REPORT OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL
Adopted by 49th
Conference of
ALL
INDIA AUDIT AND
ACCOUNTS ASSOCIATION
At Thiruvananthapuram – from 27th
to 29th January, 2023
Dear
Comrades,
On behalf of the National
Executive Committee of the All India Audit and Accounts Association, I welcome
all the Delegates, Observers, Special Invitees and Permanent Invitees to the 49th
Conference at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
On behalf of all of us here, I
thank the Kerala Unit for hosting this conference and making an excellent
arrangement to all.
We meet here particularly at a
very crucial time- when employees and workers are fighting to maintain their
hard earned right and for minimum wages, attack on Kisans, farmers and ors are
on the rise and effect on their livelihood. Right now, only working-class
employees alongwith other sector of workers and people of the country can
defeat the policy backed by politics of the ruling government.
We are aware that we are
meeting here in the Centenary Year of our Organisation. I hope, this Conference
would self critically assess the strength and weakness of our organisation, the
requirement of the organisation to face and overcome the challenges we may have
to face now a days. I hope and believe
that the 49th conference which is going on in the Centenary Year of
our Organisation will be special to all of us and Delegates to carry the
challenges, duties and responsibilities to the members.
The following National
Executive Committee members elected in the last 48th Conference held
at Kolkata, West Bengal:
President :
Com. V. Sreekumar
Vice
President : 1. Com. R. J.
Iyer, 2. Com. Lalitha Narayanswamy
Secretary
General :
Com. Tapas Bose
Addl.
Secretary General : 1. Com. K. Ramesh, 2.
Com. Anil Kumar,
3. Com. G. Rajagopal
Finance
Secretary : Com. Amitava Chatterjee
Asstt.
Secretary General :1.Com. Rupak
Mukhopadhyay, 2. Com. T. Anandakumar
3. Com. Pramode Mishra, 4. Com. Balbir
Suri,
5. Com. Amit Roy, 6.Com. Sanjay Sharma
Convenor,
Women’s Committee: Com. K. N. Jayashree Raj
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The
National Executive Committee immediately after the election, met and co-opted
Comrades Com. Subhas Chandra Pandey, Com. V. Nageswara Rao, Com. K. L. Gautam
and Com. M. S. Raja as permanent invitees and the following comrades as Special
Invitees.
1.
Subrata
Saha, Defence Audit Cat-3 Association, Kolkata
2.
J
K Prajapati, Gwalior Accounts Association
3.
Dalip
Singh, Audit Association, Rajasthan, Jaipur
4.
Giriraj
Sharma, AAO Association, AG Audit, Jaipur
5.
Mohan
Srinivasan, Civil Accounts Association, Nagpur
6.
Sohan
Lal, Haryana Accounts Association
7.
Bahadur
Singh, Accounts Cat-3 Association, Punjab
8.
Shiva
Kumar, Madras Civil Audit Association, Cat-2, Chennai
9.
BinuV
S – Audit Cat-3 Association, Kerala
10. Shankar Sahoo, Accounts Cat-3,
Bhubaneswar
11. Sachin Mallad, Accounts Cat-2,
Bengaluru
12. Ashutosh Pandey, H P Civil
Audit Association
13. Sarveshwar Singh, Audit
Association, Rajasthan, Jaipur
14. Twinkel Patel, Accounts Cat-2,
Mumbai
15. Maninder Singh, Haryana
Accounts Association
16. Nitu Kumar, Accounts
Brotherhood, Dehradun
17. Virender Verma, HP Civil
Accounts Association
18. Paneer Selvam, Southern Railway
Audit Association Cat-3, Chennai
19. Amitava Bhattacharya,
Commercial Audit Cat-3 Association, Kolkata
20. Gourab Chakraborty, Pr. Account
General (A&E) Cat-3, Assam
21. Madan Bhardwaj, AAO
Association, AG(A&E), Shimla
Condolences & Homages:
Com. M. Sreekhanda Raja, former
Secretary General of All India Audit and Accounts Association breathed his last
on 14th July, 2020 at Kerala. He was known to every one as “Raja”. 100
per cent employees and Officers of the IA&AD became speechless to hear the
demise of Com. Raja during the pandemic Covid-19 period. A great loss was not
only in the Audit and Accounts Movement but also in the entire working-class
movement, He was the Secretary and Working President of the Confederation of
Central Government Employees and Workers and also the Standing Committee Member
of the NC, JCM, Staff Side. We dip our flag in his memory.
Com. R. K. Srivastava, former
President of All India Audit and Accounts Association passed away at Nagpur
during this period. Com. Srivastava, popularly known as “Lalaji” was one of the
remarkable leaders and led many struggles of Audit and Accounts movement and
Central government employees. He was the Secretary, C-o-C, Nagpur-Vidarbha Region.
