken in the state Cabinet meeting on Saturday, which was presided over by Chief Minister Mayawati.

The PSUs to be covered by the Cabinet decision are UP Project Corporation, UP Seed Development Corporation, UP Social Welfare Corporation, UP State Bridge Corporation, UP Development Systems Corporation, UP State Industrial Development Corporation, UP Jal Nigam and Pradesh Industrial and Investment Corporation.

The revised pay scales will benefit all the permanent and regular employees of the eight PSUs as well as the Gorakhpur Industrial Development Authority. The state government will not offer financial assistance to the PSUs to meet the additional financial burden caused by the revision of the pay scales. 

Source : Indian Express.

Sixth pay panel: U.P. Govt invites varsity teachers for talks on 8th March.

With the deadlock between the university teachers and state government continuing for the last six months over the date of the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission, the state administration today invited the teachers for talks on March 8 to resolve the matter.

The date of implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission is January 1, 2006, but the university teachers have been struggling to get their due as the state government has been giving them the benefit from December 1, 2008.

The protests have led to the postponement of the examinations in the universities of Meerut and Gorakhpur.

The tentative examination schedule for Lucknow University has also been shifted to March 22.

To intensify their protest, the Federation of Uttar Pradesh Residential University Teachers Association and Federation of Uttar Pradesh University College Teachers Association are now planning to go on a mass leave on March 8 and a relay fast and demonstration at Shaheed Smarak on March 9, 10 and 11. 

Anil Sant, Secretary of Higher Education, said: “We are calling the teachers for another round of talks on Monday. We will not tolerate pressure tactics by the teachers for recovering the arrears.”

“ESMA has already been enforced in the state and action will be taken against those who do not cooperate with the administration for conducting the examinations. We don’t want the session to be delayed and the examinations will be conducted within the given time frame,” said Sant.

Dr Maulindu Mishra, president of the Lucknow University Associated College Teachers’ Association, said: “A state government order, dated February 28, 2009, declared that the Sixth Pay Commission will be implemented from December 1, 2008 onwards and the arrears pertaining to the period between January 1, 2006 and November 31, 2008 should be considered ‘kalpanik’ (imaginary).”

“The government implemented the Sixth Pay Commission for university teachers in July 2009 and is also promising to soon pay the arrears due between December 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009,” added Mishra.

“While the UGC is paying 80 per cent of the arrears, the state government is only being asked to pay 20 per cent. Yet the government is not ready to pay us the arrears since 2006. They are not ready to ask the UGC for the arrears between January 2006 and November 2008,” said Chitaranjan Mishra, president of UP Residential Universities Teachers Association (UPRUTA).

“The government has implemented the Sixth Pay Commission for all the other services from January 2006 onwards. But in our case, they are not ready to do so,” added Mishra.

According to Sant, around 14 states have already implemented the Sixth Pay Commission since January 1, 2006 but are yet to receive the Central government funds.

“Till date we have not received a single penny from UGC. The complete calculations of the arrears starting from January 2006 till March 2010 have been sent to the UGC. We have used the word ‘kalpnik’ because if we remove it, we will have to pay the entire amount, which is not possible,” said Sant.

“We are waiting for the UGC to release the funds to any of the 14 states and we will follow suit,” added Sant. 

Source : Indian Express.

