Successful completion of Promotional training – reiteration of instructions.

Ministry of Railways has issued a Circular rejecting NFIR’s request from exempting staff who are on the verge of retirement.

No exemption from Training for employee in the verge of retirement

Railway Employees at the verge of retirement should NOT be exempted from attending the promotional training – Railway Board

Ministry of Railways has issued a Circular regarding successful completion of promotional training should be mandatory before being promoted to a particular post.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
RAILWAY BOARD

No.E(MPP)2015/3/28

New Delhi, dated 26.l l.2015

The General Manager,
All Indian Railways &
Production Units.

Sub: Successful completion of Promotional training – reiteration of instructions.

Reference Board’s letter No.E(MPP)99 /19 /l /5.3 dated 25.2.2002 (RBE No.25/2002) conveying Board’s decision that successful completion of promotional training should be mandatory before being promoted to a particular post.

The subject matter was discussed during PNM meeting with NFIR. During the interaction, it was pointed out that those staff, who are on the verge of retirement should be exempted from attending the promotional training.

Federation’s demand has been examined in detail in consultation with various training centres and it has been decided that instructions issued vide Board’s letter dated 25.2.2002 referred above be followed strictly. No exemptions are permissible.

(Anuradha Singh)
Director (MPP)
Railway Board

Download Railway Board Circular No.E(MPP)2015/3/28 dated 26.11.2015

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No interviews for government jobs from Jan 1; skill test may continue: DoPT

No interviews for government jobs from Jan 1; skill test may continue: DoPT

New Delhi: All central government ministries and their Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) were today told to dispense with the requirement of interviews for selections at junior level posts within next two days, however, they may continue with skill or physical test.

The timeliness set regarding completing the process of the discontinuation of interview by December 31, 2015 has to be adhered to strictly, a communique sent by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to secretaries of all central government ministries said.

From January 1, 2016, there will be no recruitment with interview at the junior level posts in government of India ministries, departments, attached and subordinate offices, autonomous bodies and PSUs.

“All the advertisement for future vacancies will be without the interview as part of the recruitment process,” said today’s Office Memorandum No.39020/01/2013-Estt (B)-Part.

The decision to discontinue interview for recruitments is for all Group C and non-gazetted posts of Group ‘B’ category and all such equivalent posts, the DoPT said.

“It is also clarified that as skill test or physical test is different from interview, they may continue. However, these tests will only be of qualifying nature. Assessment will not be done on the basis of marks for such tests,” it said.

In case of specific posts where the ministry or department wants to continue undertaking interview as a process of recruitment, a detailed proposal seeking exemption will have to be sent to the DoPT with the approval of the minister or minister-in-charge.

The ministries have been asked to send a consolidated report to the DoPT by January 7 in this regard.
“Report so to be furnished with the approval of the minister or minister-in-charge shall include the details of the name and number of posts where the interview is discontinued and posts for which the exemption has been sought within the purview of the administrative ministries or departments,” the order said.

Similarly, the Department of Public enterprises has also asked all ministries to advise PSUs under their administrative control to adopt a revised mechanism of recruitment for the non-executive level posts by dispensing with the practice of interview.

PTI

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Armed Forces are not Perceived as an Attractive Career Any More – 7th CPC has worsened the Situation Further

The reason for this is that the 7th Pay Commission has systematically and with malevolent intent, downgraded the Armed Forces from an All India Service that it was considered to be.

Armed Forces are not Perceived as an Attractive Career Any More – 7th CPC has worsened the Situation Further

Armed Forces are not Perceived as an Attractive Career Any More – We would have been better served if the Commission had concentrated on dealing with the challenges faced by the military in attracting talent.
Those familiar with Dante Alighieri, the 13th century Italian poet, and his enduring work, The Divine Comedy, will be aware of the nine layers of hell. The ninth level, symbolised by the three mouths of Satan, was reserved for traitors. One can, but speculate, as to who would occupy them, if the poem had been set in India.

Raja Jaichand of Kannauj is a certainty; his assistance to Mohammed Ghouri led to Prithviraj Chauhan’s defeat and death, ushering Muslim rule in India. Another certainty is Mir Jafar who was instrumental in Robert Clive’s victory at Plassey; ensuring subsequent British rule in India. The third choice, if left to the serving and retired military community, would unanimously be the Seventh Pay Commission.

The reason for this is that the 7th Pay Commission has systematically and with malevolent intent, downgraded the Armed Forces from an All India Service that it was considered to be. That its actions have been cloaked in ambiguity and hypocrisy, with blatant disregard for facts, suggests arrogance and an utter contempt for propriety.

That the 7th Pay Commission’s recommendations suffer from major lacunae is in no small measure because the Government continues to insist, despite forming the largest cadre affected by its deliberations, that the Armed Forces is incapable of providing expert representation and requires a Civilian Defence Audit and Accounts officer to represent them. This in itself is abhorrent.

Benjamin Disraeli, the former British Prime Minister, once said, “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Table II of the Commission’s report illustrates this in full. It has compared component-wise defence expenditure in percentage terms of 10 selected countries and drawn two conclusions.

First, that “Increased expenditure on personnel has been at the expense of operational and maintenance expenditure”. Second, that “The need to calibrate growth in expenditure on pay and allowances for defence forces personnel so as to ensure that the composition of defence expenditure — between capital and revenue and within revenue between pay and allowances and others is not skewed so as to adversely affect the operational and strategic objectives of the defence forces”.

From these conclusions, the 7th Pay Commission has clearly shown its intent as to how it wished to proceed regarding emoluments for the defence forces. This raises the fundamental question as to the rationale for selecting countries for comparison: Was it of similar size or threat perception? Comparisons with our neighbours, especially those inimical to us, would be helpful, despite the fact that every country has its own unique circumstances that needs consideration.

Moreover, how can we compare component-wise expenditures in percentage terms, without comparing defence Budgets as well as that would it put things in perspective? The Commission itself points out that defence expenditure as a percentage of the gross domestic product and as percentage of Government expenditure has declined from 2.19 per cent in 1995-1996 to 1.80 per cent in 2012-2013 and from 14.50 per cent in 1995-1996 to 12.89 per cent in 2012-2013 respectively.

In contrast, China’s defence budget for 2012 was two per cent of its GDP. As its GDP is approximately six times as that of ours, expenditure on its defence forces was more than seven times than ours and as their forces are about double our strength, in real terms, their defence expenditure has been triple ours.

The logical conclusion, given our adversarial relationship with China, would have been for the Commission to have recommended an increase in the defence budget, in which case, it needn’t have focused on the “skewed revenue-capital expenditure” to the extent it has.

Take another statistical anomaly, the 7th Pay Commission has compared pay progression of a service officer vis-à-vis, Civil Services and concluded that “Not only has the starting pay of a defence officers been placed substantially higher at 29 per cent more than his/her civilian counterpart, this gap continues to remain wide at over 20 per cent for the first nine years of service. In fact, the pay of defence service officers remains uninterruptedly higher for a 32 year period. Thereafter, the pay of defence and civil service officers are at par”.

However, these figures only tell a part of the story, as the picture changes dramatically if we were to also compare the service/rank profile and promotion opportunities for both cadres. The fact is that by 16-18 years all in the Civil Services are at the level of Joint Secretary while only 50 per cent of any given batch of Service Officers will reach the rank of Colonel by then.

Subsequently, only four per cent of that batch are likely to reach the rank of Major General (equivalent of Joint Secretary) after 33-35 years of service and only about one per cent will reach the rank of Lt Gen or equivalent unlike the Civil Services in which over 95 per cent retire as Secretaries. This is truly a case of comparing apples and oranges.

There are numerous other infirmities, beyond the scope of this article, but the trend is clear from the fact that while the highest risk and hardship allowance in the Services is for operational service at Siachin and amounts to Rs31,500, a Group A officer is eligible to 30 per cent of basic pay as Hardship Allowance for serving in Leh, Guwahati or Shillong which will be in the range of Rs50,000 to Rs75, 000.

Similarly, paratroopers, who are the core element of our rapid deployment force required to carry out “out of area contingency” tasks apart from being trained to operate behind enemy lines in a conventional war, will receive 40 per cent of Risk Allowance as compared to Commando Battalion for Resolute Action personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force, who are deployed in Maoist areas.

