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The Joint Council of Action of the Central Government Employees Organisations congratulates the Central Government employees working in the Railways, Defence(Civilian), Income Tax , Postal Employees, Audit & Accounts, Central Secretariat and other affiliates of the Confederation of the Central Government Employees for showing massive unity in the course of sustained struggle and also while serving the strike notice on 7^th February, 2006.
The JCA expresses its satisfaction on the Government’s decision to appoint the VI CPC and also for agreeing to consult the Staff Side on the Terms of Reference of the Commission.

The JCA also notes that the Official Side has agreed to refer the demand for the payment of Interim Relief in cash to the Government and the quantum of Relief being computed on the formula adopted by the V CPC for wage fixation of the Central Government employees.

All the 20 demands were discussed and the conclusions reached thereon are in the enclosed statement.

The Official Side also referred the decision taken by the Ministry of Railways to appoint a Commission under the Chairmanship of a High Court Judge to review working hours of the Running staff and also appointment of a Committee under the Chairmanship of a retired General Manager to improve promotional prospects of Group `D’ staff on the Indian Railways.

The Official Side agreed that on receipt of information from the Railway Ministry, they would examine the issue for further instructions to other ministries for similar action.

Keeping in view the response of the Government and also taking into account the agreements reached on various issues including discussion on the implementation of pending arbitration awards with the Staff Side, it was decided that it would be appropriate to defer the strike scheduled to commence from 6.00 a.m. of 1^st March, 2006 to give more time to the Government to take a final decision on the pending demands.

The JCA also decides to meet after two months to review the progress to take appropriate action in the matter for the settlement of pending demands.

The settlement reached on the 20-point Charter of Demands should be explained to the workers all over the country.

Forwarded to all Constituent Organisations of National Council(JCM) for information.

Decision

The Government has agreed to set up the VI CPC very soon. The Terms of Reference will be discussed with the Staff Side. The demand for Interim Relief in cash on the basis of the V CPC formulation for fixation of minimum wage on the basis of increase in per capita Net National Product(NPP) would be referred to the Government for a decision

Decision

3. Withdraw downsizing schemes, stop surrendering of posts, stop outsourcing of activities, lift ban on recruitment and fill all vacancies –

Decision

Instructions will be issued to all Secretaries to implement the directive of the Cabinet Secretary to consult the Staff Side before downsizing, outsourcing and privatisation are implemented.

Decision

The Staff Side will submit a detailed note containing their objection of the scheme for further discussions.

5. Implement the agreement(signed on 11^th September, 1997) for the rectification of V

Decision

The V CPC anomalies on which disagreements are recorded will be referred to the mutually agreed Arbitrator.

6. (a) Grant 50% merger of D.A. to the Gramin Dak Sewaks, provide social security benefit and concede their demand for consideration of their pay scales and service conditions by the VI CPC.

Decision

The D.A. merger in respect of Gramin Dak Sewakas will be reviewed. The question of inclusion of Gramin Dak Sewaks in the purview of VI CPC will be taken up at the time of finalisation of the Terms of References.

(b) Increase the allowances, including Hourly Rate of Incentive Bonus to the Workshop staff and Special Compensatory(Hill) Allowances etc. consequent on merger of 50% D.A. with Basic Pay.

The Finance Ministry will consider the issue from the stand point that all allowances other than the three mentioned in the original order of the Government will have to be computed with reference to Pay plus merged portion of D.A.

7. Grant accumulation and encashment of 300 days’ E.L. for the Defence and other

Decision

9. Remove ceiling of 5% quota in respect of compassionate ground appointment.

Decision

Schedule of the meetings will be adhered to as also other provisions in the JCM Scheme.

11. Implement pending Arbitration Awards on H.R.A. arrears, pay scales of Accounts & Audit, Night Duty Allowance etc.

Decision

All the pending 16 Arbitration Awards, including the 8 Awards referred to the Parliament for rejection would be discussed with the Staff Side with a view to implementing them with agreed modification.

