ALL INDIA POSTAL & RMS PENSIONERS ASSOCIATION-AP CIRCLE

NCCPA Circular - Notice for Secretariat Meeting - Letter to Department of Pension

NCCPA on the Move

NCCPA National Secretariat Meeting will be held on 7.2.2016 in New Delhi. The meeting is notified to be held at AIRF Library Hall, State Entry Road, New Delhi 110001 (Near New Delhi Railway Station) at 2.00 P.M. The Notice for the above meeting is exhibited in the website of NCCPA (www.nccpahq.blogspot.in) Comrades of AIPRPA who are Office Bearers of the NCCPA elected in the recent 3^rd AIC of NCCPA shall attend the meeting. They are requested to make their journey reservations immediately.

The Secretary General NCCPA has written to the Secretary Department of Pension & Pensioners Welfare on the matter of interaction with us on all issues as NCCPA is the apex organization of various CG Pensioners Associations throughout the country.

Circular Number 2 of NCCPA issued by the Secretary General NCCPA is also released today.

The Circular, the Notice for Secretariat and the letter to Secretary to MoP&PW – all three are exhibited hereunder for the information of our members:

K.Ragavendran

General Secretary AIPRPA

NATIONAL CO-ORINATION COMMITTEE

OF PENSIONERS ASSOCIATIONS.

13/c Feroze Shah Road,

New Delhi. 110 001

Dated: 22.12.2015.

Website: www.nccpahq.blogspot.com

Email. nccpahq@gmail.com

President: Com. Shiv Gopal Misra

Working President: Com. S.S. Roy.

Secretary Genl: Com. K.K.N. Kutty.

Notice is hereby given for a meeting of the National Secretariat (i.e. the office bearers who were elected at the conference at Kolkata) on 7^th Feb. 2016 at New Delhi to discuss the following agenda. The meeting will be held at the AIRF Library hall, State Entry Road, New Delhi. 110 001. The Sectt. members are requested to make their own arrangements for stay at Delhi. Any comrade who wanted us to make arrangements for the accommodation; he may kindly get in touch with Com. K. Raghavendran (Mobile No. 9444919295) Agenda for discussion will be as under; The meeting will commence at 2.00PM. on 7.2.2016.

1. Enumeration of the Conference decisions and the modus operandi to give effect to those decisions.

2. 7^th CPC recommendations, points for improvement, preparation of campaign material and finalization of action programmes.

3. Widening the organizational base of NCCPA.

4. State of affairs of finance and the ways and means to improve it.

5. Increasing circulation of the journal and making it financially viable.

6. Any other matter with the permission of the Chair.

All Sectt. members are requested to kindly make it convenient to attend the meeting.

K.K.N. Kutty

Secretary General

PS:

Enumeration of the Conference decisions will be made by Com. Pavithra Chakraborty, Deputy Secretary General and the modus operandi will be discussed at the meeting. He would kindly send a note in this regard to the Secretary General for circulation at the meeting by 31.1.2016.

Note on agenda item No. 2 will be prepared and circulated by the Secretary General.

Note on agenda item No. 3 will be prepared by Com. K. Raghavendran, Deputy Secretary General as a base paper for discussion.

Note on agenda Item No. 4 and 5 will be prepared by Com. S.S. Roy, Working President in consultation with Com. Pavitra chakraborty, Com. R.L. Bhattacharya, Patron and the Assistant Treasurer and Treasurer.

In the agenda “any other matter with the permission of the Chair” the proposal for amendments to constitution received from various units or from the Sectt,. Members and the steps to be taken to get the NCCPA registered with the Registrar of Societies will be briefly discussed. If any member would like to discuss any issues other than mentioned in the agenda, he may do so, by sending a brief note on the issue to the Secretary General, which would be taken up under agenda item No. 6, subject to the constraints of time.

NATIONAL CO-ORINATION COMMITTEE

OF PENSIONERS ASSOCIATIONS.

13/c Feroze shah Road,

New Delhi. 110 001

Dated: 22.12.2015.

Website: www.nccpahq.blogspot.com

Email. nccpahq@gmail.com

Shri Devendra Chaudhary.

