Implementation of 7th CPC pension revision: Clarification on the points raised by banks

Implementation of 7th CPC pension revision: Clarification on the points raised by banks in the meeting held on 22.08.2016

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
DEPARTMENT OF EXPENDITURE
CENTRAL PENSION ACCOUNTING OFFICE
TRIKOOT-II, BHIKAJI CAMA PLACE,
NEW DELHI-110066

CPAO/IT&Tech/7th CPC (Clarification)/2016-17

Dated: 24th Aug, 2016

Clarification on the points raised by banks in the meeting held on 22.08.2016

1	Applicability to absorbees	Para 7 (a) of the OM No. 38/37/2016-P&PW (A) (ii) dated-04.08.2016 issued by DP&PW stipulates that “Where the Government servants on permanent absorption in Public Sector Undertakings/ Autonomous Bodies continue to draw pension separately from the Government, the pension of such absorbees will be updated in terms of these orders. In cases where the Government servants have drawn one time lump sum terminal benefits equal to 100% of their pensions and have become entitled to the restoration of one-third commuted portion of pension as per the instructions issued by this Department from time to time, their cases will not be covered by these orders. Orders for regulating pension of such pensioners will be issued separately”.
2	Applicability of family pensions for absorbees	Para 7 (b) of the OM No. 38/37/2016-P&PW (A) (ii) dated-04.08.2016 issued by opapw stipulates that “In cases where, on permanent absorption in public sector I undertakings/ autonomous bodies, the terms of absorption and/or the rules permit grant of family pension under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 or the corresponding rules applicable to Railway employees/ members of All India Services, the family pension being drawn by family pensioners will be updated in accordance with these orders."
3	List of absorbees to be provided on banks login.	List has been uploaded on banks login by NIC
4	Interpretation of para 6 of OM dated 04.08.2016 on dearness relief to employed/ re-employed pensioner.	It has been clarified by Director, DP&PW that “As is clear from para 7(a) of the OM dated 04.08.2016, the pension of those pensioners who are re-employed and were not drawing dearness relief before 01.01.2016, is also required to be revised w.e.f. 01.01.2016 in terms of the said oM. However, dearness relief on revised pension will not be admissible during the period of re-employment”.
5	Format of reporting through e-scrolls of 7th CPC	It has already been mentioned in para 3 of CPAOs OM No. CPAO/lT&Tech/Revision (7030/19 Vol-III/2015-16/109 dated-11th August, 2016 that “after paying the revised pension and arrears, banks have to flag the revised cases in the Format-A of e-Scrolls to be submitted to CPAO so that revised cases may be identified at CPAO. To enable the banks for flagging of such cases, necessary modifications have been made in the Format-A of e-Scroll by changing the heading of column -18 to “Applicable Pay Commission”. Under this column, banks have to fill “7” for the cases which have been revised under 7th CPC by them”. Further, in the Column No. 27 of Format-F in e-scroll titled “Pay Commission" 7th CPC may be incorporated and sent alongwith Format-A. Each CPPC must attach Format-F with each e-scroll.
6	Who would do Ex-gratia payment revision?	The DP&PW oM No.38/37/2016-P&PW (A) (ii), dated 04.08.2016 is meant for revision of pension only of pre-2016 pensioners/family pensioners for which banks have been authorized to revise the pensions and make payment accordingly. Revision of ex-gratia payment is to be dealt with in accordance with para 12.1 of DP&PW oM No. 38/37/2016-P&PW (A) (i), dated 04.08.2016. The ex-gratia revision cases are required to be dealt with by the Department concerned and not by banks
7	Specific case of the Chief Election Commissioner	In this context para 2.3 of DP&PW OM No. 38/37/2016-P&PW (A) (ii), dated-04.08.2016 clearly states that these orders do not apply to the retired High Court and Supreme Court Judges and other Constitutional/ Statutory Authorities whose pension etc. is governed by separate rules/orders.
8	How to deal with cases where pension is being paid on 5th CPC rates.	Following categories:-i) Employees suspended before 2006 and also retired before 01.01.2006. ii) Employees suspended before 2006 but retired after 01.01.2006. iii) Employees who retired before 2006 and against whom departmental/judicial proceedings were pending at the time of retirement. were allowed to draw provisional pension in the pre-2006 pay scales. Later on DP&PW vide 38/6/2010-P&PW (A)(pt) dated18.03.2013 had decided to revise all such cases of provisional pensions in terms of their OM No. 38/37/08-P&PW (A) dated-01.09.2008. As such these cases may be referred to the concerned Ministry/Department for revising them first as per 6th CPC before they are revised under 7th CPC.
9	Applicability of 7th CPC revisions to various categories of pensioners.	As per para 2.1 of DP&PW OM No.38/37/2016-P&PW(A) (ii) dated-4th August, 2016, “These orders shall apply to all pensioners/family pensioners who were drawing pension/family pension before 1.1.2016 under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972, Central Civil Services (Extraordinary Pension) Rules and the corresponding rules applicable to Railway pensioners and pensioners of All India Services, including officers of the Indian Civil Service retired from service on or after 1.1.1973. A pensioner/ family pensioner who became entitled to pension/ family pension with effect from 01.01.2016 consequent on retirement/death of Government servant on 31.12.2015, would also be covered by these orders”.The categories of pensioners further clarified by Director, DP&PW to SBI is as under:- i) The pension of Defence Civilian Pensioners, Postal and Telecom Pensioners under CDA category is regulated by CCS (Pension) Rules. These pensioners are, therefore, eligible for revision of pension under OM dated 4.8.16. However the absorbee pensioners of BSNL/MTNL who are getting pension under IDA category are not covered by this OM. The absorbee pensioners who had taken lump-sum in lieu of their monthly pension and are getting only one-third restored pension are also not covered by this OM. ii) The State Government pensioners are not eligible for revision of pension under this OM. However the All India Service officers and employees retired from CAG/AGs/Audit & Accounts Departments in States are covered under this OM.
10	Applicability of Additional Pension on attaining the age of 65 years to the pensioners of UT Chandigarh on the pattern of Punjab State Government	A clarification has been sought from IS (UT), MHA and DP&PW Central Government instructions allow additional pension only on attaining age of 80 years and above. Therefore, the additional payment on attaining the age of 65 years in case of UT Chandigarh pensioners banks should not grant additional pension on attaining the age of 65 years instead of 80 years until a clarification regarding applicability is received.
11	Contact Official in CPAO for 7th CPC clarification	Sl. No. Name & Designation Contact No. 1 Sh. Davinder Kumar, TD (NIC) 011-26175099 Mob. No. 9354806172 kumardavender[@]nic.in 2. Sh. Vijay Singh, Sr. AO (IT & Tech) 011-26166758 vijay.cpao[@]gmail.com 3. Sh. S.P. Sharma, Consultant Toll free - 1800117788 Mob. No.8010474683