Changes to the Disability Allowance have been suggested on the specious grounds that senior officers are availing of this prior to super annuation, while the Civil Services have been left out.

All of this clearly smacks of bias. Finally, despite the 7th Pay Commission noting “that there are exclusive elements that distinguish the defence forces personnel from all other Government employees. The intangible aspects linked to the special conditions of service experienced by them set them apart from civilian employees”, it has made every effort in all aspects of compensation to disadvantage the Armed Forces in comparison to the Civil Services.

We would have been better served if the Commission had concentrated on dealing with the challenges faced by the military in attracting talent. Not only are the forces deficient of officers to the tune of 20 per cent to 30 per cent, but what is alarming is that for the past three years, more than 40 per cent vacancies at the Indian Military Academy and the Officers Training Academy remain unsubscribed.

Clearly, despite all lip service to the contrary, the Armed Forces are not perceived as an attractive career. By its actions, the Commission has only worsened the situation further. We will pay heavily for this in the future, unless the Government takes corrective action, which given its track record is unlikely. Let us not be under any misapprehension, the only ones laughing at the discomfiture of our military are the Chinese and Pakistani Armed Forces, and they have every reason to be satisfied.

Source: Daily Pioneer

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Government officials have to declare outcome of foreign trips

Government officials have to declare outcome of foreign trips

New Delhi: Government officials undertaking foreign trips will have to clearly spell out the outcome of such tours. All those who undertook official foreign visits since 2013-14 need to submit details of the outcome of such tours in the next few days.

The move comes against the backdrop of persistent feeling in many quarters that the trips, ostensibly for gaining experience and insights, often turn into pleasure jaunts.

There have been cases of officials traveling abroad in numbers more than necessary, stretching the duration of stay and visiting and stopping at places irrelevant to the stated purpose of the trip.

In keeping with the new work culture, the NDA government has created a website under its Software Management Information System for uploading details of foreign tours and visits by officials.

Ministries and departments have set a December-end deadline for its officials to upload details on this portal.
Moreover, every ministry and department has been directed to prepare a “rolling plan” for future foreign visits to be undertaken by officials.

“The idea behind the rolling plan is to submit the proposed trips of officials in the next quarter. This can be updated and amended. Government wants foreign trips by officials on government expenditure to be result-oriented,” said a senior government official.

According to sources, cabinet secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha recently called a meeting to ensure that officials and departments comply with the decision.

“In certain cases, it’s difficult to get the details of foreign visits by officials, who have already gone back to the states or are retired. But the message has gone to one and all to provide the outcomes of their visits since they must be keeping some details.

We are also trying to get the records kept in departments so that some details can be uploaded,” said a government source.

TNN

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3,40,000 Bank Employees Go on a Strike on January 8

3,40,000 Bank Employees Go on a Strike on January 8 

Around 340,000 bank employees across the country would strike work on January 8 to protest the violation of bilateral settlement by the five associate banks of the State Bank of India (SBI), a top leader of All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) said.

3,40,000 Bank Employees Go on a Strike on January 8 – The five associate banks of the SBI are State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Hyderabad and State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur.
Chennai – Around 340,000 bank employees across the country would strike work on January 8 to protest the violation of bilateral settlement by the five associate banks of the State Bank of India (SBI), a top leader of All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) said here.

The five associate banks of the SBI are State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Hyderabad and State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur.

“Nearly 340,000 bankers would strike work on January 8. The strike is to protest against the violation of bilateral settlement by the five associate banks of SBI and their attempt to force unilateral service conditions on employees,” CH Venkatachalam, AIBEA general secretary, told IANS here on Monday.

According to him, it is the AIBEA that has given the strike call.

Explaining the rationale behind the strike call, Venkatachalam said the service conditions in the SBI are different and based on the agreement between the SBI management and the employees’ union.

On the other hand, the service conditions of the five SBI associate banks are common with those of other banks.

“In May 2015, a common settlement was signed between Indian Banks’ Association (IBA-management body) and All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) which defined the duties and remuneration of the employees for undertaking various jobs in the banks,” Venkatachalam said.

He said the five SBI associate banks are parties to the settlement and hence governed by the settlement terms.

“But the managements of the five associate banks are implementing the service conditions of the SBI, which is illegal and violation of the settlement,” he said.

Asked why the strike has been called early in the year, he said the union had deferred the strike call given for December 1 and 2, 2015, on the intervention of deputy chief labour commissioner, Delhi.

“The bank management is forcing its rules without any discussion with the unions from the New Year onwards and hence we are forced to respond,” Venkatachalam said.

Source: Profit NDTV

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Government to Increase Maternity Leave from 12 to 26 weeks

Government to Increase Maternity Leave from 12 to 26 weeks 

The Ministry of Labour is expected to amend the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, which presently entitles women to 12 weeks of maternity benefit whereby employers are liable to pay full wages for the period of leave.




Government to Increase Maternity Leave from 12 to 26 weeks – The International Labour Organisation recommends a minimum standard maternity leave of 14 weeks or more.

The union government is set to increase the maternity leave for women employed in private firms from the existing 12 weeks to 26 weeks.

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi Monday said the Ministry of Labour has agreed to increase maternity leave to six-and-a-half months. “We had written to the Labour Ministry asking that the maternity leave be extended taking into account the six months of breastfeeding that is required post childbirth. The Labour Ministry has agreed to increase it to six-and-a-half months,” said Maneka.

The Ministry of Labour is expected to amend the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, which presently entitles women to 12 weeks of maternity benefit whereby employers are liable to pay full wages for the period of leave.

Officials of the WCD Ministry said they will push for extending the leave to eight months, or 32 weeks, for women employed in both private and government sectors.

But WCD officials said the Labour Ministry has expressed reservations about increasing the maternity leave any further as they perceive that doing so will adversely affect the employability of women.

“The Labour Ministry has decided on six-and-a-half months following meetings with various stakeholders. We, however, feel that eight months of maternity leave — for women in government as well as private sectors — is required. We will move a note to the Cabinet Secretariat in this regard. Six months of exclusive breastfeeding is very important to combat malnutrition, diarrhoea and other diseases in infants and to lower infant mortality rate,” said a WCD official.

The International Labour Organisation recommends a minimum standard maternity leave of 14 weeks or more, though it encourages member states to increase it to at least 18 weeks. At 26 weeks, India is set to join the league of 42 countries where maternity leave exceeds 18 weeks. It, however, falls behind several East European, Central Asian and Scandinavian countries, which have the most generous national legislation for paid maternity leave.

Women employed in government jobs in India get a six-month maternity leave as per the Central Civil Service (Leave) Rules 1972. The last circular in this regard was issued in 2008, when it was increased from four-and-a-half months. If the WCD Ministry’s recommendations to the Cabinet Secretariat are accepted, the Department of Personal & Training will have to issue orders to enhance it to eight months.

Moreover, women government employees are allowed to take childcare leave of up to two years in phases at any point till their child turns 18 years old. The Seventh Pay Commission recently recommended that only the first 365 days of leave should be granted with full pay, while the remaining 365 can be availed at 80 per cent of the salary. But Maneka recently petitioned Finance Minister Arun Jaitley against the proposal, terming it a regressive step at a time when women are trying to become more economically independent.

“Women in India need longer maternity leave in absence of any support in parenting from men. It should not be seen as a deduction in labour hours but as a long-term investment from the future economic point of view. This is in addition to the fact that women need long maternity leave to recuperate and invest in child care,” said Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research.

She added that a recent analysis of the Maternity Benefit Act by CSR for the National Commission of Women showed that discrimination against pregnant women was widely prevalent in the corporate sector in the country.

Source: gconnect.in

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7th Pay Commission did injustice to 98% of Central Government Employees

7th Pay Commission did injustice to 98% of Central Government Employees

Association for Administrative Staff states that while 7th CPC basic pay at lower level is 10 times of existing grade pay, it is 14 times in higher level.

7th Pay Commission did injustice to 98% of Central Government Employees – All India Association of Administrative Staff (Non-gazetted) provides comparative chart of increase in basic pay at lower level and higher level keeping Grade Pay as a factor

I am bringing the following to your knowledge and information of Central Government Staff that VIIth Pay commission has done injustice to 98% of the Central Government Staff by just giving a multiplication factor of around 10 times their existing Grade Pay but generously awarded more than 14 times multiplication benefit to higher officials. So please fight for uniform multiplication of 14 times of the Grade pay and for each year of service one increment at the new scale as recommended to retired employees to give justice to all.