Secretary, Pension & Pension welfare

Department of Pension & Pensioner's Welfare

Lok Nayak Bhavan,

New Delhi,Delhi,110001(e. mail: secy-arpg@nic.in)

Dear Sir,

The “National Co-ordination Committee of Pensioners Associations” is the apex organization of the various Central Government pensioners Associations viz, the pensioners Associations in the Railways, Defence, and Postal, BSNL and erstwhile Telecom department and other Central Government Departments. The need for such an all India organization was felt by the Pensioners Associations functioning either at the regional or State levels or at the Departmental levels to channelize the common grievances of the Central Government pensioners in the country. In the founding convention that was held at Jaipur, Rajasthan, in 2008, Com. U.M. Purohit, the then Secretary, Staff Side National council and the President of the All India Railwaymen Federation was elected as the Patron along with Shri V.A.N.Namboodiri, the erstwhile Secretary General of the BSNL Employees association. Shri R.L. Bhattacharya, former Secretary General of the National Federation of Postal Employees took over as the President and Shri S.K. Vyas, a long time Secretary General of the All India Audit and Accounts Association and a Sanding Committee member of the National Council, JCM, right from its inception was elected as the first Secretary General. All these leaders were veterans of the Trade Union movement of the Central Government employees and had the rich experience of formulating the demands and issues of the employees including their retirement benefits before the successive Pay Commissions.

Due to the sad demise of both Shri. U.M. Purohit and Shri S.K.Vyas in succession, and due to the failing health of Shri R.L. Bhattacharya, the all India Conference of NCCPA which was held at Kolkata elected Shri Shiva Gopal Misra, the Staff Side Secretary of the JCM. National Council as the President and shri K.K.N. Kutty, former Secretary General of Income-tax Employees Federation for many years and presently a member of the Standing Committee of the National council as the Secretary General. Shri R.L. Bhattacharya and Shri V.A.N. Namboodiri were requested to be the patrons to help and advise the functioning of the NCCPA.

The NCCPA in its functioning as an apex organization of all Central Government Pensioners in the country during its short period of existence has been able to channelize the grievances and demands of the pensioner in general before the authorities. The NCCPA’s memorandum to the 7^th Central Pay Commission stand testimony to this fact. The Staff Side, JCM which submitted an elaborate memorandum on all issues concerning both the working employees and pensioners had almost adopted the views and suggestions made by the NCCPA in respect of retirement benefits. Not only did it try to present the demands of the pensioners before the Government and other agencies effectively, it could through frequent interaction with its affiliates bring home the points of view of the Government expressed through the official side and the constraints of the Government in meeting out certain demands despite appreciating the genuineness of them. In fact it functioned as an effective conduit, beneficial for all concerned. The democratic manner of the functioning of the NCCPA gives room for all to express and advance their views and take decisions on the basis of a consensus.

We write this to bring to your kind notice that while many of our affiliates and the State level organizations do receive communications from the Ministry of Pension asking them their views on matters concerning pension, the NCCPA was not favoured with a formal communication to enable us to present before the Ministry the consensus view of the Pensioners at large. Recently the Department of Pension solicited the views of the pensioners on the question of linking Aadhar Card with pension payment and their suggestions on the recommendations of the 7^th CPC. While it is highly appreciated that the Government and the Department of Pension solicit the views of even smaller organizations, we strongly feel that it would have been equally good, if not better, to elicit the views and opinions of the Apex organizations like NCCPA whose submission by virtue of its very functioning shall have a pan-Indian touch; tempered by reasonableness and generality of approach. It is the avowed endeavor of NCCPA to build bridge between the Government and the Pensioners and discuss the issues and problems in a conducive atmosphere and arrive at conclusions mutually beneficial.

In this background, May we request you to kindly register our name in your list of Pensioners organizations to seek out our opinions and views on various pensioner-related matters, invite us formally for attending the seminars, conventions, conferences and meetings, organized by the Department of Pension in frequent intervals.

Thanking you and in anticipation of a favourable response,

Yours faithfully,

K.K.N. Kutty,

Secretary General.

Copy to :

Smt.Vandana Sharma,

Joint Secretary,

Department of Pension & Pensioners welfare

Lok Nayak Bhawan

New Delhi. 110 001

(vandana.sa@nic.in)

NATIONAL COORDINATION COMMITTEE OF PENSIONERS ASSOCIATIONS

13/c Feroze shah Road,

New Delhi. 110 001

Dated: 22.12.2015.