12. Implement the CAT decision on restructuring of the Central Secretariat cadre

Decision

A meeting to resolve the issue with the Additional Secretary(Pension) will be held soon.

13. Implement agreement of 11^th September, 1997 and grant pay scale of Rs.5,000-8000 to the Master Craftsman of the Defence Establishment

Decision

The Defence Ministry has set up a Committee with the representatives of three Federations to take an expeditious action in the matter .

14. Count Casual Labour(temporary status) service in full for all purposes, including pension and other retirement benefits.
Decision

The grant of full Pension will be considered by the Government to all those who are afforded with temporary status, the practice of taking away the benefit of temporary status employees on regularisation will also be reviewed by the Government.

15. Create additional posts for the maintenance of new assets created and new services introduced without imposing any restrictions

It was agreed that the new assets created should be properly maintained and protected. The Government will relax conditions as and when the matter is taken up with the Committee of Secretaries.

For operational and safety need, additional staff for additional workload will be considered by the Secretaries Committee.

Both the Federations of Railways in no uncertain terms have demanded to scrap the report. The Railways will take a decision on the Report of the Running Allowance Committee-2002 soon.

(b) Reject Kelkar Committee recommendations on Ordnance Factories etc. and Income Tax department

The Ministry of Defence will have discussions with the Federations before it is taken up for implementation. The Department of Revenue will be asked to discuss the Kelkar Committee Report pertaining to the Income Tax Department with the Staff representatives.

17. Review HOER, reduce duty hours of the Running staff and other Safety categories staff in the Railways
Decision

A Committee headed by an High Court Judge will be set up by the Railways to go into the matter.

18. Grant Cadre Restructuring and upgradation of left out categories in the Railways

The Railways will settle the issue for which a Committee has already been set up.

19. Remove discrimination amongst the Central Government employees working in the N.E. region by granting Special Duty Allowance to all Group `C’ & `D’ employees

20. Improve Career opportunities of the Group `D’ employees in the Railways

For the career prospects of Group `D’ employees of the Railways, a Committee to be constituted under the Chairmanship of a retired General Manager has been decided. On receipt of the report of the said Committee, the question of extending the benefit to other Civilian employees of other Ministries will be considered.

The Chief Labour Commissioner(Central) has intimated that he will hold conciliation proceedings Under Section 12(1) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 with a view to bring out an amicably settlement on the demands on 14^th February, 2006 at 11.00 a.m. in his office at Shram Shakti Bhawan, Ministry of Labour, Rafi Marg, New Delhi. Only National Federations have been invited on behalf of unions who had served strike notice.

The meeting of the Standing Committee of National Council (JCM) will commence on 15^th February, 2006 from 11.00 a.m. at North Block, New Delhi. This is for your information.

Any further development will be intimated to you after the meeting on 15^th February.

The Joint Council of Action of the Central Government Employees Organisations met today, i.e. on 27^th January, 2006 and considered all seriousness of the appeal made by the Cabinet Secretary to postpone the proposed strike of the Central Government employees, scheduled on 1^st March, 2006, by a month.

The Joint Council of Action considered in depth and concluded that the proposal is unacceptable and re-affirmed the scheduled action of General and Indefinite Strike from 6.00 of 1^st March, 2006.

The members of the Joint Council of Action felt that enough time had been given to the government, still more than a month is left in the commencement of strike.

The Joint Council of Action of the Central Government employees met on 15^th January, 2006 under the convenership of Shri J.P. Chaubey who is the Convener of the Council. The Action Committee in its meeting held on 5^th December, 2005 had decided that the industrial workers working in the Railways, Defence and other Civil establishments and elsewhere under the Government of India will take strike ballot during the period from 3^rd to 10^th January, 2006 to ascertain the opinion of the Central Government employees in respect of indefinite general strike.