PB I Rs 5200-20200 Grade Pay	Minimum recommended @ entry level by 7th CPC (Rs) in the Pay Matrix	Multiplication factor by VII th pay Commission
1800	18000	10 times
1900	19900 (difference +1900)	10.47
2000	21700(difference +1800)	10.85
2400	25500(difference +3700)	10.62
2800	29200(difference +3800)	10.42

Initially for first 2 stages every Rs100/ in GP the corresponding proposed increase is 1800 0r 1900 but for GP difference of Rs 400/ at later 2 stages the corresponding increase is only Rs3700/ to Rs3800/- whereas it must be Rs1800 0r 1900 multiplied by 4times to Rs7200-7600/.

PB II Rs 9300-34800 Grade Pay	Minimum recommended @ entry level by 7th CPC (Rs) in pay matrix	Multiplication factor by VII th pay Commission
4200	35400(difference +6200)	8.42 times
4600	44900 (difference +9500)	9.76
4800	47600(difference +2700)	9.91
5400	53100(difference +5500)	9.83

Initially for Rs1400/- GP difference the corresponding increase proposed is Rs6200/- but in next stage for Rs 400/- GP the proposed hike is mind blowing Rs 9500/-, in next stage for Rs 200/- GP the increase is Rs 2700/- and for Rs 600/- GP hike further increase is Rs5500/-

PB III Rs 15600-39100 Grade Pay	Minimum recommended @ entry level by 7th CPC (Rs) in the Pay matrix	Multiplication factor by VII th pay Commission
5400	56100	10.38times
6600	67700 (difference +11600)	10.25
7600	78800(difference +11100)	10.36

For a GP of Rs1200/- difference the hike proposed is Rs11600/- and for another Rs1000/- GP increase the increase given by CPC is Rs 11100/-

PB IV Rs 37400-67000 Grade Pay	Minimum recommended @ entry level by 7th CPC (Rs)in the Pay matrix	Multiplication factor by VII th pay Commission
8700	118500(difference +39700)	13.62 times
8900	131100 (difference +12600)	14.73
10000	144200(difference +13100)	14.42

For a GP increase of Rs1100/- the CPC proposed a hike of Rs39700/- and for a GP difference of Rs200/- the CPC recommended a increase of Rs12600/- and for a GP increase of Rs1100/- the CPC recommended a hike of Rs13100/-

It will easily understood the members of VIIth Pay commission done fixation and recommendation quite irrationally without any uniformity in a whimsical manner. If 14 times multiplication is awarded to all the staff uniformly Min.Basic will be Rs1800* 14 = 25200/-for entry level staff. Kindly publish this in your website.

Source: All India Association of Administrative Staff (Non-gazetted)

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NC JCM and Confederation described it as retrograde recommendations, unexpected and unacceptable

NC JCM and Confederation described it as retrograde recommendations, unexpected and unacceptable

Central Government need to pay attention to the flaws of the 7th Pay Commission report

The statistics reveals that there are 88% of total strength of Government servants are in Group ‘C’ Category.

Obviously those who are representing these 88% at the Forums which are constituted to negotiate with concerned Departments and Government about their issues are capable of weighing the advantages and disadvantages of recommendations of 7th central pay commission.

The Staff Associations and Workers federations are the one who are representing Group C and Group B at various levels of negotiating forums know the plights and facts of government servants more than anybody. They in fact never utter a word of praise on 7th CPC recommendations since the day the report was submitted to the Finance Minister.

National Council JCM and Confederation described it as Retrograde recommendations, unexpected and un acceptable. They declared that all the central government employees are upset and dis satisfied since many of their demands were not considered by 7th pay commission.

1. Pay Scales and allowances are arrived by multiplying 2.57, just 14.29 % increase over existing pay and Allowances after DA neutralization.
2. The rate of HRA has been abruptly reduced,
3. Payment of CCL has been reduced for second 365 days.
4. Same confusion in MACP continues,
5. Uncertainty in Pension benefit in NPS continues.
6. Existing Pension provisions are left un touched. None of the proposals submitted by Pensioners Associations are not considered.
7. Minimum Pay is very much less; Maximum Pay is lavishly higher. [Minimum Rs.18000 – Maximum Rs.275000]
8. Gap between Minimum and Maximum Pay is not reduced, but unfortunately increased. [In sixth CPC it is 1:12 , 7th CPC Recommends 1:14]
9. All the Pay commission reduced the number of pay scales but 7th Pay commission maintained the existing pay scales,
10. 55 Allowances are abolished, No new allowances are introduced,
11. Same 3% increment continues, NCJCM demand for Two Increment Days 1st January and 1st July is not considered
12. No considerable benefit on Promotion,
13. Interest free advances including LTC advance are abolished,
14. Except the introduction of New Pay Matrix, nothing new in the recommendations of 7th Pay commission
15. Again uniform Multiplication factor was not applied for arriving Entry Pay for various Grades.

Low value for Lower Grades high value for higher Grades. Again the disparity in arriving Entry Pay is maintained by 7th CPC also.

What sixth CPC had recommended in some cases, what Government has suggested in some issues, what the Department has told, that has been just followed by the 7th Pay commission.

So the Central government employees are expecting the Government to pay attention to the concerns of Govt servants in respect of some recommendations of 7th pay commission which need to be addressed to boost the morale of the Central Govt staffs.

The constituents of NCJCM already formed National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) to invite the attention of Central Government through agitation Programmes to settle their demands. Now they modified their charter of demands to include the issues regarding 7th Pay Commission recommendation and cautioned that unless it is not settled before March 2016, they will be going for indefinite Strike.

Source : http://govtstaffnews.in/

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Demand of Central Government Employees to increase the Fitment Factor recommended by 7th CPC

Demand of Central Government Employees to increase the Fitment Factor recommended by 7th CPC

The demand to increase the 2.57 Fitment Factor along with the hike of 14.29 percent is growing among the Central Government Employees

The 900-page long report of the 7th Pay Commission was submitted to the government on November 19. One of the most important recommendation on the report is the Fitment Factor. It is the most important factor deciding the hike of salaries of the Central Government employees.

Fitment Factor is used to calculate the revised basic pay of existing employees with effect from the implementation of 7th CPC. The new revised basic pay of a Central Government employee is calculated by multiplying his/her current (Pre-revised) basic pay with the Fitment Factor.

The 7th Pay Commission has recommended a uniform Fitment Factor of 2.57 for all. The actual raise/fitment recommended by the Commission is 14.29 percent only. The report says that the fitment includes a factor of 2.25 on account of DA neutralisation, assuming that the rate of D.A. would be 125 percent at the time of implementation of the new pay.

The 7th Pay Commission has evolved a new pay fitment table by merging the existing Grade Pay and Pay Bands for all group of Central Government employees, which is called as Pay Matrix Table. The Pay Matrix comprises two dimensions. It has a “horizontal range” in which each level corresponds to a ‘functional role in the hierarchy’ and has been assigned the numbers 1, 2, 3, and so on till 18. The “vertical range” for each level denotes ‘pay progression’ within that level. These indicate the steps of annual financial progression of three percent within each level. The starting point of the matrix is the minimum pay which has been arrived based on 15th Indian Labour Congress (ILC) norms or the Aykroyd formula.

On recruitment, an employee joins at a particular level and progresses within the level as per the vertical range. The movement is usually on an annual basis, based on annual increments till the time of their next promotion. When the employee receives a promotion or a non-functional financial upgrade, he/she progresses one level ahead on the horizontal range.

The Pay Matrix chart has included a number of Fitment Factors. 6 types of Fitment Factor, including 2.57, 2.62, 2.67, 2.72, 2.78, and 2.81, have been listed. Under the heading of ‘Index,’ all the Central Government employees have been divided into 18 categories. Since different Fitment Factors have been used for all these categories, it leads one to believe that the new factor will apply for the existing employees too.