We dip our flag in his memory.
Com. M. Krishnan, former
Secretary General of NFPE and the Secretary General of the Confederation of
Central Government Employees and Workers breathed his last on 28th
February, 2021 at Kerala. He led so many
struggles not only in Postal department but also the entire Central Government
Employees.
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He became a leader of the
toiling mass and put good impression before the mass at Kerala. The 49th
AIC pays respectful homage to Comrade Krishnan.
Com. K. K. N. Kutty, a
legendary leader of Central Government Employees and Pensioners’, passed away
at Kerala on 8th December, 2022. He was the former Secretary General
of Income-Tax Employees Federation and Secretary General and the President of
Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers. Com. Kutty was the
Secretary General of the NCCPA (Pensioners Association). He was the mentor for
submission of Memorandum before the 4th, 5th, 6th
and 7th CPC. He always delivered scientific justification at the
Standing Committee Meeting, NC, JCM. For the last 35 years he had guided us in
many occasions. We dip our flag to Com. Kutty.
We pay homage to Com. Shyamal
Chakraborty, veteran Trade Union Leader and former MP passed away, who was the
founder of SFI. He was actively associated and led working class movements in
several strategic sectors like, Electricity, Road Transport, Port & Dock
etc.
The 49th AIC pays
homage to Ranjana Nirula, one of the pioneers of the Working Women’s movement
in our country, Com. MythilyShivaraman, who led the Women’s rights movement in
Tamil Nadu, Com. V. Sundaram, Leader of the BEFI, Com. K. R. Gowri Amma, whose
entire life was dedicated to the cause of the working class and was the
instrumental in bringing the historic land reforms act in Kerala.
We expressed profound grief and
anguish on passing away the tribals and others who lost and continue to lose
their lives in the fake encounters in the Dandakaranya Forest while opposing
corporate looting of natural resources. We pay homage to Deigo Maradona, Pele, Shane
Warne, most respected football players of our times and others players who
passed away during the time.
We pay respectful homage to the
most cultural personalities including Dilip Kumar, Pandit Birju Maharaj, eminent
singer Lata Mangeshkar, S. P. BalaSubramaniyam, Sandhya Mukherjee, Pandit Shiv
Kumar Sharma. Tarun Majumder, Krishna Kumar Kunnuth, BappiLahiri, who passed
away in the meantime.
We pay homage to Prof. Arjun
Dev, eminent historian and educationist and Prof. Aijaz Ahmad and Vinod Dua,
reporter, Mikhail Gorbachev, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Shakuntala Devi, Rahul Bajaj
Shinjo Abe, Sirus Mistry, 2nd Elizabeth, Bhupinder Singh, Dominic
Lapierre, Peter Bruke during the time.
The 49th AIC pays
homage to all the thousands of people who died in the imperialist wars
including the latest Ukrainian war and armed conflicts and demands cessation of
all war.We pay homage who lost their lives in natural calamities, including the
floods and earthquake in various parts of our country.
This Conference pay homage to
the more than seven hundred peasants who led their lives during the historic
Kissan Struggle in Delhi boarder.We pay homage to the common people of this
country who fell to murders as communal attacks in India. We also pay homage to
the innocent people who wereshot deadby the U.P.,
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Karnataka
and Assam police during the anti CAA protests.
This Conference pays homage to
the many frontline workers who succumbed to Covid-19 while saving many lives
during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 49th All India Conference pays respectful homage to all our collegues and their family members in the IA&AD who succumbed to Covid-19 pandemic and demand immediate compensation to the families.
Global Economy – The Systemic Crisis - New Challenge and Emerging
Response
The Global Wage Report 2020-21 of ILO reveals that along with humungous
job losses, an estimated 327 million wage earners on the job, including 152
million women are paid below the applicable hourly minimum wage. Global
Economic Outlook 2022 warned about much-higher-than-expected inflation
worldwide. Despite abundance in global food production, as many as 829
million people still go hungry every day. And from 2019 to 2022, the number of
undernourished people grew further by as many as 150 million; number of people
living in extreme poverty reached to 74.5 crore (745 million) by the end of
2021, an increase of 10 crore (100 million); this is a crisis created by the
atrocious anti-people global right-wing authorities.
Unquestionably, it is a crisis ‘of’ capitalism rather than being the
crisis ‘in’ capitalism with an explosion of neoliberal accumulation model, when
economic globalization has engulfed the entire global-market demolishing all
the escape-routes dreadfully dismantling the provisions of sustainability of
the system.