Website: www.nccpahq.blogspot.com

Email. nccpahq@gmail.com

Circular No. 2/2015-16.

Dear Comrades,

As you are aware, the 7^th CPC submitted its report to the Government on 19^th November, 2015. The National Joint council of action or organizations participating in the JCM at the National level characterized the recommendations as the most retrograde and perhaps the worst ever in the wage increase any Pay commission has ever made in the past. Many affiliates and State committees had sent in their comments on those recommendations pertaining to the Pensioners and other retirement benefits.

We explored the possibilities of convening an emergent meeting of the office bearers of NCCPA elected at its Kolkata Conference. However, due to paucity of time and other logistics, we had to abandon that idea. It was then decided in consultation with Com. President to convene a meeting on 8^th December, 2015 at New Delhi to discuss the recommendations of the 7^th CPC. Accordingly, besides, the President and Secretary General, all the Vice Presidents, Patrons, Treasurer and the two Deputy Secretaries General attended the said meeting. Due to the delayed running of the train, the President could not attend the meeting. Com. S.S.Roy, Working president presided over the meeting. On the first day, the meeting decided upon the issues that must be referred to the Staff Side JCM National Council, for inclusion in their charter of demands. The demands so formulated are as under:-

I. Revise the pension and other retirement benefits as under:-

(a) Parity between the past and present pensioners to be brought about on the basis of the 7^th CPC recommendations with the modification that basis of computation to be the pay level of the post/grade/scale of pay from which one retired, whichever is beneficial.

(b) Pension to be 60% of the last pay drawn in the case of all eligible persons who have completed the requisite number of years of service.

(d) Enhance the pension and family pension by 5% after every five years and 10% on attaining the age of 85 and 20% on attaining the age of 90.

(e) Commuted value of pension to be restored after 10 years or attaining the age of 70 whichever is earlier. Gratuity calculation to be on the basis of 25 days in the month

(f) Fixed medical allowance for those pensioners not covered by CGHS and REHS to be increased to Rs. 2000 p.m.

(g) Provide one increment on the last day in service if the concerned employee has completed six months or more from the date of grant of last increment.

II. The full fledged meeting of the NCCPA Sectt. will be held either in the last week of January or in the first week of Feb. at New Delhi.

III. NCCPA website will be maintained by Com. K. Ragavendran, Deputy Secretary General in consultation with the Secretary General,

IV. A joint Bank Account will be opened in any Nationalized Bank at Delhi operated by the Secretary General and Treasurer.

V. The present arrangement of publishing the journal from Kolkata will continue. Com. Pavitra Chakraborthy will be in charge of the journal publication. An Editorial board with Com.K.K.N. Kutty Secretary General as Chairman and Com. S.S.Roy and Com. Pavithra Chatterji will be constituted. The advice and assistance of Com. R.L. Bhattacgarya Patron will be solicited.

VI. Remittance of annual subscription by the affiliates, state Committees and other individuals will be made to Com. H.L.Sidhu, Tresurer only in the form of Bank Draft or through Bank transfer.

VII. Remittances in respect of the journal will be made over to Com. Pavitra Chakrsborty, Deputy Secretary General at his Kolkata address. He along with the Assistant Treasurer will maintain the requisite account for the journal.

IX. The Constitution copy of the NCCPA will be placed on the website. Suggestions and comments for amendment may be sent to the Secretary General. The same will be discussed for appropriate action by the next meeting of the National Secretariat.

X Com. V.A.N. Namboodiri, patron of NCCPA will help in getting affiliation and registration with the TUI for NCCPA for which a formal decision was taken at the last Conference.

XI. Com. K. Ragavendran Deputy Secretary General will take steps to get the NCCPA registered under the Registrar or Societies and a final decision in the matter will be taken at the next meeting of the National Secretariat.

XII. The meeting also decided to endorse the call of the NJCA in pursuance of the charter of demands.

The NJCA in its meeting on 8^th December 2015, accepted the proposal of the NCCPA in so far as the acceptance of the demands pertaining to pensioners were concerned and included the same as Item No. 13 of the Charter of demands. They have decided to go on indefinite strike if no settlement is brought about on these demands. As a prologue and in a bid to mobilize the employees, they have also decided the following programmes of action in the month of January and Febraury, 2015.