Criticism has come from all the circles over the addition of a mere 14.29%, leading to 2.57, while the employees were currently drawing a dearness allowance of 125% of their basic pay. The minimum wages have been decided on this criterion alone (the 6th Pay Commission had fixed the minimum wages as Rs.7000. The 7th CPC minimum wages of 18,000 has been arrived at by multiplying the previous number by 2.57).

One might remember that similar requests were presented at the time of the 6th Pay Commission too. The commission had recommended the Fitment Factor of 1.74, but, due to constant pressure from the NC JCM Staff Side members, it was increased to 1.86. The demand to increase the 2.57 Fitment Factor along with the 14.29 percent hike is growing among the Central Government employees.

Source: 7thpaycommissionnews.in

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Person With Disabilities in Central Government – 7th Pay Commission Recommendations

Person With Disabilities in Central Government – 7th Pay Commission Recommendations

PWDs in Central Government

The government provides three percent reservation in jobs for PWDs. Apart from this reservation at the entry stage, DoPT has issued instructions regarding identification of jobs, post-recruitment and pre-promotion training, providing aids/assistive devices, accessibility and barrier free environment at work place, preference in government accommodation, grievance redressal, and preference in transfer/posting for PWDs. In a recent notification, a provision has been made for ten years’ (fifteen years in case of SC/ST and thirteen years in case of OBC candidates) relaxation in the upper age limit for direct recruitment to civil posts/services under the Central Government.

Moreover, there are certain special entitlements as given below:

i. Special Allowance for Child Care for Women with Disabilities at the rate of Rs.1,500 pm;
ii. Transport Allowance at double the normal rate, subject to a minimum of Rs.1,000 pm;
iii. Constant Attendance Allowance for retired employees with 100 percent disablement at the rate of Rs. 4,500 per month;
iv. Special Casual Leave for four days in a calendar year for specific requirements relating to disabilities;
 v. Special Casual Leave for ten days in a calendar year for participation in Conferences/Seminars/Trainings/Workshops related to disability and development.

In case the disability is work related, the following additional provisions are available:

a. Special Disability Leave;
b. Disability Pension;
c. Educational Concession to children of Defence personnel who are disabled in action.

For employees with differently abled children, Children Education Allowance and Hostel Subsidy is granted at double rate.

Demands

Associations of employees with disabilities made the following demands before the Commission:

i. Suitable enhancement in the existing provisions
ii. Provision of Common Room in offices with suitable recreational facilities
iii. Additional rebate in House Building Advance and Automobile Advance
iv. Establishment of Welfare Committees in the ministries

Analysis and Recommendations

The National Policy for Persons with Disabilities, 2006, enunciates the measures that need to be taken by the government to ensure equal opportunities, protection of justifys and full participation in society for PWDs, in consonance with the principles enshrined in the Indian Constitution. India is also a signatory to the UN Convention on the justifys for Persons with Disabilities. Thus, provision of appropriate measures for employees with disabilities is the responsibility of the Union Government.

The Commission has made various recommendations regarding PWDs at different places in the report. They are consolidated here for ready reference:

i. In recognition of the singular responsibility faced by differently abled women in raising their children, the Special Allowance for Child Care for Women with Disabilities has been enhanced from the present rate of Rs.1,500 pm to Rs.3,000 pm

ii. Transport Allowance at double the normal rate has been retained, and the minimum amount has been increased from Rs.1,000 pm to Rs.2,250 pm

iii. Children Education Allowance and Hostel Subsidy have been kept at double rate for differently abled children

iv. Constant Attendance Allowance has been enhanced from Rs.4,500 pm to Rs.6,750 pm

v. Special Disability Leave has been subsumed in Work Related Illness and Injury Leave (WRIIL), with improved provisions

vi. Educational Concession, hitherto available only to the children of Defence personnel killed/missing/disabled in action, has been extended to similarly placed personnel of CAPFs, Indian Coast Guard, RPF and police forces of Union Territories mutatis mutandis.

Besides the above recommendations, there are a few suggestions that can go a long way in improving the working environment for these employees :

i. In our interactions, it has been highlighted that easy access, particularly to toilets, remains an issue of concern. Hence, it is suggested that Guidelines and Space Standard for Barrier Free Built Environment for Disabled and Elderly Persons, issued by CPWD, Ministry of Urban Affairs and Employment, should invariably be followed while designing new government premises. Their application in the existing offices may also be explored.

ii. Every ministry should have a Welfare Committee, with due representation of differently abled employees, to address their concerns.

iii. The grievance redressal machinery should be strengthened and made more effective

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Lower Division Grade Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for Group C Staff 2015 Nomination of qualified candidates Regarding.

Lower Division Grade Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for Group C Staff 2015 Nomination of qualified candidates Regarding.

No. I 3/3/20 14-CS.II(B)
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Department of Personnel & Training

3rd Floor, Lok Nayak Bhavan,
Khan Market, New Delhi
Dated: the 28th December, 2015

OFFICE MEMORANDUM

Subject: Lower Division Grade Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for Group ‘C’ Staff 2015- Nomination of qualified candidates-regarding.

The undersigned is directed to say that the final result of Lower Division Grade Departmental Competitive Examination for Group ‘C’ Staff 20 IS, held on 19-04-2015 was declared by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) on 11-08-2015. 7 candidates have been recommended for appointment to the post of LDCs in CSCS against DE quota vacancies in LDC grade (as per Annexure).

2. The cadres may first verify the eligibility/service particulars,etc. of the candidate(s) including the condition that he/she belongs to an office participating in CSCS.

3. The candidates mentioned in the Annexure have not been medically examined and as such, they should be medically examined by the prescribed competent authority. The dossiers of the candidates are forwarded herewith and these should be retained on their appointment in the Ministry/Department as part of their personal files.

4. These candidates shall have to pass, if they have not already passed, one of the periodical type-writing tests in English or Hindi held by the Staff Selection Commission at a minimum speed of 30 words per minute in English or 25 words per minute in Hindi or Typewriting test at 25 w.p.m . in Hindi from Department of Official Language under the Hindi Teaching Scheme as provided in DP&T O.M. No. 16/4/99-CS.II dated 29.5.1990 within a period of one year from the date of appointment, failing which no annual increments shall be allowed to them until they pass the said test. If they do not pass the said typewriting test within the period of probation, they shall be liable to be reverted to their substantive post.

The candidates, who had already passed the Typewriting Test prior to their appointment if any, be granted the increment as per relevant rules/ instructions.

5. Offer of appointment may please be made to the candidates in the order of merit as indicated. Copies of offer of appointment issued to them may please be forwarded to this Department and also to the Staff Selection Commission. The date(s) of their joining the post of LDC may also be intimated to this Department as soon as possible under intimation to the Commission. If any of the candidates declines to accept the offer of appointment, the same may be cancelled and his/her dossier be returned directly to the Commission keeping copies of all correspondence made with the candidate(s) under intimation to this Department.

6. The persons when appointed may be given compulsory training (including basic computer skills) within one year of their joining the post in convenient batches as laid down in this Department’s O.M.No.20/23/88-CS.II dated 13th March 1989.

7. The seniority of these candidates is to be fixed in accordance with the sub paragraph(s) of Sub Rule 3 of Rule 17 under the Head II LD Grade of CSCS Rules, 1962 (.amended vide notification dated 08-11-2010).
8. Receipt of this O.M. together with its enclosures may please be acknowledged.
Encl. (Dossiers).