http://cpao.nic.in/pdf/clarification_raiseedby_banks22082016.pdf

Postal Pensioners Programme of Action on Common and Sectional Demands of Pensioners

Postal Pensioners Programme of Action on Common and Sectional Demands of Pensioners!

AIPRPA CWC RESOLVES TO HOLD ITS NATIONWIDE PROGRAMME OF ACTION ON THE CHARTER OF DEMANDS OF PENSIONERS

Both Common & Postal Sectional!

The CWC of AIPRPA held at Chennai has resolved to organise a nationwide Programme of Action by the Postal & RMS Pensioners to highlight the important issues of Pensioners as well as peculiar major issues of Postal Pensioners before the Central Government. The Charter of Demands and the Programme of Action finalized by the Central Working Committee is as follows:

Postal Pensioners Sectional Charter

AIPRPA shall undertake an All India Programme of Action to highlight the basic common issues of Pensioners and important sectional issues of Postal Pensioners viz.,

(a) Grant of Universal pension of minimum 3000/- to all Senior Citizens of India irrespective of the fact that they had worked in private sector or unorganized sectors as being demanded by the Central TUs.
(b) Scrap NPS to all CG Employees recruited from 1.1.2004 and bring them all under Defined Pension Scheme.

(c) Grant of Full Parity in Pension between the past, present and future pensioners akin to OROP granted to Pensioners of Armed Forces.

(d) Accept the recommendation of Option Number 1 given by the 7th CPC for pension Refixation by notionally adding the number of increments earned by the pensioner in the pre-revised scale of pay from which he/she had retired as the same is feasible by records either directly or by reconstruction.