30.12.2015: Holding demonstrations and hand over copy of the NJCA’s letter dated 10.12.2015 to the Head of the Office for onward transmission to the Cabinet Secretary, demanding for immediate settlement of the issues.

19-21.01.2016: 3-day dharna in all the State capitals and industrial centers/ establishments for educating and mobilizing the employees.

We request all the affiliated Associations and State Committee to part take in the programmes of action either independently or in co-operation with the working employees and make it s a grand success. What should be modus of our participation as and when the strike action is decided will be the subject matter of deliberation at our next meeting of the National Secretariat.

With greetings,

Yours fraternally,

Sd/-

K.K.N. Kutty

Secretary General

Wednesday, 23 December 2015

Justice Mathur and FM Arun Jaitley are playing with the sleeping Tiger!

PENSIONERS POST IS BORN

The long awaited release of the Monthly Journal of All India Postal & RMS Pensioners Association is just round the corner. The first issue of the 'Pensioners Post' - the new monthly organ of AIPRPA to espouse the cause of the Postal & RMS Pensioners in particular but the cause of all Pensioners in general - has gone to the Press after completion of the full layout today. The Journal will be despatched on 30th December, 2015 to all subscribers.

An attempt has been made to analyze the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission in the first issue. Rather it can be said that the first issue is a Pay Commission Special Issue. The organ will maintain an approach of close cooperation between the service associations and Federations of employees and Pensioners. The Organ will try to fill the gap that exists in exposing the neo-liberal attacks on the Pension and Social Security at the universal level. The exclusive problems of Postal & RMS Pensioners will receive high attention of the journal. The common problems of CG Pensioners as well as the Pensioners Community as a whole will be highlighted and the action taken by the AIPRPA and NCCPA to mitigate those problems will also get full coverage.

The Readers and Members of AIPRPA can have an interaction with the Pensioners Post through a section in the journal called "Pensioners Mirror". Here they can raise their concerns and questions and opinions and get the response of the Editor also.

There shall be a section "Around the States" which will bring about the programmes and news about the States and District and Divisional Branches of AIPRPA. Ofcourse it is necessary to all Districts to pass on the news of their activities and photos to us in our new E-Mail "pensionerspost@gmail.com"

All regular sections like the Orders of the Government; SCOVA Meetings; Correspondences of CHQ and NCCPA to various Governmental Departments etc also will be there definitely.

We attempt to bring about the journal with a difference! An attempt to bring the issue with 'Form' and 'Content' in an improved manner.

The journal is now here! It is for you to take it and adapt it as your organ nearer to your heart! We are confident that all our members as well as other comrades and friends will extend maximum cooperation to the journal to succeed!

K.Ragavendran

Editor and General Secretary AIPRPA

Monday, 21 December 2015

Tamilnadu AIPRPA 2nd Conference a great success!

2^nd State Conference of AIPRPA Tamilnadu State

Resolves to build a stronger Postal & RMS Pensioners Organisation

Decides to build stronger ties with CG and Postal Trade Unions and stand together in all the struggles

The 2^nd State Conference of All India Postal & RMS Pensioners Association Tamilnadu State was held in Coimbatore City from 19^th to 20^th December, 2015. The Conference hall in Sri Durga Mahal was named after the late lamented leader Comrade S.K.Vyas. Comrade M.Kannaiyan State President presided over the Conference.

The Reception Committee headed by its Chairman Comrade P.R.Natarajan (Ex-Member of Parliament) and Comrade S.Karunanidhi (General Secretary) had made excellent arrangements for the State Conference and a band of volunteers from AIPRPA District Committee and NFPE P4 and GDS Coimbatore Divisional organizations made the conference very successful with their dedicated involvement.

The Conference commenced with the flag hoisting function with the national flag hoisted by our Patron of the State Association Comrade A.G.Pasupathy; AIPRPA flag hoisted by All India Advisor Comrade KVS; and the NCCPA flag hoisted by the senior most leader of AIPRPA Tamilnadu Comrade Thanjai Sadasivam. The Martyrs Column with the photo of Comrade S.K.Vyas was given floral respect by the Chiarman Reception Committee to be followed by all senior leaders and Delegates and Visitors.