(Rajesh Sarswat)
Under Secretary to the Govt. of India
Tel: 24654020

Annexure to O.M. No. 13/3/2014-CS.II(B) dated ,28th December, 2015

S.No.	Name S/Shri	Rank No	Cadre where working	Cadre where nominated
1.	Pawan Kumar Sahu	1	Science & Technology	Coal
2.	Gautam Kumar	2	Science & Technology	Coal
3.	R Bala Chandran	3	Law & Justice	Information & Broadcasting
4.	Rahul Goswami	4	Expenditure	Expenditure
5.	Dinesh Kumar	5	Expenditure	Mines
6.	Ashish Bisht	6	Labour & Employment	Information & Broadcasting
7.	Ravish Kumar	7	Civil Aviation	Rural Development

Official Order

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Higher Grade Pay for Railway Commercial clerk, Reservation Clerk and ticket checking staff

7th CPC has recommended that Posts of Railway Commercial Clerks, Enquiry Cum Reservation Clerks (ECRCs) and Ticket Checking staff (TTEs and TCs) are merged as Commercial and Ticketing Staff and then placed in the appropriate level in the new pay matrix


7th CPC recommends higher grade pay for Railway Commercial clerk, Reservation Clerk and ticket checking staff- Three categories to be merged and then placed in the appropriate level in the new pay matrix


7th Pay Commission proposes that all these cadres are to be merged and called as Railway Commercial ant Ticketing Staff.  50% posts which require class XII qualification will have to selected and like wise 50% of posts for which graduation will be eligibility will be selected through RRB.  Both these posts will be upgraded to Grade Pay of Rs 2000 and Rs. 2800 respectively prior fixation of new pay under 7CPC.  The remaining post after selection through RRB will have to be filled through promotion



Commercial Staff

There are three categories of Commercial Staff–Commercial Clerks, Enquiry Cum Reservation Clerks (ECRCs) and Ticket Checking staff (TTEs and TCs). They are responsible for commercial duties like issuing of tickets–unreserved as well as reserved, handling enquiries, checking of tickets on board trains, etc. Their present structure, along with the employee strength in each GP is as follows:

Grade Pay	Commercial Clerks	ECRCs	Ticket Checking Staff	% of Total Strength
4600	5975	2320	7021	20.28
4200	13648	5800	16072	47.03
2800	6572	2425		11.91
2400			7723	10.23
2000	3679			4.87
1900			4287	5.68

For Commercial Clerks, the minimum educational qualification stipulated is Class X.  Entry into the cadre is only at GP 2000 – 50 percent direct recruitment through RRB; 33 1/3% through LDCE from eligible erstwhile Gr.D staff of Traffic and Commercial Departments with three years of continuous service; 16 2/3% through promotion of matriculate employees in GP 1800 from eligible categories.

For ECRCs, graduation is the minimum requirement, with entry GP2800.

Entry in Ticket Checking staff is at GP 1900–50% direct recruitment by RRB with the minimum educational qualification of Class X and the remaining 50 percent filled by promotion–33.33% by General Selection and 16.66 percent by LDCE with minimum qualification of Class X.

All the three categories have demanded improvement in their pay structure. Representations have also been received to upgrade the entry level qualification of Commercial Clerks and Ticket Checking staff from the current level of Class X to graduation. It has also been stated that with the proliferation of technology for booking unreserved and reserved tickets, the requirement of Commercial Clerks and ECRCs is going down. At the same time, with an increase in the number of trains, the need for Ticket Checking staff is on the rise. Hence, it has been suggested that these three cadres should be merged.

Analysis and Recommendations

The Commission analysed the year-wise data pertaining to the percentage of reserved tickets booked at the counters vis-à-vis those booked through the internet:

Reservations on Indian Railways

A clear trend towards increase in internet booking is visible, so much so that internet booking has now exceeded the counter booking. With the introduction of innovative technological solutions for the unreserved sector, like the recently launched mobile application, the counter sales of unreserved tickets are also likely to go down.

Hence, the Commission finds merit in the argument that the three categories of Commercial staff should be unified into a single cadre. Accordingly, it is recommended that they should be consolidated into one cadre called Commercial and Ticketing Staff. The cadre will have the following structure after merger:

Grade Pay	Level	% Distribution of Posts
4600	7	20
4200	6	47
2800	5	22
2000	3	11

Employees in GP 1900 should be upgraded to GP 2000; those in GP 2400 should be upgraded to GP 2800 and then placed in the appropriate level in the new pay matrix. The inter-se seniority will be as per normal rules of seniority. Proper training will have to be imparted to the employees as per the requirements. The recruitment in the cadre should be at two levels:

a.   At Level 3: 50% from open market through RRB, with minimum qualification of Class XII, 33 1/3 % through General Selection from Traffic and Commercial staff in GP 1800 fulfilling the eligibility criterion, and 16 2/3% through LDCE.

b.   At Level 5: 50%from open market through RRB, with minimum qualification of Graduation, and 50% through promotion.

With this merger, employees in GP 1900 and GP 2400 will get the benefit of upgradation. At the same time, the job content of all three categories will be enriched, as they will be able to join any of the three streams. Organizational flexibility will be enhanced as the department will have a larger pool of employees for optimal utilization, as per the requirement.

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Bunching benefit in Pay fixation is recommended by 7th pay commission in some situation

Bunching benefit in Pay fixation is recommended by 7th pay commission in some situation

7th Pay commission in its report stated at page 79 entitled Entry Pay, that,” Although the rationalization has been done with utmost care to ensure minimum bunching at most levels, however if situation does  arise whenever more than two stages are bunched together, one additional increment equal to 3 percent may be given for every two stages bunched, and pay fixed in the subsequent cell in the pay matrix.

For instance, if two persons drawing pay of Rs.53,000 and Rs.54,590 in the GP 10000 are to be fitted in the new pay matrix,

1. The pay fixation for the person (A) drawing pay of Rs.53000 (PB + GP)

2. The pay fixation for the person (B) drawing pay of Rs.54590 (PB + GP)
( He has earned one increment more than ‘A’ )

[ Note : The above illustration is taken from 7th Pay commission official report. The revised pay for Rs.53,000 and Rs.54,590 in the GP 10000 are to be taken from the new pay matrix at Level 14.

Because the corresponding Level for Grade Pay Rs.10000 is Level 14.

But in the 7th CPC Report, Level 15 is mentioned instead of Level 14, hope it might be a typographical error. Readers are requested to Read it as Level 14 against Level 15 mentioned in the above illustration . see the image below…]

Lets now be clear about the above example..

The Person who has earned one increment more than his junior,  will get fixed one cell forward if they both happened to be fixed in the first cell of the particular Level

1.Where does the situation especially arise …?

These situations will arise in the cases of ..

a) Wherever Upgradation of Grades are recommended, there the Pay fixations for some persons in the Lower grade, irrespective of number of increments earned, as shown above, the Pay will have to be fixed at the first cell of Particular Upgraded Level.

In that Case the govt servants who have earned more number increments than his counterpart will be aggrieved by this method of Pay fixation

b) When the pay arrived by using uniform multiplication factor 2.57 is lesser than the minimum pay corresponding to the level prescribed for that Grade, where some cases, irrespective number of increments earned, has to be fixed at the first cell of that Particular Level.

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Rounding off of a fraction of a rupee in regulation of additional pension

Rounding off of a fraction of a rupee in regulation of additional pension

No.1(6)/2015/D(Pen/Pol)
Government of India
Ministry of Defence
Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare

New Delhi, Dated 23rd December, 2015

To
The Chief of Army Staff
The Chief of Naval Staff
The Chief of Air Force Staff

Sub :– Rounding off of a fraction of a rupee in regulation of additional pension.

Sir,

The undersigned is directed to say that vide this Department’s letter No.17(4)/2008(1)/D(Pen/Pol) dated 11/11/2008 and letter No.17(4)/2008(2)/D(Pen/Pol) dated 12/11/2008, instructions were issued for grant of additional pension/family pension @ 20% to 100% to old pensioners/family pensioners of the age of 80 years and above.

2. A question has been raised as to how the amount of additional pension is to be regulated in cases the additional pension results in fraction of a rupee. The matter has been examined in consultation with Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure) and Deptt of Pension & Pensioners Welfare and it has been decided that the amount of additional pension as finally calculated, may be rounded off to the next higher rupee. In cases the pension/family pension of old pensioners has been fixed/revised without rounding off the additional pension, in those cases also, the additional pension may be rounded off in the next higher rupee hereinafter. However, no arrears for the period from 1.1.2006 on account of such rounding off would be paid in those cases.

3. This issues with the concurrence of. Ministry of Defence (FinNo.1(6)/2015/D(Pen/Pol) /Pen) vide their ID No. 25(06)/2015/Fin/Pen dated 07.12.2015.

4. Hindi version will follow.

Yours faithfully,
(Manoj Sinha)
Under Secretary to the Government of India

www.desw.gov.in 

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PF Withdrawal Made Easier, 2 Crore Employees to Benefit: 10 Facts

PF Withdrawal Made Easier, 2 Crore Employees to Benefit: 10 Facts

Of late, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has taken many steps to make provident fund (PF) accounts more user-friendly. Earlier this month, EPFO allowed its subscribers to file their PF withdrawal applications directly to the retirement fund body without employers’ attestation.

