15/1089-90, VASUNDHARA, VASUNDHARA (P.O.), Dt.
GHAZIABAD (U.P), PIN-201012
Reference:
AIA/Circular-11/2019 Dated:
18th August 2019
To
Unit Secretaries,
Members & Spl. Invitees – NE &
Members of Women’s Committee
Dear Comrades,
MANIFEST
SOLIDARITY WITH 1-MONTH STRIKE BY DEFENCE WORKERS & EMPLOYEES
As we
all know nearly one lakh Defence workers and employees would embark upon a one
month long strike from 20th August 2019 to 19th September
2019 against the decision of the government to corporatise (and eventually
privatise) the 41 ordnance factories that will affect nearly 82000 workers and
employees at one go.
Many of
us may be recalling the 40 day dharna that the AIDEF organised at Parliament Street
last year against this move. It is pertinent to note here that the Government
of India has already taken a policy decision to allow FDI (foreign direct
investment) in the defence sector – an area hitherto barred for private and
foreign players.
Umpteen
number of discussions held with officers such as Chairman, Ordnance Factories
Board, Addl. Secretary, Defence Productions, Secretary, Defence and also with
the Minister has not brought any assurance on the future of Ordnance factories.
Secretary, Staff side’s letter to Defence Minster on the issue is yet to be
responded (copy enclosed).
The attack
is on Railways also. Nearly 25 Railway stations are getting auctioned as part
of privatisation move. Seven Railway Production Units face the fate of 41
Ordnance factories. The workers are on the street in all these places (with their
families in certain stations).
As we
know, Printing & Stationery Department is facing closure – stationery officers
are already been closed down and except 4, all printing presses are closed down
and the prime land is being sold.
CPWD
faces the same situation as of Ordnance factories with the move to corporotise
the Department in the advanced stage.
This 30
day strike - jointly organised by All India Defence Employees Federation
(AIDEF), Indian National Defence workers Federation (INDWF), Bharatiya
Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh (BPMS) and Confederation of Defence Recognised
Federations (CDRA) – is a struggle for the entirety of central government
employees and workers.
It is
in the interest of ourselves that we educate the members about the strike, the
demands and policies that forced the workers to go for a month long strike.
The charter
of demands and the list of the ordnance factories that face the axe immediately
are attached.
All our
Units are requested to hold lunch hour meetings at their work places, adopt the
attached resolution and send it to the Defence Minister directly with a copy to
HQrs.
With greetings,
Yours fraternally,
Sd/-
(M. S.
Raja)
Secretary
General
RESOLUTION
This
extraordinary general meeting of . . . . . Association resolves to
stand by struggling employees and workers of Defence Production Units and Board
office. The decision of the government to corporatise these factories for its
eventual privatisation at later stage is uncalled for particularly when
security of country needs further stepping up. Till date these Production units
are functioning most efficiently. New products were brought about by DRDO and
effectively built by these factories and in turn used by the Indian Army, Air
Force and Naval force. Chairman of the Board has already made a clear
observation that capacity of these factories can be augmented at any point of
urgency. This may not be possible if production is commercialised. Further, in
the event of privatisation of Defence Production, it is not unlikely that
enemies of the country will have easier access to the same or better arsenals
used by army or other security forces.
So, this
meeting urges upon the Government to rollback the idea of corporatisation of
Defence Productions and initiate dialogue with struggling Workers' and
Employees of the defence units to restore normal industrial relation.
Resolve that a
copy of the resolution will be forwarded to Defence Minister of India and
Secretary General of All India Audit & Accounts Association.
(……….)
