FORSE/ SAIL/0417
Jan 29, 2017
To
Sri
P.K. Singh,
Chairman,
Steel
Authority of India Ltd.
Ispat
Bhawan, Lodhi Road,
NEW
DELHI -110003.
Sub: Our observation and
comments on the letters from ED (P&A), SAIL Corp Office and GM (P&A), RDCIS.- attached
Dear Sir,
We would like to put it
on record with thanks to you that for the first time we have received written
communications from our company SAIL However,
instead
of this being a letter of recognition and notice and agenda for our meeting
with SAIL Management, as per our expectations and as per request/ appeal/
advice made by Hon’ble Union Ministers and Members of Parliament to you and
Hon’ble Minister of Steel, the letter from ED (P&A) SAIL Corp Office addressed
to GM (P&A) RDCIS which was passed on to us for an exhibition of good
intention of helping SAIL Retirees. We would like to inform you in this context
that it did not cut much ice with our expectations as it contained in nut-shell
only a half-baked suggestion to create a post of Nodal Officer in SAIL Plants/
Units for the purpose of ‘looking after the issues related to ex-employees of
SAIL’ as in para ‘D’ (with our highlight). For the reasons given below the
creation of post appears to be ornamental and much is desired to make it useful
a) There appears to be no
proposal to create a post of Nodal Officer in SAIL Corporate Office whereas in
matters of Retirees’ welfare policy making SAIL Plants/ Units have very little role
to play as most of it like policy formulation/ implementation remains, like in
the case of Pension, Financial benefits, SAIL Mediclaim Scheme etc with SAIL
Corp Office.
b) There is no scope of
work or the modus operandi defined for the post
c) There is no exclusivity of the post as it appears to be a part-time responsibility of an E-6/ E-7 grade Executive.
Sir, though after reading the
opening sentence we are happy to note that SAIL
has been taking cognizance of representations from Associations of ex-employees
yet we are not very much enthused
to see this approach and its end here. We would like to draw your kind
attention and request you to adopt the system other Maharatnas are doing for
their Retirees’, by setting up a separate establishment e.g. ONGC having
‘Separated Employees Establishment’ in Mumbai exclusively for providing
financial assistance to their Retirees’ through Asha Kiran Scheme http://tinyurl.com/Ashakiran1 & http://tinyurl.com/Ashakiran2 We expected our beloved company not to fall behind
but to take lead in such matters as
looking after the employees- both current and retired-but SAIL failed. It is unfortunate
that you, being at pivotal position, have not been able to assuage the most
sordid condition of vast number of retirees of SAIL, who due to ageing and
settled at different locations widely dispersed throughout the country, fail to
reach you or any higher up in SAIL and naturally look upon us as the only
representative Body. The senior officers in ED or GM grade probably do not
allow our grievances to reach you. It has been our experience that prima facie
out of sycophancy they suppress the bare facts and at times misfeed the
Chairman, Ministers and even the people’s representatives. For instance in
previous regime one ED, while replying to a VVIP reference, added Gratuity also
as one of the welfare measures to retirees, which is only ridiculous. You
should not be surprised to know that many retired MDs, CEOs, EDs, and GMs have
approached us with their medical problems and keep in regular touch with us for
pension if it is due to them.c) There is no exclusivity of the post as it appears to be a part-time responsibility of an E-6/ E-7 grade Executive.
We would like to
share our long post-retirement experience for record and appropriate action at
this stage that all serving employee would one day become a retired employee
and all retired employees may not be lucky enough to have a good corpus to take
care of retired life with minimum comfort.
Now, while referring to the 2nd letter from GM (P&A) RDCIS addressed
to FORSE Chairman we have decided to honour this as a communication from SAIL
and respond to it in the following paragraphs using the para numbers given in
the letter (with our highlight).
1. Communication Gap:
Ø There is no truth
at all in this statement. There was NOT a single formal or informal meeting
with our Federation, email, letter, phone etc from SAIL Corp Office as stated
in your above letter. Please look at our letters addressed to SAIL in http://tinyurl.com/FORSE2SAIL and to others in http://sailex.blogspot.in & http://saileea.blogspot.in on different
occasions. It would be an interesting study to know how many of our e-mails
running into hundreds, letters by post in dozens and phone calls running into
dozens have been responded to by SAIL. The answer would be none. This
communication gap was one of the major complaints that we have been harping on
for long.
