e-mail: fmo
Nov. 24, 2014
Sri Arun Jaitley,
Union Finance Minister,
Govt. of India,
North Block, Raisina Hill,
New Delhi-110011
Re: Our letter No. FORSE/ FM/ 0114 dated June 07, 2014 (copy enclosed)
Hon'ble Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Ji,
Your following statement published in the Press is a very welcome statement : “.. does not favour burdening the salaried and middle class with more taxes but would go after the evaders in widening the net. In fact, .... would encourage more money being put in the pockets of tax payers that will lead to spending and collection of more indirect taxes.”. But at the same time, the non-pensioned retirees appears to have been forgotten. On one side income from their investment has come down (they do not get any regular income/pension) on the other side, the cost of living has gone up on account of increase of prices since they retired (some of them 15 or even 20 years back) and higher medical expenditure due to increased medical attention required due to old age ailments. We had already conveyed our difficulties due to silence of SAIL and the Govt in the above referred letter and requested you to take remedial measures. We present a brief of our
This more so in case of pre-2007 retirees of industrial PSUs (many in the agegroup of 70s and 80s) who are not getting any pension/ regular income unlike retirees of other non-industrial PSUs or Govt retirees both of whom get compensated for the increases in cost of living by increased DA. It is also pertinent to point out that these pre-2007 retirees are those who had joined the heavy industries during 1950s and 60s when such industries were being established as part of 1st industrial revolution. You would agree that they deserved to be helped to live with dignity and with full medical attention.
We appeal to you to kindly introduce certain schemes which will provide them a regular income of minimum Rs.5000 pm which would give lot of relief to them at twilight of their life. Perhaps the profit earning PSUs can also contribute some portion similar to the CSR so that the whole burden is not on Govt. I request you to please take some time out of your busy schedule to meet us (with about 10 days advance intimation) so that we can explain our case.
--
Dr.V.N.Sharma, Chairman
Federation of Retired SAIL Employees
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SPEEDPOST
No. FORSE/ FM/ 0114
June 07, 2014
Sri Arun Jaitley,
Union Finance Minister,
Govt. of India,
North Block, Raisina Hill,
New Delhi-110011
Sub: Request for creation of schemes for Pioneer & Early SAIL Retirees in distress.
Hon’ble Arun Jaitley Ji,
Kindly accept our heartiest congratulations on your taking over as the Finance Minister of the India Union. We hope India will successfully be scaling newer heights, in the years to come, under your strong and able leadership of the Finance Dept.
1. We, the Pioneer & Early Retired Employees of SAIL and Public Sector Steel industries, retired before 2007 ie before implementation of 2nd Pay Revision for CPSEs, are in distressed condition.
2. Majority of these early retirees are those who had joined in 1950s & 60s in green-field steel plants which were being established in remote & under/non-developed areas under the 1st industrial revolution of the Indian Republic. The steel plants are now under SAIL, a Navaratna company
3. PROBLEMS.
(i) These pioneer retirees are now in the age group of 70s & 80s having retired in 1980s, 90s & before 2007. They are not covered by any pension scheme except EPS-95 for some post-95 retirees getting hardly around 1000/-.
(ii) Those who retired before 1998 (before implementation of 1st Pay Revision for CPSEs) at the age of 58 years. They were deprived of the earnings for two years & accumulation of CPF which would have multiplied in the last two years.
(iii) They retired in 80s, early 90s with a meagre sum of about Rs.90,000 by those in junior positions and about Rs. Three to Four lakhs by those in senior positions. Those who retired in late nineties from senior positions in SAIL or Steel PSUs got an amount around Rs. Five to Seven Lakhs.
(iv) They are struggling to make both ends meet with meager returns of 9% on the retirement benefits they received then. Apart from this, the medical expenses due to age-related problems at the age of 70s & 80s beyond the reimbursable limit (which is meager) is adding to their burden.
(v) Quoting from Journey of a Steel Man (p. 29) by Late Dr. P.L. Agrawal, one of the former Chairmen of SAIL” my total accumulated money from SAIL on the account amounted to Rs. 3 lacs including Provident Fund (normal and voluntary contribution) and gratuity after 28 years’ service in October, 1984, …….God had been kind to me.”
(v) SCOPE, the pivotal organisation of PSUs, have also communicated to Govt vide their letter No: SCOPE-2011/DG/2278 dated Feb 21, 2011 their views including the need to take care of these retirees who do not get pension.
(vi) After several rounds of discussion and debate by 2nd Pay Revision Committee for CPSEs with Association of retirees, group of retirees, SCOPE, various Ministries and CPSEs it gave a recommendation & DPE issued various OMs to give effect to the recommendations including those dated 08th July 2009 and 20th July 2011 to CPSEs for ‘creation of a corpus for retired employees of SAIL with 1.5% of the PBT to take care of those retired before 2007.
