A MASSIVE rally of the central government employees was held on April 28, 2015 at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, declaring that if no settlement is brought about  on the 10-point charter of demands, the central government employees in all the de-departments of the Government of India will go on indefinite strike action from November 23, 2015.

The rally was held under the chairmanship of M Raghavaiah, general secretary, National Federation of Indian Railwaymen.  Shiv Gopal Mishra, convenor of the National Joint Council of Action of Central Government Employees (NJCA) conducted the proceedings.   A resolution on the issues and demands was moved by KKN Kutty, president, Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers.  Besides, the chairman and convenor of the NJCA, the others who spoke at the rally include Rakal Dasgupta, president, All India Railwaymen Federation, Guman Singh and Bhatnagar of the National Federation of Indian Railwaymen, M Krishnan, secretary general, Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers, RN Parashar, secretary general, National Federation of Postal Employees, D Theagarjan, Federation of National Postal Organisations, Sreekumar and Pahak of All India Defence Employees Federation, Srinivasan of the Indian National Defence Workers Federation, Harbhajan Singh Sidhu, general secretary, HMS and many others. It was decided that the Railway and Defence Federation will take the strike ballot in the month of October, 2015.  More than a lakh of workers participated in the rally.  The copies of the resolution were handed over to the Speaker, Lok Sabha and to the prime minister by a delegation of the National Joint Council of Action.

RESOLUTION

This massive congregation of the representatives of central government employees has decided to commence an indefinite strike action from November 23, 2015 from 6 am, having failed to elicit any positive response from the government in settlement of the 10-point charter of demands submitted months back. It was also decided that the railways and defence organisations will conduct the strike ballot as per the provision of the Industrial Disputes Act and Recognition Rules before commencing the strike from November 23, 2015.

The massive gathering adopted the resolution unanimously exhorting the central government employees to prepare for the eventual strike action in all earnestness and make it a historic one.

The meeting congratulates the employees for forging exemplary unity and carrying out various programmes chalked out by the National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) after the national convention on December 11, 2014. Even though the government was compelled to set up the 7th CPC on account of the sanctions generated through the action programmes, it has refused to grant interim relief and merger of DA and excluded the Gramin Dak Sewaks of the Postal Department from the ambit of the 7th CPC.

It is a matter of regret that in spite of public admission of non-privatisation of Indian Railways by the prime minister and assurance of minister of railways on various occasions, including in parliament, Dr Deb Roy Committee had submitted a report which is a clear roadmap for privatisation of the Indian Railways. 

The meeting noted that the government has purposely ensured the closure of Joint Consultative  Machinery, the negotiating forum set up in 1966 for central government employees to discuss and bring about settlement of their demands.

The meeting chaired by secretary (personnel) on February 25,  2015  did not bring about settlement on any single issue of the charter of demands.

The meeting unanimously decided to demand before the government to convene the meeting of National Council, JCM immediately and settle the following charter of demands, if at all it wants to avoid confrontation with its own employees.

CHARTER OF DEMANDS:

 1.                 Effect wage revision of the central government employees from January 1, 2014, accepting the memorandum of the Staff Side JCM; ensure five-year wage revision in future; grant interim relief and merger of 100 per cent of DA. Ensure submission of the 7th CPC report within the stipulated time frame of 18 months; include the Grameen Dak Sewaks within the ambit of the 7th CPC.  Settle all anomalies of the 6th CPC.

2.                 No privatisation, PPP or FDI in Railways and Defence Establishments and no corporatisation of postal services.

3.        No Ban on recruitment/on creation of post.

4.                 Scrap PFRDA Act and re-introduce the defined benefit statutory pension scheme.

5.                 No outsourcing; contractorisation, privatisation of governmental  functions; withdraw the proposed move to close down the printing presses; the publication, form store and stationery departments and medical stores depots; regularise the existing daily rated/casual and contract workers and absorption of trained apprentices.

6.                 Revive the JCM functioning at all levels as an effective negotiating forum for settlement of the demands of the CGEs.

7.                 Remove the arbitrary ceiling on compassionate appointments.

8.                 No labour reforms which are inimical to the interests of the workers.

9.                 Remove the ceiling on payment of bonus.

10.            Ensure five promotions in the service career.

The meeting authorised the National JCA to take appropriate and necessary steps needed to make the indefinite strike beginning from November 23, 2015 an unprecedented and grand success.