President
List of Ordnance
Factories
|
|
|
|
|
S.No
|
Factory
|
Location
|
State
|
1
|
Ordnance Factory Project (OFN)
|
|
Bihar
|
|
|
|
|
2
|
|
Jabalpur
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
3
|
Grey Iron Foundry (GIF)
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
4
|
Ordnance Factory Khamaria (OFK)
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
5
|
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
6
|
Ordnance Factory Katni (OFKAT)
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
7
|
Ordnance Factory Itarsi (OFI)
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
|
|
|
|
8
|
Ammunition Factory Khadki (AFK)
|
|
Maharashtra
|
9
|
High Explosives Factory (HEF)
|
|
Maharashtra
|
10
|
Ordnance Factory Dehu Road (OFDR)
|
Dehu Road, Pune
|
Maharashtra
|
11
|
Machine Tool Prototype Factory (MPF)
|
|
Maharashtra
|
12
|
Ordnance Factory Ambarnath (OFA)
|
|
Maharashtra
|
13
|
Ordnance Factory Ambajhari (OFAJ)
|
|
Maharashtra
|
14
|
Ordnance Factory Bhandara (OFBA)
|
|
Maharashtra
|
15
|
Ordnance Factory Bhusawal (OFBH)
|
|
Maharashtra
|
16
|
Ordnance Factory Chandrapur (OFCH)
|
|
Maharashtra
|
17
|
Ordnance Factory Varangaon (OFV)
|
|
Maharashtra
|
|
|
|
|
18
|
Ordnance Factory Bolangir (OFBOL)
|
|
Odisha
|
|
|
|
|
19
|
Ordnance Cable Factory Chandigarh (OCFC)
|
|
UT
|
|
|
|
|
20
|
Cordite Factory (CFA)
|
|
Tamil Nadu
|
21
|
Engine Factory Avadi (EFA)
|
|
Tamil Nadu
|
22
|
|
|
Tamil Nadu
|
23
|
|
Chennai
|
Tamil Nadu
|
24
|
|
Tiruchirappalli
|
Tamil Nadu
|
25
|
|
|
Tamil Nadu
|
|
|
|
|
26
|
|
|
Telangana
|
|
|
|
|
27
|
|
Kanpur
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
28
|
Small Arms Factory (SAF)
|
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
29
|
Ordnance Equipment Factory Kanpur (OEFC)
|
Kanpur
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
30
|
Ordnance Factory Kanpur (OFC)
|
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
31
|
Ordnance Parachute Factory (OPF)
|
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
32
|
|
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
33
|
|
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
34
|
Ordnance Factory Project Korwa (OFPKR)
|
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
35
|
Ordnance Equipment Factory Hazratpur (OEFHZ)
|
Agra
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
|
|
|
|
36
|
Ordnance Factory Dehradun (OFDUN)
|
|
Uttarakhand
|
37
|
Opto Electronics Factory (OLF)
|
|
Uttarakhand
|
|
|
|
|
38
|
Gun and Shell Factory (GSF)
|
|
West Bengal
|
39
|
Metal and Steel Factory (MSF)
|
|
West Bengal
|
40
|
Ordnance Factory Dumdum (OFDC)
|
|
West Bengal
|
41
|
|
|
West Bengal
|
. ,/
NJCA
National Joint Council of Action
4, State Entry Road
New Delhi - 110055
No. NJCA/2019/Meet Dated: August 18, 2019
The Hon'ble Defence Minister, (Government of India),
South Block, New Delhi
Dear Sir,
Sub: Corporatization
of Ordnance
Factories
Ref.: My earlier letter of even number dated
27th July, 2019
On the above subject I met you earlier and handed over
a copy of the letter,
referred to above on behalf of National Joint
Committee of Action, for your kind intervention, and you are
aware that, 82,000 employees, working in
41
Ordnance Factories, have decided to move on month-long strike.
Though, on our intervention you have formed an Additional Secretary rank
committee, who had discussions on 14th and 16th August, 2019, but
could not resolve the crisis.
Staff Side's proposal, that they should
be given a chance
to discuss threadbare about the proposed plan of OFB target of Rs.30,000 crore for 2024-2025, could be
made
under the present
system, by increasing infrastructure and provision of
proper manpower and materials, has not been discussed
thoroughly, because the committee is in their hands, telling the Defence Federations that, they have got no mandate
to
discuss this issue.
Here it is worth-mentioning that, Ordnance Factories have proved their worth
at the time
of crisis, particularly during
Kargil
War
when working day-and-night they
had been able to supply requirement of defence
without even taking a single penny in the overtime. Not only this, during the tenure of Shri Manohar Parrikar as Defence Minister, it was his motivation that, the
staff
of Ordnance Factories have
brought production of Ordnance
Factories to the level of 17,600 crore, even
with the reduced
manpower.
It is also worth-mentioning that, as Defence Minister, Shri
George
Fernandez, on
22.04.2002, Shri Pranab Mukherjee on 18.09.2006, Shri
A.K. Antony
on 26.06.2007
and Shri
Manohar Parrikar
on 15.04.2015 had made it clear that
Ordnance Factories would not be corporatized.