Here is a 10-Point Cheat-Sheet:

    1) This facility is applicable for subscribers, if details such as Aadhaar, PAN and bank account are linked to their Universal Account Number (UAN) and their know-your-customer (KYC) verification done by their employers.

    2) More than 2 crore subscribers whose KYC norms have been verified by the employers can avail this new withdrawal facility, EPFO said.

    3) However, the earlier norm of a waiting period of two months after leaving the previous job still applies for withdrawal purpose.

    4) The UAN facility was launched last year to facilitate PF transfers while subscribers change jobs. And all active subscribers have been allotted a number.

    5) The easier withdrawal facility will help subscribers who find it difficult to contact their previous employers, financial planners say.

    6) Under the earlier process, after leaving a job, employees were supposed to get their withdrawal forms attested through their employers for identification of their details.

    7) Withdrawal claims, however, have to be manually submitted by subscribers directly to the provident fund office.

    8) Subscribers filing their claims directly without employers’ attestation would have to use new forms that have been simplified for the new process.

    9) Subscribers who wish to take an advance from PF account can make partial withdrawal through the submission of Form-31. EPFO allows subscribers to take an advance in certain situations like house construction, repayment of housing loan and education of children and illness.

    10) Eventually, the EFPO plans to make the withdrawal process online to make it more subscriber-friendly. The retirement fund body plans to launch the online withdrawal facility this fiscal. (With Agency Inputs)

Source: profit.ndtv.com

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Less than 12% OBCs in central government jobs out of 27% quota: RTI

Less than 12% OBCs in central government jobs out of 27% quota: RTI

Chennai: More than two decades after implementation of Mandal commission report, which mandates 27 percent reservation for OBCs in central government jobs, an RTI data shows that less than 12 percent of employees of central government ministries, departments and statutory bodies are from other backward classes (OBCs) as on January 1, 2015.

What’s more, 40 ministries, including social justice and 48 departments held back the information sought by Chennai based scientist E Muralidharan under the Right to Information Act. Among the departments that have not provided any information is ministry of human resources, which is a major employer of group A employees like professors in IITs and other central educational institutions.

Going by the data available, under the group A, B,C and D category of employees, out of 79,483 posts, there are only 9,040 OBC staff.

Surprisingly, data provided by the department of personnel and training, which was the recipient of the RTI appeal and is responsible for the appointments, itself fares poorly in this regard, with 12.91 percent Scheduled Castes (SC), 4 percent Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 6.67 percent OBC forming the pool of employees under the reservation laws. The total number of personnel in the department is 6,879.

This means that a significant number of posts which have been allocated for these communities are yet to be filled, which raises questions on the effective implementation of the Mandal committee recommendations, Muralidharan said.

A closer look at the data indicates that there is not a single OBC Grade A officer in the President’s secretariat; less than 9 percent of the 651 Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) staff is from the OBC category. The higher education department employs only 5 percent OBC in Grade A officers and 10 percent OBC staff. Out of 41 Grade A posts in the department of scientific and industrial research, there is only one OBC officer.

Muralidharan has repeatedly filed RTIs every year to check the performance of the central government in appointments under reserved categories. “The departments are supposed to release the data, but they have been found wanting,” he said.

In the RTI query, Muralidharan asked what action was initiated against ministries and departments which did not provide the data. The under-secretary of the department of personnel and training, Raju Saraswat replied that two reminders were sent to the departments concerned, but he failed to state if any action was taken.

Muralidharan said that it was mandatory for the departments and ministries to furnish these details to DoPT by January 1 every year as per an office memorandum (OM No. No.43011/10/2002-Estt (Res.), dated December 19, 2003.

He pointed out that the poor implementation of caste-based reservations would result in the wedge of inequality increasing. “Reservations should be time-bound and there must be a of the positions filled,” he said.
TNN

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No more affidavits, interviews for central government jobs

No more affidavits, interviews for central government jobs

New Delhi: Path-breaking initiatives like discontinuation of affidavits for host of central government services and ending job interviews for various posts from January 1 among other initiatives kept the Ministry of Personnel in news during 2015.

“The most revolutionary and path-breaking decision is abolition of attestation of certificates by gazetted officers instead promoting self-attestation,” Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh told PTI.

He said the government took this decision as it was willing to trust citizens, more importantly it’s youth who will not give wrong information while submitting self-attested documents.

This decision has come as a big relief to common people, especially those living in rural areas, who had to take lot of pain in getting documents attested.

The Ministry also recently discontinued the practice of submission of affidavit by the family members of deceased government employees for the appointment on compassionate grounds.

Now people are required to submit self-declaration at the time of applying for compassionate appointment. All states and union territories have also been asked by the Centre to do away with practice of getting gazetted officer-signed affidavit and seek self-attestation.

Singh, a Lok Sabha member from Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur constituency, said soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement to end interviews from central government jobs, his Ministry has acted on it.

“We have decided that from January 1, next year, the process of interview for Group C and D recruitments will be abolished,” he said, adding that these are some steps which nobody thought of in past over 60 years after country’s independence.
Singh said the Ministry which is held by the Prime

Minister started several measures to increase transparency and simplify governance.

“We have started the process of simplification of various application forms being used in the government. We are converting multi-page application forms into one-page,” the Minister said.

Talking about other initiatives, he said a pension portal has been started. “Those who are getting superannuated can check the status of their pension online. They can also check pension payment orders online,” Singh said.

He said out of 6.5 lakh public grievances received by his ministry during the year, 4.8 lakh were disposed of.

“The ministry will continue to work towards simplifying governance,” Singh said.

In another novel initiative, the ministry started yoga camps for the central government employees and their dependents.

Besides, it exempted the parents of differently-abled children from the mandatory transfers so that they can take proper care of them.

The scheme of interaction of officers with school students has been launched in which the officers of government of India visit schools and share their experiences with the students.

As a pilot project, senior officers of Department of Personnel and Training have visited kendriya vidyalayas in Delhi and interacted with the students.

For the first time in the history of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the officers of 2013 batch were posted as assistant secretary in the Central Secretariat for a period of three months.

In order to crack a whip on non-performing bureaucrats, it has started assessing the performance of employees. The government has asked all its departments to identify such public servants and move proposals for their premature retirement.

The Personnel Ministry has formed rules to check unauthorised stay on foreign postings by IAS, IPS and IFS officers.

PTI

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BDPA views on the 7th Pay Commission Report

BDPA views on the 7th Pay Commission Report

BDPA views on the 7th Pay Commission Report

G.S. BDPA (INDIA) writes to Shri S. K. Makkar, Under Secretary, GOI Ministry Of Personnel,
 PG & Pensions-DOP & PW,
 New Delhi

No:BDPA(INDIA)/7th CPD/2015

Dated 21st December, 2015.

Dear Shri Makkar,

Please refer to your letter no 38/66/13-P&PW (A) (Vol.II) dated 1st/3rd December 2015 to the Pensioners‟ Associations, regarding their views on the 7th CPC report, in respect of Pension /retirement benefits. The said letter of yours though has not been received by us. But the undersigned has come to know about it through one of BPS affiliate on date i.e. 15.12.015. Accordingly undersigned submits BDPA (INDIA) views on the pension/retirement benefits as follows:

In continuation of representation vide No SG/BPS/10/2015 dtd.25-11.15 ( submitted by SG BPS) to the honorable Minister of Finance GOI following few points are put forth through DOP & PW for the consideration of Empowered Committee of Secretaries :

Fitment benefit (5.1.27)&{10.1.67(ii)} 2.57 Fitment factor has been recommended for uniform application to all employees & Pensioners arrived by dividing revised minimum pay by existing minimum salary .Minimum revised salary has been worked out on the principle of need base minimum wage following Dr Aykroyed formula of 50s which is out dated &smells of colonial mindset . The “Normative Family” is taken to consist of a spouse and two children below the age of 14yrs. (Husband 1 unit, wife 0.8 unit and children (2) at 0.6 units each). Considering wife to be .80 units is nothing but gender bias. In the present scenario a wife too put in the same amount of physical work rather may be more as compared to husband. She needs more nutrients to keep herself fit to be a mother & needs more clothing. A lady whether she is a wife of a labourer or a Secretary to Govt. of India has a basic justify to keep her reasonably presentable for which she needs some minimum add-ons as such treating her to be less than a unit is gross injustice.