The Chairman Reception Committee delivered his special welcoming address combined with his punctuating speech on current developments that are attacking the interests of Pensioners. Comrades K.K.N.Kutty (NCCPA Secretary General) inaugurated the Conference. His elaborate speech traced the history and difference between the Pay Commissions that incorporated labour representative and those Pay Commissions like 7^th CPC which do not have any labour representative member. He exposed the areas of distortion by the Pay Commission that deliberately reduced the quantum of need based minimum wage and the resultant low fitment factor. He stressed that the grant of fitment benefit to improve the question of parity of pension between the past and the present pensioners and recommendations for improving the medical treatment facilities of pensioners notwithstanding, the rejection of many issues of pensioners are also a point of disappointment. The decision of NCCPA to focus before the Government all the anomalies of pension fixation and the modifications required in the Report for appropriate modification was explained by him. He also called upon to strengthen NCCPA in such a manner the P&T movement strengthened the Confederation from the days of formation to build a common movement of CG Pensioners in the country.

Comrades A.G.Pasupathy (Patron); K.V.Sridharan (All India Advisor); D.Gopalakrishnan (CHQ Vice President AIBSNLPWA); C.K.Narasimhan (Circle Secretary AIBDPA); S.Ragupathy (Assitant Secretary General NFPE); J.Ramanurthy (CHQ President P3 NFPE); R.Chandraprakash (AIPRPA State Working President & former BPEF P3 CHQ President); N.Chinnasamy (State President Tamilnadu Electricity Board Pensioners Welfare Association); Y.Nagabhushanam (AIPRPA CHQ AGS); H.V.Kurup (AIPRPA CHQ OGS); V.Janakiraman (AIPRPA CHQ OGS); K.Shanmugha Sundar Raj (AIPRPA CHQ OGS); M.Sudhakaran (President Coimbatore CGPA) addressed the session.

Our Guest of Honour Smt.Manju P.Pillai the Postmaster General of Western Region Tamilnadu Circle attended our Conference and greeted. Her speech highlighted the importance of Pensioners Movement and assured her administration's help in genuine issues of pensioners.

There was a memorable occasion in the Conference when the former Secretary General NFPTE and senior most leader of P&T movement Comrade D.Gnaniah was given a special honour by the Conference. Comrade D.Gnaniah who is on the verge of completing 95 years of age also delivered a special address to the conference with recollecting the entire history of P&T movement. Comrades AGP, Thanjai Sadasivam and K.Ragavendran General Secretary spoke before the speech of Comrade D.Gnaniah and remembered his great role in building the P&T Movement.

Sri.Perur Natarajan former four-time M.L.A., of Perur constituency, in which area falls our State Conference venue, graced the Conference and was garlanded by the State President comrade M.Kannaiyan on behalf of the Reception Committee.

In the Subjects Committee after the tributes to all departed leaders and comrades, the Biennial Report was submitted by the State General Secretary Comrade K.Ragavendran. The Audited Accounts were submitted by the Treasurer Comrade S.Santhanaraman. There was a lively debate by the Delegates and Office Bearers of the State Association on the organizational review in general and the Pay Commission Report in particular that brought out many important points in the Pay Commission’s Report on which modifications are absolutely necessary as well as those areas of improvement made out by the 7^th CPC. The debates pinpointed the need to expand our presence to all the districts of the state as well as to increase the membership in all weaker districts to emerge stronger. The Conference resolved to extend fullest cooperation to all struggles of Central Government Employees as well as the Postal Employees to modify the retrograde recommendations of Pay Commission by mobilizing our membership in all places of such struggle programmes.

The Biennial Report and the Audited Accounts were unanimously adopted by the House. Finally after the Presidential Speech by Comrade M.Kannaiyan, the summing up speech of the debate was made by the State General Secretary Comrade K.Ragavendran.

The Conference adopted Resolutions on many issues including problems of Pre-2006 Pensioners that still remain to be sorted out; Calculation of revised pension from 1.1.2006 by taking the quantum of Dearness Pension also to Pre-2006 Pensioners; Post 1.1.1996 Postman Pensioners issue; the need to modify the table of Matrix that was prepared with the command of “Round” into a command of “Round up” to ensure rounding up of the amount to the next hundred; and on the question of Medical Needs of Pensioners.