The above statements are a part of the minutes of the
meetings or their statements in the Parliament.
Converting the PSUs into the Corporations would not
be a viable option because
of the fluctuations in the
orders
which
are
placed
after
a long gap as well
as
uneconomical orders of quantity, and
even life cycle support required
for 30-40 years after introduction of the equipments.
As Secretary Staff Side(JCM) as
well as Convener NJCA it is my humble
appeal
to
you for your kind intervention to avoid this crisis by assuring three
Defence Staff
Federations
as well as CORA by constituting a High Level Committee where all the issues raised by the
Defence Staff
Federations should be discussed
threadbare and sorted-out.
II am sure that,
in their long history, Ordnance Factories, their
workers have proved
their worth, and once they
are again ready to face
the
challenge thrown
on them for
production
with their full efficiency and productivity.
With Kind Regards,
Yours faithfully,
(Shiva Gopal Mishra)
Convener
NJCA
National Joint Council of Action
4, State Entry Road
New Delhi - 110055
No.NJ CA/2019/Meet
July 27, 2019
To
Shri Rajnath Singh Ji, Hon'ble Defence Minister, Government of India,
South Block,
New Delhi
Respected Sir,
Sub:- Request to withdraw the decision of Corporatization of Ordnance
Factories under Department
of Defence Production
We are writing this letter to you to invite
your kind attention on a burning issue which has
resulted in discontentment and uncertainty amongst the more than
82 thousand
Defence Civilian Employees of 41 Ordnance Factories including
its Headquarters (OFB) and their family members. The
Cabinet Secretary vide his letter dated l 0111 July
2019
has
directed the
Department of Defence
Production to
submit proposal to the
Cabinet to Corporatize the Ordnance Factories which are Departmental Units
under the
Ministry of Defence. You are aware
that
the Ordnance Factories are 218 years old Government Industrial Organization fully dedicated to meet the requirement of Armed Forces indigenously. You
will appreciate that the country is not importing Defence
Equipment's which are being manufactured by Ordnance Factories:
The import is
only War Ships, Fighter Air Crafts
etc which are not under the domain of Ordnance
Factories. You will also appreciate that the Ordnance
Factories
is depending totally
on the indent placed by the Indian Anny and the Para Military Forces. Converting these Ordnance
Factories in to a Corporation I Public Sector undertaking is not in the interest of our Armed Forces since being a captive unit exclusively dedicated for
the Armed Forces
will not survive if converted in to a Corporation. Moreover all the existing more than
82000 employees who are basically Defence Civilian Employees
will also be drastically effected since their
service condition
will undergo
drastic changes.
Sir in the past when the Government has considered to corporatize the Ordnance Factories, the Government
considering the sensitivity and importance of the Ordnance Factories have
dropped
the proposal and many written assurances were given to the Federations of the Defence Civilian Employees that Ordnance Factories would not be
Corporatized. However it is unfortunate by ignoring all these assurances the Ministry of Defence
have forwarded a Cabinet Note for converting the Ordnance
Factories
in to a Corporation. In this
regard the three
Federations vide their Joint Letter
dated
26.07.2019 have
submitted a detailed representation to your honour pointing out the various assurances given to the
Federations by
the Government and also in the Parliament that
Ordnance Factories will not be Corporatized. They have also given all justifications that Ordnance Factories should continue as a Departmental Organization
in the present set up with more empowerment. Moreover they have also stated that the
Federations are ready
to discuss with the Government for any
further
improvement in the functioning of the Ordnance
Factories. I am enclosing herewith a copy of the Joint
Representation of the three Federations dated 26/07/20 l 9 for your kind perusal.
Sir,
I would like to draw your attention that considering this serious
development which is going to have far reaching implications on the future service of the 82000 employees of Ordnance Factories the three Federations have jointly decided
for serious action programmes. I therefore request you to kindly intervene in the
matter and direct the authorities to put on hold the proposed decision to Corporatize the Ordnance Factories and the Ministry of Defence
should hold discussions with the three Federations and
CDRA so that an amicable settlement
can be reached
in the interest of the
Defence
preparedness
of our Country and also the dedicated and
committed work force of the Ordnance Factories.
An earlier and favorable decision is
solicited.
With kindest regards,
Yours Sincerely,
(Shiva
Gopal Mishra)
Convener
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