In the Railways, the affiliated unions of All India Railwaymen's Federation and National Federation of Indian Railwaymen took strike ballot, in which out of 12.17 lakh Group `C’ & `D’ employees on roll, 10.68 lakh voted in favour of strike. The percentage in favour of strike was 96.25. In the Production Units of Defence and other establishments also strike ballot was taken during this period and out of 4 lakh employees, 3.5 lakh employees participated and 96% voted in favour of strike. The employees working in the Railways and Defence are governed by the Industrial Disputes Act and it was mandatory for them to organise strike ballot.

In respect of other Central Government employees, All India Railwaymen's Federation, National Federation of Indian Railwaymen, All India Defence Employees Federation, Indian National Defence Workers’ Federation, Income Tax Employees Federation, National Federation of Postal Employees, Federation of National Postal Organisation, All India Audit & Accounts Association, Central Secretariat Non-Gazetted Employees’ Association, Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers, Bhartiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh, have also decided in their respective forum in favour of indefinite general strike.

Since there has been no response from the government for a negotiated settlement in spite of repeated requests made by the Secretary(Staff Side), National Council(JCM) and also by the Convener of the Joint Council of Action, the Action Committee has no alternative, but to fix up the date of strike. It was decided that the strike notice should be served on 7^th February, 2006 by all the affiliated unions of the Constituent Organisations of National Council(JCM) and the strike should commence from 1^st March, 2006 at 6.00 a.m.

The JCA is conscious that the strike in the above referred important establishments will cause great hardship to the travelling public and the people of the country, but the responsibility for forcing the Central Government employees for taking decision to go on indefinite general strike rests with the Government of India.

The JCA congratulates the Central Government employees for their massive support for strike and also for the determination to continue sustained struggle and indefinite strike against the unwilling government to discuss the reasonable demands of the Central Government employees contained in the “20-point Charter of Demands” already submitted to the Prime Minister, Finance Minister and the Cabinet Secretary.

The JCA also thanks the Central Trade Unions for raising the issue “Appointment of the VI CPC” in the pre-Budget discussion held with the Finance Minister on 12^th January, 2006.

The JCA, however, decides that during the period from 29^th January, 2006, massive mobilisation should take place and “All India Protest Day” should be observed on 23^rd February, 2006 by holding meetings, demonstrations, procession etc. and also dharnas, rallies etc.

It was further, decided that the strike notice should be served on 7^th February, 2006 by the respective unions with massive participation of employees of various departments in front of the offices of the controlling authorities on whom strike notices will be submitted.

The JCA further decides that the leadership should keep a watch on the situation and issue necessary directives for intensifying the movement and also to discuss other contingencies which may arise hereinafter so that the Constituent Organisations of National Council(JCM) are kept aware and give necessary guidance and direction for a successful struggle and total indefinite strike.

The JCA appeals to all the Central Trade Unions of the country to extend their solidarity and support in mobilising the strike.

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As notified, the Joint Council of Action of Constituent Organisations of National Council(JCM) met on 29^th October, 2005 in New Delhi, under the convenership of Com. J.P. Chaubey, in which the following members were present:-

1. S/Shri M. Raghavaiah, NFIR

2. “ S.K. Vyas, Confederation

3. “ A.B. Sen, Confederation

4. “ Harbhajan Singh, NRMU/AIRF

5. “ Gurdiyal Singh, INDWF

6. “ Pardeep Kumar, INDWF

7. “ T. Chandran, Railway Board

8. “ C. Srikumar, AIDEF

9. “ J.S. Sharma, AIDEF

10. “ Guman Singh, NFIR

11. “ Shiv Gopal Mishra, AIRF

12. “ C.C. Pillai, NFPE

13. “ M.S. Raja, Audit & Accounts

In the meeting the following decisions were taken:-

Strike ballot should be taken during the period from 3^rd to 10^th January, 2006 and all the Constituent Organisations of National Council(JCM) were directed to take strike ballot after compliance with the provisions contained in their respective constitutions;

Subject to strike ballot decision favouring strike, indefinite general strike shall take place in February, 2006 during the Budget session;

The JCA will meet on 15^th January, 2006 at 3 p.m. for deciding the date for serving indefinite general strike notice and also the date for indefinite general strike.

