NCCPA Circular on Webinar with Confederation!

 

NATIONAL CO-ORDINATION COMMITTEE

OF PENSIONERS ASSOCIATIONS..

(Registered undder the T.U. Act.No. RTU01/2021.Dated.7.01.2021

PAN NO AAEAN8586F

Website: nccpahq.blogspot.in.E mail: nccpahq@gmail.com.

13.c Feroze Shah Road, New Delhi. 110 001

 

PRESIDENT:                COM.SHIV GOPAL MISHRA.(97176 47594)

SECRETARY GENERAL:          COM.K.K.N.KUTTY. (98110 48303)

Dated:22^ND February, 2022.

Dear Comrades,

In order to strengthen the campaign programme for the preparation of the ensuing general strike slated for 28^th and 29^th March, 2022, the Confederation of Central Government employees and workers met in their National Sectt. meeting on 20^th inst.  The meeting inter alia decided to mount campaign both physically and on virtual platform and associate with the affiliates and units of NCCPA. Comrades, you will recall that in our last National Sectt meeting one of the decisions we had taken was to organise a National Webinar on the strike issues. The Confederation has similar decision and they will fix the date convenient to all of us.  The webinar will present three issues before the participants:

1.       General demands and issues of the workers; and the reason as to why the strike had to be deferred to 28^th and 29^th March, 2022.

2.       The Central Government Employees Demands;

3.       The New Pension scheme and the issues and demands of the Pensioners as formulated by the NCCPA

On hearing from the Confederation about the arrangements made to broadcast the webinar, we shall get in touch with experts as to how to simultaneously reach out to our members.  It is decided, that while participation of minimum 5000 employees and 1000 pensioners must be ensured by the respective organisations,  they must embark upon a venture to exceed the minimum.  In the annexure to this letter we have made an allocation state-wise.  The affiliates will get in touch with their state units and request that the members are linked in to the webinar.  The COCs and CGPAs will also take care to ensure that as many number of pensioners participate in this webinar. 28^th and 29^th are Monday and Tuesday.  As per our earlier decision, we must organise a dharma programme prior to the strike.  Since the preceding two days are holidays, the proposed dharna must be organised on 25^th March, 2022. (Friday). In between the National webinar, the affiliates and State Units might organise webinars especially using the vernacular medium to convey the strike message to as many number of members as possible.  The Pensioners organisations representing the Bank retirees will organise the dharna in front of any bank as they decide.  They might also get in touch with the Bank employees Associations and extend solidarity and support to the strike action.  Similarly, the pensioners of the autonomous bodies may either choose to be with the CG pensioners or organise dharna in front of any of the autonomous organisation of the Govt. of India. So may be the case with the members of AIBDPA

We are hopeful that our members will remember the endeavour chalked out by the TUI (P &R) of the WFTU of the need to align our activities with the working class.  In India, as you are aware, the joint platform of Central Trade Unions barring the BJP led BMS is spearheading the struggle against the neo- liberal policies, the intensification of which peaked during the present regime.  Not only the standard of living of the working class has fallen considerably, the entirety of the common people suffers from its pernicious impact.  The Oxfam report (India supplement), which was released recently tells the sordid story of the Indian people that has come about in the last 6-7 years.  The number of people who were driven to below the poverty line, (despite the engineering done by the Government in computing the poverty) had been huge.  The Corporates had been the biggest beneficiaries of the dispensation of this Government.  Not only they received tax concessions, they could also enjoy the largest chunk of bail out packages doled out by the Government to combat the covid related recession.  Nothing was done to increase the purchasing power of the common people, which was the most important intervention expected of from a government, who is concerned of the misery of the people in pandemic period.  The denial of dearness relief to the Pensioners for 18 months is a fitting example as to how the policy perceptions of the Government works even on retired personnel.  The pensioners and retirees suffered most during the covid period due to their propensity to be affected by the virus infection; but nothing was done to help them out.  But for the intervention of the people and courts in the country, the vaccination would have also been a marketing commodity available only for those who can afford.  In a democracy public opinion matters and galvanising that in the right direction is the responsibility of the middle class who are benefited by the education they have received.  Apart from this, our country is fast emerging as one of the most intolerant society in the world The way in which the government abets, engineers and helps those who indulge in disruption of the social fabric is unprecedented.  Since such actions in the past have given them rich electoral dividends, they continue with it merrily at the cost of the working people.  In the situation in which we are placed, the need for an intensive and effective campaign need not be emphasised.  I, therefore, appeal to all of you to do everything possible to campaign amongst the people, make the workers and retirees realise the need for struggle and make the general strike action slated for 28^th and 29^th March a grand success. 