(vii) SAIL refused to accept and implement the DPE OMs. In stead it has repeatedly been harping, including in the letters dated 3rd and 9th May 2014 through CPGRMS, on the long prevailing retirement and mediclaim benenefits given to its retired employees which has nothing to do with the OMs of DPE because they existed since the existance of SAIL.
(viii). Mediclaim. Every Retired Employee pays a part of the subscription for his Mediclaim Insurance. But the terms and conditions are decided by SAIL and the Insurance Company without involving the Retired Employees or their representatives in the negotiation, leading to an extremely negative terms and conditions of the Mediclaim policy under the agreement between SAIL and the Insurance company, like the low amount of coverage for both OPD and hospitalisation, and various tests, list of Cappings, important exclusions etc,, leading to misery though SAIL boast of its Healthcare mechanism for the retired employees. In reality it is a bad policy out and out and aged persons have to spend a lot out of their pockets.
(ix) All our communications to SAIL for a meeting to discuss the issues of post-retirement benefits including the enhancement in coverage and services under mediclaim insurance have met with a dead wall in last 5 years. No response, no acknowledgement is the end result.
4. SOLUTIONS
a) Such Retired SAIL Employees, perhaps a miniscule minority numbering in just over a lakh. They do not have the monetary strength or vitality to fight for redressal.
b) SAIL can easily create a corpus from PBT as suggested and by other means and this corpus will not be required perennially as these retirees are in twilight of their life being in 70s & 80s and will vanish gradually. The OMs are to be considered by SAIL as the commitment of the Govt. for the well - being of the Retired employee and senior citizens.
c) To advise SAIL to formulate and implement schemes for various types of relief to the Retirees and their spouse in line with the Govt. advice given in the form of DPE OMs for ‘creation of a corpus for retired employees of SAIL with 1.5% of the PBT’.
d) To permit SAIL to raise the limit in the OMs of DPE from 1.5% to 3% for formulating better schemes.
e) The contributions, foundation laid & hard work rendered by the pioneer retirees with no facilities in those remote areas have also helped SAIL to reach the level of Navaratna company. Since it has been earning profit since long based on which it is Navaratna now, funds is not a constraint. Unfortunately, the present set of top management cannot appreciate the contribution of these elders. All Oil companies, have introduced schemes.
5. OUR APPEAL
i. Government of India may urgently consider the following during the budget preparation (2014-15) and the years thereafter to help increase the financial income/ flow to SAIL retirees.
ii. Increase in the interest rate on Fixed Bank deposits for the Retirees.
iii. Transfer of unclaimed PF money lying with the SAIL Plants and Units to SAIL for creation of corpus as stated above vide OMs of DPE for the Retirees.
iv. Action to enhance the facilities for Senior Citizens in Hospitals, transport, public utility services by incorporating newer policies.
We hope to have explained the basics of the issues quite clearly yet we feel a meeting may be necessary to expedite action and getting your favourable decision on the problems facing the SAIL retirees. We will be pleased to provide any further details/ data required. It would not be out of place to reiterate that a good number of us are in our twilight years and we are not left with sufficient time to wait and watch for the policy formulation and implementation with ease. A response by e-mail or Phone will help us a lot.
With regards,
Yours sincerely,
(V.N.Sharma)
Chairman
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e-mail: jayant.sinha19@sansad.nic.in
FORSE/JS-MSF/0114
Nov.19, 2014
Shri Jayant Sinha
Minister of State for Finance,
Minister of State for Finance,
Govt of India,
North Block, Raisina Hill,
New Delhi-110011
Sub: Request to help us-the SAIL Retirees and Sr.
Citizens in getting us justice.
Honourable Shri Jayant Sinha,
Ours is an organisation of more than a lakh of the
retired employees of Steel Authority of India Ltd, a CPSE under the Ministry of
Steel. Most of our members are 70+ and 80+ age old- especially those retired
before 2007.
The ideals of the Govt as spelt out in the portals
of the Govt for Senior Citizen are follows: “Senior Citizens are a treasure to our society. They have worked hard
all these years for the development of the nation as well as the community.
They possess a vast experience in different walks of life. The youth of today
can gain from the experience of the senior citizens in taking the nation to
greater heights. At this age of their life, they need to be taken care of and
made to feel special.”
“The
National Council for Senior Citizens formed under the Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment should take care of promotion of physical and financial
security, health and independent and productive living and awareness generation
and community mobilization”.
Many Ministers and senior leaders have also been expressing consistently
such sentiments inside Parliament and out of it in favour of policy changes for
‘greater care’ of the Senior Citizens and the imperativeness to take care
urgently of their financial and medical need. One of the Honourable MP even
recently moved a Bill for Pension of Rs.5000 pm for those retired from
unorganised sector and private sector and the Bill was supported by many MPs
cutting across party line. This is a welcome change in the thinking of
representatives of the people for welfare of the less-privileged deserving and
aged citizens. Perhaps MPs were not aware of the fact that even the organised
sector of the Government being an arm of it, also does not provide pension.