Similarly growing Children of less than 14 yrs need more of proteins, fats & carbohydrates, with sufficient exercise & field activities for healthy growth. Today they need much better & more clothing compared to 50s. Today Nation needs healthy & stout young citizens. It is against the national interest to restrict their need base minimum requirement to .6 units.

The basket of items taken does not take care of digital India„s minimum requirement i.e. a smart mob phone & internet connection. The quantities of consumption & rates taken for the items in the basket are unrealistic compared to actual retail market rates.

In the light of above mentioned facts it is felt that minimum salary has been intentionally calculated to be lower to keep common fitment factor low. BDPA (INDIA) therefore, appeals that minimum revised salary be raised upwards to make it realistic.

According to 7th CPC recommendations, 2.57 fitment factors is for all employees and pensioners. But, in fact, 2.81 fitment has been given at Secretary Level by raising existing Salary of 80000/PM to 225000/ per month. This is robbing Peter to pay Paul, is violation of CPC own recommendation and that of Article 14 of the constitution of India. BDPA (INDIA), therefore, appeal that 2.81 fitment benefits be provided to all employee and Pensioners without any discrimination.

2. Minimum Pension/family pension (10.1.24)(10.1.26):As per 7th CPC recommendations revised minimum pension will be 50% of the minimum revised salary of Rs 18000/& Family pension will be 30% of it i.e. Minimum Pension will now be = Rs 9000/PM & family Pension = 5400/ So far minimum pension &Family pension have been the same i.e. Rs3500/ if existing minimum family Pension of Rs 3500/ is multiplied by 2.57 fitment benefit, it comes to Rs 8995/PM BPS request that the matter be looked into to ensure that minimum pension & family Pension remains the same.

3. Parity in Pension between pre & post seventh CPC retirees (10.1.53):
The pension formulation under Para 10.1.67(i) option 1 recommended by the Commission is that all past pensioners shall first be fixed in the Pay Matrix being recommended by it, on the basis of the Pay Band and Grade Pay at which they retired, at the minimum of the corresponding level in the matrix. This amount shall be raised, to arrive at the notional pay of the retiree, by adding the number of increments he had earned in the corresponding pay scale from which he had retired, at the rate of 3 per cent. Fifty per cent of the amount thus obtained would be the revised pension.

It would be seen that the Commission has recommended fixation of the revised pension of the past pensioners (without rectifying anomalies of 6th CPC), on the basis of the pay scale, after 31-12-2005/ Pay Band and Grade Pay from which they had retired and not on the basis of the revised pay of the post from which they had retired. The concept of full parity implies that it is the rank or post held by the pensioner which determines his pension and not the pay scale. In many cases the pay scales have been up-graded after the retirement of the pensioners as a result of Pay Commission‟s recommendations or otherwise without any change in the rank or in the nomenclature of the post held previously by them. Advantage of these upgraded pay scales was denied to those who retired earlier to such up gradation creating disparity in Pension.
The formulation proposed by the 7th CPC will not remove the existing disparity between the pension of the pre 01-01-2006 pensioners and those retiring after this date. Such a disparity will continue even after the implementation of the formulation recommended by the 7th CPC for the fixation of the pension of the past pensioners since their pension will be fixed on the basis of the pay scale from which they had retired and the benefit of revised scale upgraded after their retirement will not be admissible to them.

The principle of full parity implies that the uniform pension should be paid to all pensioners retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of the date of their retirement. Since the formulation recommended by the Seventh Pay Commission will not bring about uniformity in the pension of the past pensioners retiring in the same rank on different dates, 7th CPC recommendation thus will not ensure full parity for all civil pensioners.

Another glaring anomaly relating to pensioners in the new Pay Matrix which the Commission has proposed after dispensing with the existing system of Pay Bands and Grade Pay introduced on the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission. In the proposed Pay Matrix, in place of the existing Grade Pay, there are 18 distinct Pay Levels which would henceforth be status determiner. Each Level lays down the minimum pay, the annual pay progression of 3 per cent and the maximum pay. It is seen that the maximum pay in each Level exceeds the minimum pay in the next higher Level. This is likely to create a situation in which a person retiring from a higher Level will receive pension less than a person retiring from a lower Level. A situation may arise where a junior may draw more pension than a senior in the level above him. In another situation ( 10.1.71 ). A pensioner of Group “A” retired at last pay drawn of Rs4,000 on 31 January, 1989 under the IV CPC regime, having drawn 9 increments in the pay scale of Rs3000-100-3500-125-4500: will draw a pension of Rs. 44200 (Level 11) where as a promotee officer who retired from the same scale of pay 0n 31st March 1996 (prior to implementation of 5th CPC) at the same basic pay i.e. Rs 4000/ will draw a pension of Rs 34850/- because he could draw only one increment in level 11 giving rise to huge disparity.

BDPA (INDIA) appeals for the removal of the anomalies discussed above while taking a decision on the Commission‟s recommendation.

4. Ratio between minimum and maximum: Instead of reducing it is raised which is against the preamble of the Constitution of Indian Republic. Issue may be revisited.

5. Raising Percentage of pension, based on sustenance L (10.1.24to27) Analysis given by CPC is silent on sustenance-this is unjustified rejection and may be reconsidered.

6. Additional pension at 75 years of age (10.1.28to 30) is denied only because Defense Ministry did not agree, this is rather absurd. If Defense Ministry does not want to have it, let them not have it. Why make others suffer on this account?

7. Medical facilities: (9.5.18 The Commission‟s recommendations regarding merging of all postal dispensaries with CGHS dispensaries and inclusion of non CGHS covered postal Pensioners are welcome.
However, its recommendations regarding Health insurance for pensioners do not suit existing pensioners on account of no coverage of existing disease without lock-in period, no provision of OPD facility, payment of premium and less amount of coverage.

BDPA (INDIA), wish to draw your kind attention to Para 9.5.18 (iii) of the 7th CPC and request you to create without delay a combined entity of CGHS, ECHS-RELHS which in terms of 7th CPC would result in a very strong network of health facilities for the Central Government employees/Pensioners across the length and breadth of the country.

8, Fixed Medical Allowance (FMA) (8.1.51): It is granted to pensioners for meeting expenditure on day to day medical expenses that do not require hospitalization. Keeping in view the high cost of medicines & ever rising consultation fee of Doctors BDPA (INDIA) urge that the issue be revisited to reconsider the demand for raising FMA to Rs 2000/ PM.

With warm regards

Yours sincerely,
(D.D. MISTRY)General Secretary,
BDPA (INDIA)

To: Shri S.K.Makkar, Under Secretary, GOI Ministry Of Personnel, PG & Pensions-DOP & PW 3rd floor, Loknayak Bhawan, Khan Market. New Delhi-11014

Copy to:- Ms Vandana Sharma, Joint Secretary. DOP & PW, New Delhi for necessary action at her level please. (D.D. MISTRY) General Secretary, BDPA (INDIA)

Source: http://www.bdpa.in/

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Rounding off of a fraction of a rupee in regulation of additional pension – MoD Order on 23.12.2015

Rounding off of a fraction of a rupee in regulation of additional pension – MoD Order on 23.12.2015
In cases the pension/family pension of old pensioners has been fixed/revised without rounding off the additional pension, in those cases also, the additional pension may be rounded off in the next higher rupee hereinafter. However, no arrears for the period from 1.1.2006 on account of such rounding off would be paid in those cases.

Rounding off of a fraction of a rupee in regulation of additional pension – MoD Order on 23.12.2015

In cases the pension/family pension of old pensioners has been fixed/revised without rounding off the additional pension, in those cases also, the additional pension may be rounded off in the next higher rupee hereinafter. However, no arrears for the period from 1.1.2006 on account of such rounding off would be paid in those cases.

No.1(6)/2015/D(Pen/Pol)
Government of India
Ministry of Defence
Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare

New Delhi, Dated 23rd December, 2015

To
The Chief of Army Staff
The Chief of Naval Staff
The Chief of Air Force Staff

Sub :– Rounding off of a fraction of a rupee in regulation of additional pension.