In a few days time, we will prepare a pamphlet explaining the demands, we have agreed upon in our last meeting. 

With greetings,

Yours fraternally,

 

KKN Kutty

Secretary General

Annexure : Allocation amongst state for participation in the National webinar.

Kerala.                                             100                      MP                      40

Tamilnadu                                      100                      Jharkhand              10                       

Karnataka                                       50                        Chattisgarh        10

AP &Telengana                .             50                        Vidharba              20

Maharashtra.                                 50                        Pune                   10

Gujarat                              ...           25

Punjab.                             .             25

Haryana.                           .             20

Rajasthan                                        60

Delhi.                                               60

UP                                                     50

Uttarakand.&HP                            35

Bihar                                                50

W Bengal                                        150

Odissa                                             40

Assam                                              60

NCCPA Circular on Budget 2022!

 

NATIONAL CO-ORDINATION COMMITTEE

OF PENSIONERS ASSOCIATIONS..

(Registered undder the T.U. Act.No. RTU01/2021.Dated.7.01.2021

PAN NO AAEAN8586F

Website: nccpahq.blogspot.in.E mail: nccpahq@gmail.com.

13.c Feroze Shah Road, New Delhi. 110 001

 

PRESIDENT:                COM.SHIV GOPAL MISHRA.(97176 47594)

SECRETARY GENERAL:          COM.K.K.N.KUTTY. (98110 48303)

Dated: 2^ND February, 2022.

 

Dear Comrade,

The Union Budget 2022

 

On 1^st February, 2022, (the customary date fixed for Union Budget) Ms. Nirmala Sitaraman, Finance Minister, Government of India, presented the budget for the financial year 2022-23 to the Lok Sabha at 11.00 AM. The Budget is an instrument from which the common people expect the Government of India to extend its helping hand to remove their agony.  They normally glue to the TV sets or listen to the Radio broadcast to know whether the empathy has been translated into tangible terms.  The people had expected a lot from this budget as they thought that the Government was aware of the deprivation suffered by the common multitude due to the still-not-abated pandemic, covid 19.  The continuing pandemic situation for the last two years had affected severely the life and means of livelihood of the people at large.  It was during the period of pandemic, the Indian people realised the worth of public health system and how disastrous had been its concerted destruction over the years by the Government. 

 

Most of the time in the year 2021, the country had to face several lock downs as the only way to arrest the severity of the pandemic.  The sudden halt of all economic activities had its terrible toll.  Many families of the people at the lower strata of the society had been driven to the shores of penury and poverty during the period.  It is, therefore, necessary that the budget proposals are seen through their eyes.

 

It is difficult to discern any positive features in the budget, viewed from the common man’s perspective.  With the rising tax revenue, mostly from indirect taxes, like GST, Customs and excise duties, nay even from the corporate and income tax, the Government could have announced certain welfare measures benefiting the poor and suffering people.  In fact the allocation on health, education, employment generation schemes, food and fertilizer subsidies, agriculture (for MSP, Crop insurance,) child welfare etc. has either remained  static or got reduced. A major share of the excise duty has come from the systematic and continuous increase in the petroleum products. The cost of LPG gas cylinder had almost been doubled by this Government between 2014 and 2021.  The phenomenal increase in the cooking gas alone brought distress to a large majority of the people in the lower and middle segments of the society.  The announcements like developing 25000 KMs National highways and 2200 KM new Railway tracks, 400 super-fast trains and above all the introduction of an official digital currency were in fact mocking at the poor people.  The total expenditure of the Government estimated in the Budget for the year 2022-23, despite a nominal increase is actually down from. 17.1% of GDP in 2020-21 to 15.3.%