It was decided that the JCA will prepare a case explaining the reasons for which the Central Government employees were compelled to organise indefinite general strike for the appreciation of the government, public and print and electronic media.

Guidelines for Strike Ballot
For the guidance of the unions affiliated to AIRF, the following points are being made which should be kept in view:-

(i) Booth for strike ballot should be placed at a convenient place so that the workers are able to cast their vote without any delay.

(ii) Balloting and counting of strike ballot should be done in the presence of a prominent person, already nominated and the result should be collected quickly by the Divisional Secretary/Divisional Coordinator/Branch Secretary and the same should be sent to the General Secretary of the union who in turn will inform AIRF office.

(iii) All this process will take place between the period from 3^rd to 8^th January, 2006 so that the results are available in the Federation’s office by 10^th or 11^th January, 2006 for consideration of the Federation and the J.C.A.

(iv) The meeting of the Standing Committee of AIRF consisting Federation’s office bearers and General Secretaries of the AIRF’s affiliated unions will take place in the AIRF office on 14^th January, 2006 from 12.00 hrs. to consider the results received from the affiliated unions.

(v) The Joint Action Committee will also meet on 15^th January, 2005 in the office of NFIR when after consideration of the results and report of the Constituent Organisations of the NC/JCM, date for strike as well as serving the strike notice etc. will be decided.

(vi) The General Secretary may supplement these suggestions for the convenience of the Branches and Union cadre who will be participating in this exercise for the first time and for this reason, these suggestions are being sent to you.

Any other information, required, can be obtained on telephone from the General Secretary, AIRF or from the other senior office bearers of the federation who are available.

Name of the Union : Name of the Union
Registration No. of the Union : Registration No. of the Union

Name of Employee                                     :
Designation                                                 :
Place of Work                                              :
I have gone through the 17-point                :           I have gone through the 17-point
Charter of Demands and exercise my                      Charter of Demands and exercise my
opinion freely                                                             opinion freely
Yes                             No                              :           Yes                             No

*Mark Tick(√) on `Yes’ or `No’ : *Mark Tick(√) on `Yes’ or `No’
to express opinion to express opinion

3. Withdraw downsizing schemes, stop surrendering of posts, stop outsourcing of activities, lift ban on recruitment

5. Implement the agreement(signed on 11^th September, 1997) for the rectification of V CPC anomalies and

6. (a) Grant 50% merger of D.A. to the Gramin Dak Sewaks, provide social security benefit and concede

their demand for consideration of their pay scales and service conditions by the VI CPC.

(b) Increase the allowances, including Hourly Rate of Incentive Bonus to the Workshop staff and Special

Compensatory(Hill) Allowances etc. consequent on merger of 50% D.A. with Basic Pay.

7. Grant accumulation and encashment of 300 days’ E.L. for the Defence and other industrial workers.

11. Implement pending Arbitration Awards on H.R.A. arrears, pay scales of Accounts & Audit, Night Duty

Allowance etc.
12.Implement the CAT decision on restructuring of the Central Secretariat cadre.

13. Implement agreement of 11^th September, 1997 and grant pay scale of Rs.5,000-8000 to the Master

14. Count Casual Labour(temporary status) service in full for all purposes, including pension and other retirement benefits.

15. Create additional posts for the maintenance of new assets created and new services introduced without imposing any restrictions.

17.Review HOER, reduce duty hours of the Running staff and other Safety categories staff in the Railways.

18.Grand Cadre Restructuring and upgradation of left out categories in the Railways.

19.Remove discrimination amongst the Central Government employees working in the N.E. region by granting