Ø Since there was no
second step/ return call to the informal meeting with Sri Shitanshu Prasad
former ED (P&A) in one full year, tele-chat with Sri P.K.Jha of your Sectt in
more than 7 months now it would be a futile exercise to call them a formal or
informal interactions?
Ø Our formal meeting
with CEO, BSP in Sept 2014 ended up with an assurance that he would do all
within his powers in the area of Healthcare. Our formal meeting with CEO, BSL
in Sept 2016 ended up with a call limited to improving the operation of SAIL
Mediclaim Scheme for Bokaro Retirees’. He assigned the task to ED (P&A) but
it failed very badly soon thereafter because policy formulated by SAIL
Corporate Office did not provide much room for the Plants/ Units to operate or
be helpful to Retirees’.
2.
Our
Federation (Federation of Retired SAIL Employees-FORSE) is the apex
organization of all Associations of Retired SAIL Employees at various centers throughout India. Most of the
communications to SAIL or the Govt regarding the grievances were made by the
Federation from time to time. But it may please be noted that ours is a
democratic organization based on the Core values of helping all Retirees’/
spouse – member or no member - by voluntary support. Our Member Associations
also have freedom to intervene on grievances related to or affecting them or
their members or non-members directly. But you may like to look into the fact
of how many grievances made to SAIL by FORSE or its Member Associations have
been sorted out-the answer again will be none. We would appreciate if
you can list out at least a few of the references in the last five years of
such “ex-employees associations” as referred to by you and the number of issues sorted out. We only
hope that SAIL is not getting into ‘Divide and Rule” game of the white rulers
to hide its own inefficiencies, deficiencies and communication gap. The issue of granting recognition to
FORSE and its member associations may not have arisen thus far simply because
the numbers of Retirees’ and experience of the old age problems of this
magnitude did not exist. A sane suggestion to SAIL will be to match its steps
with the times, with socio-economic development parameters of the society and
the Nation and start granting recognition as other PSUs have done. Or SAIL will
be identified as a retrograde organization, not a 21st century corporate
giant. SAIL taught us to accept ‘change’. Now it is itself questioning and
resisting change.
3.
There is no logic or truth in this
statement. It is universal practice to interact with groups as it is not physically possible to interact with so many
individuals. All other Maharatna and Navratna PSUs have the practice of
interacting with Federation/ Association of their own Retirees’.
Members and Non-members:
ü Knowing
fully well that it is physically impossible to get every retiree, who has
settled in faraway places before leaving their work place on retirement or who
has difficulty in paying Membership fees, to join as member, FORSE and its
Member Associations have been taking care of such non-members without
discriminating against them. In fact Associations which are not in a position
to affiliate to FORSE are also allowed to attend the Apex Council Meetings as
Invitees.
ü On
the other hand, SAIL Plants/ Units, barring one or two, which includes Ranchi
Units, are on record under RTI query to say that in the name of secrecy the
list of Retirees’ with their contact details cannot be provided to FORSE. It is
one-sided failure of SAIL to get and give support and co-operation from the
Federation and its Member Associations.
ü SAIL
is yet to allot, against our request, an Office space for FORSE in Kolkata and
in the Plants/ Units for smooth functioning and better co-ordination with SAIL,
its Units and Hospitals.
ü It
is not fair on part of SAIL, with over 60 years of its existence and thousands
of crores invested from Public fund as HSL/ SAIL, to use oblique language and compare
with FORSE which is not even three year old and runs on the
voluntary
contributions of the poor Retirees’. Is it not like comparing Usain Bolt/ SAIL
with a 3-year old/ FORSE on a racing track?
4.
We are sorry to say these are NOT
factual. There have been no active communication with the ex-employees. We find
that SAIL Plant/ Unit offices are help-less especially with regard to Mediclaim
grievances as Insurance company and TPA do not respond to them. The following
statement is totally false: “Further most Plants/ Units have
operationalized ………………with ex-employees”.
We would appreciate if you can please furnish MOM of such structured/ unstructured meetings held in the last five years
to substantiate this statement. We assure you that the fact is that no such
meetings have been ever held and no grievance sorted out.