(e) Correct the recommendation by changing the “nearest level” to “next level” in fixing the stages after each annual increment in the Pay Matrix for the employees (like 6th CPC formula) and Link the pension re-fixation under Option Number 2 with the Matrix to the next level on par with the employees.

(f) Grant of Refixation of Pension on the basis of the scale of pay of the cadre / post from which the Pre-2016 Pensioners had retired instead of only on the basis of the replacement scales to end the injustice being done to the retirees belonging to the cadres of Postman, IPOs, ASPOs etc in the Department of Posts.

(g) Ending the injustice perpetrated to HSG-1 Pre-2006 Pensioners by granting the benefit of 4600 GP as granted to serving employees from 1.1.2006 by accepting that the scale is only a replacement scale in the backdrop of feeder cadre is allotted the 4200 GP scale by 6th CPC.

(h) Issue of orders as agreed by the Department and also as ordered by the Supreme Court for the grant of pension re-fixation for all Post-1.1.1996 Pensioners of Postman cadre with two advance increments.

(i) Grant of minimum pension by delinking the condition of 33 years of qualifying service to compulsorily retired employees also w.e.f 1.1.2006 as envisaged by the original orders of the Department of Pension & Pensioners Welfare.

(j) Enhance the Fixed Medical Allowance to 2000/- per month.

(k) Accept and implement the positive recommendations of 7th CPC without delay on extension of medical benefits to all Pensioners including the Postal Pensioners by (1) removing the unjust condition of Health Ministry to allow all Postal Pensioners into the CGHS without any discrimination; (2) granting reimbursement facilities of in-patient treatment to all Pensioners in non-CGHS areas on par with the serving employees of that area; (3) Merger of existing P&T dispensaries with CGHS without conditions; (4) Finalization of Medical-insurance schemes covering all non-CGHS pensioners to get cashless and hassle free medical treatment; and (5) Merger of different systems like CGHS, Railway and Defence Hospitals to create a centralized health system for better Medicare to all employees and pensioners.

(l) Revise the Pension by applying the orders for treating the training period as eligible service to get TBOP/BCR upgradations.

(m) Allot rent-free BSNL / MTNL land-line phone to all erstwhile P&T Pensioners without any condition on length of service as ordered by courts.

(n) Allot vacant Postal Staff Quarters not preferred by serving employees to willing Postal Pensioners on seniority basis instead of keeping the quarters vacant for long time.

Nationwide Programme of Action

(i) AIPRPA CHQ will write to the Chairman of the High Level Committee; Health Minister; and Finance Minister focusing the Charter of Demands immediately.

(ii) Demonstrations shall be held at all places by the AIPRPA on 19th September, 2016 and Memorandum will be forwarded to Health and Finance Ministers. (Draft Memorandum will be circulated to all through CHQ website)

(iii) Mass Dharna by Postal & RMS Pensioners on 21st October, 2016 to demand implementation of the Charter of Demands.

(iv) ‘Chalo Delhi’ by Postal & RMS Pensioners to conduct a ‘Mass Demonstration’ in front of Parliament on 21st February (Date will be subject to finalisation in consultation with NCCPA to synchronize with the National Convention against NPS proposed by NCCPA) and to submit the Memorandum to the Prime Minster of India.

We call upon our rank & file Districts and Divisions to take the call seriously and start hectic preparations for all the Programmes including “Chalo Delhi” Parliament Dharna! Without our active protest like the Pensioners of Armed Forces who got their OROP through struggles, no advancement can be expected from the Government.

Source : http://postalpensioners.blogspot.in/

OBC creamy layer income limit to be hiked to Rs 8 lakh per annum

OBC ‘creamy layer’ income limit to be hiked to Rs 8 lakh per annum

New Delhi: With a large number of vacancies in central government jobs meant for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) remaining unfilled for want of candidates, the central government is mulling relaxing the ‘creamy layer’ criterion by raising the income ceiling to Rs eight lakh annually.

27 per cent of seats in government jobs and educational institutions are reserved for OBCs provided the annual income of the family is up to Rs six lakh. Those who earn above that are referred to as the creamy layer and are not eligible for reservation. Raising the ceiling would result in a larger pool of candidates eligible for government jobs and seats in educational institutions.

