CLOSE THE RANKS AND MARCH AHEAD !! MAKE THE MASS DHARNA ON 07-11-2016 & MARCH TO PARLIAMENT ON 15-12-2016 A GRAND SUCCESS

Dear Comrades,

The indefinite strike call from 11^th July 2016 given by the National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) was deferred on the solemn assurance of the Government of India through the senior cabinet Ministers Sri.Rajnath Singh, the Home Minister, Sri. Arun Jaitlee, the Finance Minister and Sri. Suresh Prabhu, the Railway Minister. The assurance was given to the entire nation through a press release, on the wake of strike notice by the NJCA, representing the entirety of Central Government employees protesting against the negative recommendations made by the 7^th CPC. The assurance was to revisit the issues of fitment formula and minimum wage by referring to a High level Committee.

Though the stipulated time of four months is nearing completion, no serious attempt to fulfill the assurances given was made, though a Committee under the chairmanship of Sri. P.K. Das, Additional Secretary (Expenditure) has been formed for this purpose met the Staff Side (JCM) on 24-10-2016. No serious discussions were held and the Committee is just whiling away the time without any purposeful outcome on the issues raised by the NJCA. Recently Sri. Shiva Gopal Mishra, the Staff Side Secretary wrote a letter to the Finance Minister expressing the anguish over the non-seriousness of the Government on the vital issues relating to the recommendation of the 7^th CPC raised by the Staff Side.

The Allowance Committee in its meeting held on 25-10-16 simply heard the Staff Side on the demand of the restoration of the allowances. No commitment was given. The demands raised by the NJCA including the demand to drop the new pension scheme are still untouched by the Government. The commitment given by the Finance Minister on the 1^st option on the pension parity has not been implemented. On the other hand, the most retrograde orders on MACP benchmark and hierarchy was issued without consulting the JCM Staff Side. Order abolishing the interest free advances including the Festival Advance was issued to the detriment of the large sections of the Central Government employees.

In this backdrop the National Secretariat meeting of the Confederation was held at New Delhi on 30-09-16 and viewed the developments with grave concern and decided to protest the total negative and indifferent attitude of the NDA Government towards the genuine demands of the Central Government employees. As resolved in the National Conference of the Confederation, the National Secretariat has decided to launch strong protest action against not honouring the assurances given by the Cabinet Ministers till date. All the Confederation units throughout the country on 20-10-16 held the first phase of protest by holding massive lunch-hour demonstrations and sent the resolutions along with the 20-point charter of demands.

The second phase of the programme is to conduct massive dharna at all State Capitals and important cities on 7^th November 2016. Further intensifying the protest the Confederation has given a call to march to Parliament with more than 20000 Central Government employees on 15-12-2016. Joint strike action at a later date with all the like-minded organisations is also not ruled out.

There may be respite in the fight for justice. The struggle is differed with a deep sense of respect on the democratic institutional mechanism of this great country. We have to take up that struggle where we have left and move forward to get justice to all the Central Government employees by throwing away the negative and retrograde recommendations of the 7^th CPC and making the Government wake up to our long pending demands. Confederation has taken up that task and mobilizing the Central Government employees. It is our duty to join and make that task a great success. Close the ranks and march ahead!

OUR STRUGGLE ZINABAD – CONFEDERATION ZINDABAD