The Govt. of India has noble ideals as quoted above. Yet the case of
Very Senior Citizen Retirees of CPSEs who
are pioneers of
Public Sector Enterprises
having joined in 1950s
and 60s, unfortunately, is a
complete contrast to the
above ideals. The plight of Senior citizen retirees of SAIL (and other CPSEs)
who had retired before 2007 without
pension and with only limited
medical benefits are enumerated below.
The
salient features of those retired before 2007 from industrial PSUs are:
1.
The 2nd Pay Revision Committee on PSEs had
recommended creation of Corpus out of Profit for welfare of these group of
early retirees and thus shown a way for helping this group.
2.
The number of such retirees will not increase and
in fact will come down as they will wither away with passage of time.
3.
These retirees are now in age group of 70s and 80s
years. Most of them had retired at the age of 58 years. Thus the number will
come down in days to come. Hence any corpus created will not be perennial.
4.
The persons had joined the industrial sector during
1950s and 60s for establishment of 1st set of
heavy industries (1st
Industrial Revolution) in free
India in remote
and undeveloped areas
under very difficult environment
and circumstances which cannot be imagined by the present generation of
Management. They also had worked in the core industries which are proud of the
nation today as Maharatnas, Navaratnas etc.
5.
They retired with meager Gratuity and low PF
accumulation due to low salary structure then and without any pension. They are
finding extremely difficult to manage both ends meet and to live with dignity
and with full medical attention which is most essential as age advances but
denied for them.
We would like to inform you that those of us (and other industrial PSUs)
who had retired before 2007 do not get any pension unlike those from the Govt
or LIC, Banks, Insurance, BSNL, etc. For us the only benefit at present is
post-retirement Health care with limits on total claim per year. The limits as
of now are low and the retirees, due to old age ailments, are required to spend
out of pocket- especially the very senior retirees who are in their 70s and
80s. We hope you would appreciate the consequence of limiting the treatment of
aged persons.
Number of representations/ appeals have been sent
in the last 5 years by individual retirees among us and by our Associations and
Federation to SAIL, Hon’ble Prime Minister, Union Ministers of Steel, the Heavy
Industries & Public Enterprises, the Health and Family Welfare etc. They
can be seen in http://sailex.blogspot.in/2014/11/letters-to-prime-minister.html We had also requested for a meeting with the Hon’ble Union Minister of
Steel http://sailex.blogspot.in/2014/11/letters-to-steel-minister.html to present/ explain our plight. But unfortunately, we have not received
any response to our appeals nor a chance to meet any of them.
The SCOPE, apex body of PSEs, had also recommended
for suitable monthly payment besides medical benefits. In a workshop held on
the subject of creation of corpus. One
of the former member of 2nd PRC (a very senior Retd. IAS) also suggested a positive
view by the all concerned to interpret the recommendation. A former Chairman/SAIL had also expressed his
anguish on the plight of the pioneer retirees. Yet, DPE which is the
coordinating department for CPSEs had not taken any action to ensure implementation
of the orders issued by them for creation of corpus by CPSEs or to issue fresh
clear cut order removing all ambiguities on account of which CPSEs are
dilly-dallying the implementation.
Our request has been for a monthly payment of
Rs.5000 pm which is far below the pension even a lower-most rank employee of
Govt gets nowadays as subsistence allowance. You would appreciate that this is
pittance in the present environment. Since SAIL (and most of industrial CPSEs)
have been earning profit since last 10 years and more and have surplus cash
with them and the corpus is to be created from its profit as per DPE order, no
budgetary support is required in contrast
to the other cases including the Bill for Pension of unorganised sector. CPSEs
have been mandated to provide for CSR and helping the community in general but
they are not taking care of their own retirees of their basic needs at the
twilight of their life. Perhaps a strong message should go to all CPSEs. The
management of CPSEs are not realizing (may not be aware also) that the strong
foundation laid by these pioneer employees/ retirees with their contribution in
the initial stage (in 1950s and 60s) have also contributed to enable the management
to run the CPSEs successfully and with profit and to bring it to the level of
Maharatnas, Navaratnas. The Govt and the management owe some empathy and mercy
to these pioneer senior citizen retirees by taking note of their contribution.
The time is also running out for these persons in view of their advanced age
and it is imperative to take urgent action.
We appeal to you to kindly take up our cause with all concerned and help
our members at twilight of their life. We would be happy to provide all relevant
papers/ documents in case you need anything to move this cause forward. Please
ask your office to get in touch with the undersigned on the given contact
details (Mobile/Phone / e-mail). We would also request you to spare your
valuable time to meet us (with about 10 days advance intimation) so that we are
in a position to explain our miseries. In case you are visiting Ranchi in
connection with the Assembly elections in Jharkhand please spare some time here
to meet us by giving us advance information.
We would be grateful if you can kindly keep us informed.
With
thanks and kind regards,
Yours sincerely,
(V.N.Sharma)
Chairman
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