The State Conference expressed deep sympathy towards all the people severely affected by the recent heavy rains and floods in Chennai City, Kancheepuram, Cuddalore and Tiruvallur, Tuticorin and Tirunelveli Districts. The effort of Erode AIPRPA that has collected donations from its members towards flood relief is appreciated by the Conference and the State Conference requested the District Associations to directly send such flood relief to appropriate places as they deem fit.

The State Conference nominated a Patron and an Advisor to the State Association as follows:

Patron: A.G.Pasupathy

Advisor: K.V.Sridharan

Thereafter the following Comrades were unanimously elected as the State Office Bearers for the ensuing term:

State President: M.Kannaiyan

State Working Presidents:

1. P.Rajanayagam – Kanniyakumari

2. Thanjai Sadasivam – Thanjavur

3. K.Sivaraman – Chennai

4. R.Chandraprakash – Chennai

5. A.C.Dharanipathy – Chennai

6. G.C.Narasimhulu – Ambathur

7. R.Savithiri – Vellore

State Vice Presidents:

1. D.Ramachandran – Chennai

2. M.R.Meenakshisundaram – Chennai

3. R.Muthu – Pondicherry

4. D.Sivagurunathan – Chennai

5. L.Purushothaman – Chennai

6. P.Shanmugam – Chennai

7. V.Venkatarangan – Chennai

8. G.Rajamani – Chennai

9. R.Masilamani – Chennai

10. K.Sivaraman – Chennai (PSD)

11. K.Rajendran – Coimbatore

12. T.Subramanian – Coimbatore

13. N.Devarajan – Tiruvannamalai

14. V.Gnanasambandan – Chengalpattu

15. R.Kanagavel – Salem

16. S.Swaminathan – Mayiladuturai

17. R.Dhakshinamurthy – Tiruchirappalli

18. R.Murugesan – Erode

19. I.Subramanian – Kancheepuram

20. A.Mani – Kancheepuram

21. G.Krishnan – Tirunelveli

22. N.Radhakrishnan – Arni

23. M.Chidambaram – Vellore

24. N.B.S.Manian – Tiruvallur

25. V.Nirmala – Chennai

State General Secretary: K.Ragavendran – Chennai

Assistant State General Secretaries:

1. R.Natarajan – Pondicherry

2. N.Selvan – Tiruchirappalli

3. V.Rajaram – Dindigul

4. K.Shanmugha Sundar Raj – Tirunelveli

5. S.Appanraj - Chennai

6. N.Shanmugam – Salem

7. A.Murugan – Chennai

8. T.Mani – Tiruchengode

9. P.Sanku – Dharmapuri

10. P.Subburaj – Kovilpatti

11. S.Karunanidhi – Coimbatore

12. P.Thiruvengadam – Vridhacahalam

13. C.Sekar – Chennai

14. P.Mani – Chennai

15. N.Karuppusamy – Tirupur

16. P.Murugan – Tiruvannamalai

17. S.Veerannan – Kovilpatti

18. C.Senjimani – Tirupathur

19. K.Rajendran – Tiruchirappalli

20. Nethaji Subash – Salem

21. M.B.Sukumar – Chennai

22. P.Natarajan – Palani

23. S.Thiagarajan – Tirunelveli

State Treasurer: S.Santhanaraman – Vellore

Assistant State Treasurer: G.Kumar – Chennai

State Organising General secretaries:

1. N.Ramasamy – Erode

2. T.Nagappan – Udumalpet

3. S.Durai – Chennai

4. B.Ragunathan – Chennai

5. N.Avudaiappan – Tenkasi

6. A.Marudai – Dindigul

7. P.Subramanian – Dharmapuri

8. S.Govindarajan – Tiruchirappalli

9. A.Chandran – Kancheepuram

10. P.K.Rajaram – Salem

11. R.Subramanian – Erode

12. R.Asaithambi – Thanjavur

The State Conference also authorized the State Executive Committee to co-opt Office Bearers if necessary to accommodate representatives from such areas that are being concentrated for expansion of AIPRPA.

The Reception Committee got great appreciations from all in general and by the State Association in particular for making the Conference a memorable one to all participants. All the volunteers of Reception Committee were honoured by the leaders of the State and CHQ at the end of the Conference.

K.Ragavendran

General Secretary