The Social Justice Ministry is working on a proposal to raise the annual income ceiling of OBCs to Rs 8 lakh, according to official sources.

A Cabinet note is likely to be moved in this regard soon, they said.

When contacted National Comission for Backward Classes (NCBC) Member Ashok Saini told PTI that the panel had recommended more than doubling the income ceiling to Rs 15 lakh.

“Even two decades after reservation (was introduced), out of 27 per allocated quota, it has been seen that only 12-15 per get utilised. As per our analysis, the major reason behind this is the ceiling on annual income,” Saini said.

As per Mandal Comission report, in 1980 OBCs constituted 52 per cent of India’s population. The panel’s report was based on the 1931 census. The National Sample Survey Organisation had in 2006 pegged the OBC population at 41 per cent.

PTI

7th Pay Commission – Aggrieved CG Employees pin hope in meeting between Committee of Secretaries and NJAC on Sept 1

7th Pay Commission – Aggrieved CG Employees pin hope in meeting – The leading employee union, National Joint Council of Action, headed by Shiv Gopal Mishra, has been invited in the meeting

Committee of Secretaries will hold their second meeting regarding the resolution of anomalies in the implementation of 7th Pay Commission. The meeting is scheduled on September 1.

The leading employee union, National Joint Council of Action, headed by Shiv Gopal Mishra, has been invited in the meeting. Aggrieved central government employees pin their hope in the outcome of the meeting. However, many among them have turned increasingly pessimistic, after reports floated earlier in the week stating that the government would not be increasing the minimum salary which has been fixed as Rs 18,000.

Shiv Gopal Mishra is expected to pitch the demands of the government employees before the high-powered committee. As of now, it is not clear whether government would pitch for a compromise with the union. However, the committee members are scheduled to hear the grievances of the employees as raised by the Unions.

One of the foremost demands raised by NJAC is that the government should use 3.68 fitment factor, instead of 2.57 in calculating the minimum salary, as well as the hike in allowances. The minimum salary of government employees as per 6th Pay Commission was Rs 7,000. This was increased by the Justice AK Mathur led panel to Rs 18,000, using the 2.57 fitment factor. If the 3.68 fitment factor would be applied, the entry-level pay would be hiked to Rs 26,000.

The 7th Pay Commission report prepared by Justice (Retd) AK Mathur had suggested the abolition of 51 out of the 194 existing allowances. A total of 27 allowances were subsumed.

Apart from the civilian employees, the armed forces have also marked their objection as the pay panel has refrained from incorporating their demand related to the creation of a uniform pay matrix.

The Defence Pay Matrix has only 24 pay levels, on the other hand, their bureaucratic counterparts enjoy 40 pay levels. Due to this, the armed forces personnel receive less opportunity of salary hikes. Their income gets stagnated at certain points, and even after retirement, they end up drawing Rs 20,000 less as pension, as compared to their civilian counterpart. Similarly, the demand to include Tier-II employees among beneficiaries in the technical allowance has not been paid heed.

The all-important meeting scheduled by the government comes a day before the pan-India strike called by several employee unions across organized sectors against the recommendations of the 7th pay commission.

Source: India.com

FinMin seeks status report on pay revision talks from public sector banks

FinMin seeks status report on pay revision talks from public sector banks

New Delhi: Keen to close pay negotiations in public sector banks by November 1, 2017, the Finance Ministry has asked the lenders to present status report on salary hike talks with their employee unions.

The chief executives of PSBs have been asked to intimate the ministry about “the present status/action taken by them so as to conclude the negotiations/next wage settlement by the effective date i.e November 1, 2017 positively”.

In January, the PSBs were asked to initiate the process of negotiations with the employees and conclude it prior to the effective date of November 1, 2017.

The communication to PSBs regarding wages comes in the backdrop of banks union threatening to join the strike called by trade unions on September 2 to protest against what they call anti-people policies of the government.

The wage revision of public sector bank employees has been due since November 2012. In the last wage negotiation between PSU banks employee unions and bank management, Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) had settled at 15 per cent hike.

There are 27 public sector banks in the country with a combined employee strength of about eight lakh. There are about 50,000 branches of these banks across the country.

Recently, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had said all public sector banks tend to over-pay at the bottom but under-pay their top executives, even as he rued, albeit jokingly, himself being “under-paid”.

PTI