 

Without raising resources no government would be able to either increase the long term capital expenditure to create infrastructure asset base nor look after its people at lower strata.  In the difficult situation the people are placed, due to the un-abaiting covid and periodical lock outs, the Government ought to have raised resources from those who has the ability to pay.   Such a proposal must have been a must in the budget.  The Oxfam report, India supplement, which has just been released tells us the sordid story of the vast majority of the Indian people.  Amongst the poverty stricken Nations, India has further fallen from 94 to 104.  It also tells that the top 10 rich  persons in the country had been able to double their wealth during the covid period.  Most of the Indian corporate houses have increased their profit ratio. Why then the Government could not have raised the corporate tax rates or  the rate of income tax  at the super profit level, obviously elicits only one answer.  In fact, the Government had reduced the rate of corporation tax   from 33% to 22% as part of the covid specific bail-out package.  The least the Finance Minister could have done was to restore the old rates.

 

Pensioner community is no different from the common people.  The senior citizens suffered immeasurably during this period.  Almost every one of them was afflicted with the covid virus.  Being old they were more prone to the pandemic.  Some of them despite being in self- proclaimed house arrest, still suffered from the virus infection.  The private hospitals in the country charged exorbitantly for the treatment.  Having almost dismantled the public health care system, they had no alternative but to be at the mercy of the private hospitals.  Pensioners and the senior citizens still suffer the post-covid health complications.  No concession has been granted to the old people in the Budget, whereas the Govt. has unashamedly taken crores of rupees from the pensioners by denying the Dearness relief due to them for 18 months.    Rather some of the facilities  like  air and train travel concessions were withdrawn .  Many expected that the Government would take note of the huge hospitalisation expenditure incurred by the pensioners and old people and would increase the ceiling limit of medical expenses in the Budget. 

 

Almost all of the Pensioners and retired personnel had invested their retirement benefits on fixed term deposits in the Nationalised Banks.  Crores of rupees had been collected by the Banks from the pensioners and the fund has obviously been used to advance to rich and corporate entities.  A good chunk of such loans has now become non- performing assets and now a new Bad Bank to deal with such assets has been set up. From 2014 onwards, this government had been systematically reducing the interest rates on term deposits to facilitate the business enterprises.  The fall out has been terrible loss to the pensioner community.  Not only the real value of their income has been eroded   but even in quantum terms, the loss had been unbearable.  According to an estimate a person who had invested in Fixed Deposits, say 20 lakhs in 2014 would suffer a loss of Rs. 87,120 in the year 2021-22 due to interest rate reduction.  That is precisely Rs. 7260 per month.  While the income had a drastic reduction, the expenditure due to inflation and effected price rise on petroleum products has almost doubled. 

 

The 2022-23 Budget has, despite having increased revenue collection, sought to reduce its outflow on welfare measures  ,exposing  clearly where   the empathy of the rulers are. It refused to tax the rich who has increased their profit during the covid period.  It continues to proclaim to raise resources by selling away the Public Sector Units and lease out the infra structural assets for pittance to private enterprises.  Privatisation and crony capitalism had been the hall mark of the policy of this government.  How far they can go could be evidenced rom the fact that the company to whom the contract for the production of the Vande Bharat coaches has been given, is permitted to manufacture it inside the ICF/RCF coach factories owned by the Government. 

 

The Budget is, therefore, not only disappointing but in a way reflects the insensitive mind-set of those in the governance of the country towards the suffering people.   There must be and will be strong reaction from the people at large to this anti people budget.  

 

With greetings,

Yours fraternally,

KKN. Kutty.

Secretary General.