5. We
are sorry to say these are NOT true. SAIL and its Plants/ Units should show us
such dedicated sections for Retirees? Licensees for houses are being given for
different duration/ time period by different plants/ units as also they are
forced to vacate under threats of penalty charges and legal intervention. To
avoid uncertainty of an old person it should be allotted to them for as long as
they keep paying Annual rent etc.
6.
The Retirees’ are treated differently
in all matters including in providing facilities like design details,
establishment support by the Units established Maintenance depts. on chargeable
basis. It is true SAIL has not differentiated where it could not do like
separating sewage line, water supply etc was not possible as it is a part of
the Agreement of Lease and it is physically not possible to separate.
7.
Pension / Ex-gratia:
a)
The Pension Scheme for those retired
after 1.1.2007 was recommended by 2nd PRC and accepted by GOI to be
made effective from 1.1.2007. Many Maharatnas and Navarathnas such as BHEL,
NTPC, ONGC etc have implemented long time back. This “under examination and
discussion” by our company has been going on for long. Ten years have passed
(to be implemented from 1.1.2007) but SAIL could not implement till date.
b)
We are aware there is no provision for
“ex-gratia payment of Rs.5000”. But what SAIL has to say for its failure in not
following the Govt Orders based on the accepted recommendation of 2nd
PRC followed by DPE OM Nos. 2(81)/08-DPE(WC)-GL-XVI/ 2009 dated 8th
July 2009 and 2(81)/08-DPE(WC)-GL-XV/2011 dated 20th July 2011 to SAIL
to provide for a Corpus, for those retired on or before 31.12.2006, by
contributing 1.5% of the PBT since 01.01.2007 and payments to be made for
emergency help incl. for their Healthcare. SAIL has miserably failed in working
out a Scheme for its Retirees’ as per OMs even after a lapse of more than seven
years. As this pertains to those retired before 31.12.2006, whose financial
condition is precarious due to exponential increase in prices of common
commodities since they retired and are always in financial or medical emergency.
There are still those retired even before 1980 living in these conditions.
c)
This is also to place on record that as an extension of the State, it is the bounden duty
of SAIL to look after the quality of life and health of these Retirees’ and
introduce required welfare measures to meet the same.
8.
This statement by SAIL is only
partially true. The Hospitals run by SAIL in Plants/ Units are for all
employees-both current and retired ones whereas your statement made here
indicate as if all these have been created for Retirees’. Also, all Retirees’ have
not settled down at the plant area or at Delhi. More than 50% have settled down
across length and breadth of India where there are no Hospitals or Clinics run
by SAIL. They do face the problem of their claim being not settled by
inefficient and non-empathetic TPA and the Insurance Company
on whom SAIL is not exercising any
control. Unfortunately those who have been dealing with mediclaim scheme at
Corporate Office also tend to be non-empathetic resulting in helpless condition
of the Retirees.
9.
The statement is not true. We have
been struggling for years and have not noticed till date any appreciable steps
being taken by SAIL Corporate Office without whose guidance and help the Plant/
Unit personnel cannot act.
Sir,
in light of the above we would like to inform you that SAIL has not understood its
Retirees’’ bare minimum need and expectations. It is not easily understandable
why SAIL Management is scared of meeting its own former employees. In fact it
will be a miracle if younger generation in SAIL, or in any other place,
understands the old age problems and get a feel for it even before their
superannuation, even before getting into vanprasth (वानप्रस्थ) and
sanyaas (संन्यास).
Such younger generation can provide only lip service to the cause.
It is beyond any
doubt that to have a rational approach for taking care of Retirees’ problems
our long standing demand of face-to-face structured meeting with SAIL
Corporate Management must be met at the earliest. One sided letter,
discussed in detail above, cannot be a substitute for a face to face two way
communication in a meeting.
We the most distressed class and at
this age are pushed back to wall and per force situation precipitated by SAIL
by not even meeting us, we will be at Delhi streets in this winter to
attract your attention as per our plan about which you have been informed much
in advance. This will bring ignominy only to this great company. We are
taking risk of many physical hazards for our over aged and ailing members
coming from faraway places
With warm regards,
Yours faithfully,
For and on behalf
of Federation of Retired SAIL Employees
(V.N.Sharma)
Chairman
Copy to:
1.
Union Minister of Steel / Members of Parliament
All
SAIL Directors, CEOs and Heads of Plants/ Units Note: The link can be used for basic info re Ashakiran
http://sailex.blogspot.in/2014/10/blog-post_64.html