AI proposes 15-17% pay cut for most staffers

After stiff resistance from its employees against a steep pay cut, National Aviation Company of India Ltd), which runs Air India, has come out with a fresh proposal to impose a 15-17 per cent cut on the total salary package.
The total package includes basic salary, dearness allowance, house rent allowance and payments made under the productivity-linked incentive scheme . The cut, however, would not be applicable on employees (about 4,000, according to unions) who have a gross salary of less than Rs 20,000 a month.
The new proposal, which has to be cleared by the Cabinet, comes a few months after the airline had made an attempt, since aborted, to push through a plan for a 50 per cent reduction in PLI across the board for its 32,000 employees. That plan was targeted to save Rs 600 crore. But, it wasn't pushed through because of stiff opposition from the employees.
PLI constitutes 40 per cent of the company's total annual wage bill of around Rs 3,000 crore. The cut proposed by the new offer is much lower; the earlier one would have cut the salary package by 20 per cent.
The cut in salary would be the key in ensuring the airline is able to raise Rs 1,870 crore from internal resources, a nine-fold increase of what it has been able to rustle up  in 2009-10 (only Rs 202.4 crore). Even in 2008-9, the airline had generated only Rs 429 crore from internal resources.
The blueprint for recovery included introducing advertising through the entertainment system on the aircraft, securitisation of its prime real estate, which includes the iconic Air India Building in Mumbai's upmarket Nariman Point, to raise loans and further rationalisation of routes.
Confirming the new plan, a senior ministry official said: "We have to raise funds through internal resources. The key to that would be a new plan for cut on the overall pay package of employees by 15-17 per cent, rather than go in for a steep cut in PLI, which has been opposed by employees. Through these measures, we hope to save between Rs 700 crore and Rs 800 crore."
The airline will get equity infusion of Rs 1,200 crore for 2010-11 as earmarked in the budget, apart from Rs 800 crore received from the government in the financial year 2009-10. The equity infusion of Rs 2,000 crore was part of the government's decision to bale out the airline from its financial crises and help it reduce its huge losses, as high as Rs 7,000 crore in 2008-09 and  expected to increase by another Rs 4,000 crore in 2010-11.
The airline has not been able to meet its targets for 2009-10, when it was expected to save over Rs 2,000 crore from various measures. It has, according to the ministry, being able to save only Rs 800 crore.

Source : Business Standard.

Meghalaya college teachers to get UGC pay

The Meghalaya government has decided to implement the new UGC (University Grants Commission) pay scale for its college teachers with retrospective effect from January 1, 2006.


The decision was approved by the State Cabinet yesterday, Chief Minister DD Lapang informed after the meeting late last evening.


State Education Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh informed that the arrears will amount to Rs. 70 crore.


The State would bear 20 per cent of the total salary while the remaining will be borne by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, she added.


Ms. Lyngdoh said the government had also been considering increase of pay and allowances to other categories of teachers.


The last revision of pay for the college teachers was in 1996.


Source : PTI

Bank Pay Hike : Hope of early settlement appears to be remote.

It is reported that the talks held on this day[25^th Feb,10] have remained inconclusive and there is no likelyhood for early settlement as IBA's attitude appears to be inflexibale. 

Now  MOU dated 27/11/2009 (wherein it was agreed that final agreement will be done within 90 days) has expired on 25/02/2009.  It is a matter of great concern for the bankers as they have waited for 90 days by holding their breath, hoping at least now something will be finalised.  However, both IBA and unions betrayed the bankers.  Instead of talking on a day on day basis, meetings were fixed after fortnights or more.  It is strange that inspite of broad understanding of the maximum that will be given by IBA, both parties are fighting on petty matters.  

A letter issued by GD Nadaf, General Secretary, AIBOC indicates that "on none of our proposals, there was a positive response form the IBA and they stuck to their method of calculation of additional cost on HRA, pension and distribution of wage load of 17.5% on various scales. It appeared that, we have reached a dead end. The discussions concluded without any fruitful result"....Click here for full text of the circular.

Is it not a clear admission by these leaders that they failed to convince IBA even on one of their proposals?  Should members believe that these leaders are either talking illogical or without facts with IBA?   Should members believe that these leaders have no sting left in them to even move IBA by an inch?  The above statement is clear admission of the failures of the union  leaders.  There is strong feeling among the bankers that such retired bankers holding high posts in the unions and enjoying the benefits from the monthly subscription of the members and taking levy on settlements should immediately resign and leave the field for serving and young members.

By courtesy : Allbankingsolutions.com