Sir,

The undersigned is directed to say that vide this Department’s letter No.17(4)/2008(1)/D(Pen/Pol) dated 11/11/2008 and letter No.17(4)/2008(2)/D(Pen/Pol) dated 12/11/2008, instructions were issued for grant of additional pension/family pension @ 20% to 100% to old pensioners/family pensioners of the age of 80 years and above.

2. A question has been raised as to how the amount of additional pension is to be regulated in cases the additional pension results in fraction of a rupee. The matter has been examined in consultation with Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure) and Deptt of Pension & Pensioners Welfare and it has been decided that the amount of additional pension as finally calculated, may be rounded off to the next higher rupee. In cases the pension/family pension of old pensioners has been fixed/revised without rounding off the additional pension, in those cases also, the additional pension may be rounded off in the next higher rupee hereinafter. However, no arrears for the period from 1.1.2006 on account of such rounding off would be paid in those cases.

3. This issues with the concurrence of. Ministry of Defence(FinNo.1(6)/2015/D(Pen/Pol) /Pen) vide their ID No. 25(06)/2015/Fin/Pen dated 07.12.2015.

4. Hindi version will follow.

Yours faithfully,

(Manoj Sinha)
Under Secretary to the Government of India

Source : www.desw.gov.in

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Tatkal bookings’ charges increased from December 25

Tatkal bookings’ charges increased from December 25

The Railways have increased the reservation charges for Tatkal tickets. The revised rates will come into effect from December 25 onwards.

According to a press release from the Railways, The maximum reservation charges for sleeper class under the Tatkal scheme has been increased from Rs.175 to Rs.200. The minimum charges have been increased from Rs.90 to Rs.100. The maximum and minimum charges will depend on the distance to be travelled.

The maximum reservation charges for A.C. Third Class, has been increased from Rs.350 to Rs.400. The minimum charges have been increased from Rs.250 to Rs.300. For the Second Class A.C., the maximum Tatkal reservation charges have been increased to Rs.500. The minimum charges have been increased to Rs.400. There are no changes of rates for the Second Class Seating coaches.



Source: irctc news

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AIRF has demanded Payment of Arrear of Productivity Linked Bonus paid to Railwaymen for the year 2014-15

AIRF has demanded Payment of Arrear of Productivity Linked Bonus paid to Railwaymen for the year 2014-15

Payment of Arrear of Productivity Linked Bonus to Railwaymen for the year 2014-15

The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr. Bandaru Dattatreya, on December 7, 2015. The Bill seeks to amend the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965. AIRF has demanded an Arrear on PLB for FY 2014-15.

Payment of Bonus

(Amendment) Bill 2015 has been passed by parliament

The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr. Bandaru Dattatreya, on December 7, 2015. The Bill seeks to amend the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965.

The Act provides for the annual payment of bonus to employees of certain establishments (including factories and establishments employing 20 or more persons). Under the Act, bonus is calculated on the basis of the employee’s salary and the profits of the establishment.

Employees eligible for bonus: The Act mandates payment of bonus to employees’ whose salary or wage is up to Rs 10,000 per month. The Bill seeks to increase this eligibility limit to Rs 21,000 per month.
Calculation of bonus: The Act provides that the bonus payable to an employee will be in proportion to his or her salary or wage. However, if an employee’s salary is more than Rs 3,500 per month, for the purposes of calculation of bonus, the salary will be assumed to be Rs 3,500 per month. The Bill seeks to raise this calculation ceiling to Rs 7,000 per month or the minimum wage notified for the employment under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (whichever is higher).

Source: AIRF

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MACP on Promotional Hierarchy – Written reply in Parliament

MACP on Promotional Hierarchy – Written reply in Parliament

MACP on promotional grade

The employees including Group ‘C’ (which includes erstwhile Group ‘D’) are granted three financial upgradations under Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) Scheme in the next immediate Grade Pay hierarchy as per CCS(Revised Pay) Rules, 2008 on completion of 10, 20 and 30 years of regular service.

There have been instances where Tribunals and High Courts have directed to grant benefits under Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) Scheme in the promotional hierarchy. However, in such cases, the order of Court is specific to the applicant only.

This was stated by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a question by Shri Kamlesh Paswan in the Lok Sabha today.

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No proposal to do away with the existing procedure of Submitting annual life certificate

No proposal to do away with the existing procedure of Submitting annual life certificate

Delay in giving pension benefits

There is no such proposal to do away with the existing procedure of Submitting annual life certificate by the pensioner to renew their pension payment.

Yes Madam. Department of Pension & Pensioners Welfare has implemented an online system called ‘BHAVISHYA’ for retiring Central Government Civil employees. The system provides for on-line tracking of pension sanction and payment process. Tracking can be done by the individual as well as the administrative authorities for all actions preparatory to grant of pension and other retirement benefits. Facility also exists for tracking payment of subsequent monthly pension. This is in line with the priorities of Government to ensure transparency and accountability in systems and processes.

At present, Bhavishya is implemented in main Secretariat of 83 Ministries/Departments & 23 attached offices involving 794 DDOs. This Department has also given on-site training to all the Drawing Disbursing Officers/Head of Offices/Pay & Accounts Offices and the dealing hands of main Secretariat of all the Ministries/Department.

This was stated by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a question by Shri Satav Rajeev & others in the Lok Sabha today.

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Lok Sabha passes bill to hike bonus

Lok Sabha passes bill to hike bonus

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha today passed a bill allowing doubling of wage ceiling for calculating bonus to Rs 7,000 per month for factory workers with establishments with 20 or more workers, with the benefits being applicable retrospectively from April 2014.

The Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, 2015, was passed by a voice vote, with some members objecting to the raising of eligibility limit for payment of bonus from a salary of Rs 10,000 per month to Rs 21,000.

Replying to a debate on the legislation, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said the Government has ensured that the interest of workers are protected and there is no infringement on their rights.

“Because of Bihar Elections this bill got delayed… The Prime Minister spoke to me and asked why should the benefits of this Act should accrue to workers from 2015. It should be made available from the April 2014,” he said while moving an official amendment to the Bill.

The official amendment provides that the benefits of the Act would be deemed to have come into force on April 1, 2014, instead of April 1, 2015.

Dattatreya said the Ministry has held 21 tripartite meetings with all central trade unions while arriving at a decision.

The Bill provides for enhancing monthly bonus calculation ceiling to Rs 7,000 per month from the existing Rs 3,500. It also seeks to enhance the eligibility limit for payment of bonus from Rs 10,000 per month to Rs 21,000 per month.

“The Government’s paramount intention is to safeguard the interest of workers… There is no infringement of workers’ rights and whatever the government does will be in the interest of workers,” Dattatreya said.

After the bill was passed, Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai, who was in the Chair, said the government should be congratulated for bringing the measure as also for effecting the benefits retrospectively.

PTI

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Centre says goodbye to clerk era, changes designation for its staff

Centre says goodbye to clerk era, changes designation for its staff

New Delhi: Designations like Lower Division Clerk (LDC) and Upper Division Clerk (UDC) in central government’s employee hierarchy have been replaced with new nomenclature.

The posts of UDC and LDC under Central Secretariat Clerical Service (CSCS) have been rechristened as Senior Secretariat Assistant and Junior Secretariat Assistant, respectively, Order F.No.21/12/2010-CS.I(P) dated December 21 issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.

Besides, the post of Assistant under Central Secretariat Service (CSS) has been renamed as Assistant Section Officer, it said.

Both the CSCS and CSS form the backbone of administrative work in the central government.
The total sanctioned strength of CSS and CSCS is 11,467 and 5,933 respectively.

Earlier in March, the DoPT had decided to replace the ‘class’ categorisation for specifying the seniority of its employees with new alphabetical groupings.

The posts under the central government will be denoted as groups A, B, C and D instead of classes I, II, III and IV in the service rules, it had said.

The Class-III (Group C) employees had expressed concern that they were taunted as ‘third-class’ employees due to the categorisation.

The Class-I classification is for gazetted officers while Class-II refers to mainly the non-gazetted officers, though there are some gazetted officers in this category too.

Class-III comprises clerical staff and Class-IV (which is now subsumed in Class III or Group C) includes peons and helps or multi-tasking staff in the government hierarchy.

PTI

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