It is the historic duty of the class-oriented Trade Unions of the World
to act in this period of crises not only to secure and advance the rights and
entitlementsof the workers but to mount challenge against the very
crises-stricken capitalist system itself for a decisive change, since the
working class can emancipate itself by emancipating the entire people from
exploitation. The task is toConvert the Crisis into Consciousness towards Social
Change. The task before us emanates from this.
Socialist Countries:
The Socialist nations’ success in tackling and tiding over the crisis as
well as challenges of the Pandemic and maintaining the growth rate demonstrated
a clear superiority over the capitalist order both in respect of economic
advancement and also expanding peoples’ welfare and protection of
livelihood.The USA, the European Union, Britain and Brazil, all high income or
upper middle-income countries, were among the worst affected. Half of the total
over 5 million reported deaths in the world occurred in countries accounting
for only one eighth of world’s population. Cuba, despite the severe economic
hardships due to the cruel US blockade, has developed its own domestic vaccines
and sent medical missions including supply of vaccines to over 50 countries in
the world.Almost similar had been the success in containing pandemic and saving
lives of the people by other socialist countries as well. The death due to
pandemic in socialist countries remained much below the global average.
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In economic front also, the performance of the socialist countries are
just the opposite. It is a commentary of keeping the growth mostly on positive
track and also simultaneously improving the well-being and earnings of the
common people—in diametric contrast with the grim experience of the capitalist
world. This brought forth the efficacy of the socialist alternative in more
pronounced manner vis-à-vis utterly inhuman and barbarous response of the
capitalist order to the ongoing crisis.
The Sri Lankan crisis:
The Sri Lankan crisis manifested in the huge piled-up external debt (47%
was from market borrowing (HSBC, JPMorganChase, Allianz etc), 13% is from Asian
Development Bank), disastrous decline in foreign exchange earnings, downward
pressure in exchange rate and further precipitous decline in foreign exchange
reserves-all owing to import liberalization under pressure from the debtors,
upward spiral of fiscal deficit, reckless tax concession without increase in
Direct Tax, sudden ban on fertilizer import and consequential sharp fall in
food grain output, stoppage of tourism and remittances from Sri Lankan workers
working abroad—all plunging the lives of the people in unbearable
miseries.
The crisis might go unnoticed, if the working class wouldn’t have led
the mass in historic General Strike on 28th April, 2022. The second strike on 5th May, 2022 unnerved the ruling
dispensation of Rajapaksa resorting to violent action and imposition of state
of emergency further aggravating public anger and protest leading to historic
upsurge of the people unseating President Rajapaksa.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa came into power with aggressive Buddhist-Singhalese
chauvinism and brutal oppressive state action against Muslim-Christian-Tamil
minorities. Sri Lankan chapter is a great learning lesson especially for the
Indian working class fighting against the Right-Populist-Communal-Authoritarian
forces that united class action and struggle against neo-liberal policies can
unify and bring the people together on the street and can tear down the most
powerful despots in reign.
The Ukraine War:
The Russia Ukraine conflict is another classic example of catastrophic
thirst of hegemony neoliberal global order led by IMF and Metropolitan
imperialist-militarist expansionist forces through NATO. In the midst of all
round systemic crisis spreading recession-stagnation-inflation in their
homelands, the expansionist strategy of NATO is aimed at establishing hegemony
and control over natural resource-rich developing countries, provoking war like
situation and conflicts.
Moreover, US sanctions has already given rise to crisis of gas supply
and other crucial industrial raw materials from Russia on which entire European
economy is dependent. On the premise of this understanding, the task of
uncompromising battle against the imperialist expansionism and hegemonism led
by US/NATO clique with its manifestation in the neoliberal politico-economic
happenings and policy drives in the national context must be integral to united
working-class interventions against neoliberalism.
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The world working class movements:
World working class movement is continuously evolving, advancing and
reshaping itself with increasing militancy to combat with the
right-authoritarian regimes mushrooming around the globe. The February 2022
workers movement in Madrid against anti-worker labour law reforms, January 2022
massive strike action against price rise in Kazakhstan, December 2021 workers
movement in Turkey demanding higher wages, October 2021 workers’ struggles
across the United States with strikes in many industries, October 2021 massive
strike exceeding one million workers in Italy, June 2021strikes against the
abolishment of 8-hour workday in Greece, and most recently the strike by
Railway workers in May 2022 and again in October 2022, and the strike call by
Railway workers in USA in September 2022 are some glimpses of historic
struggles which have shaken the ruling class all over the globe desperately
perusing atrocious anti-people reforms under the guise of Pandemic. The
US Administration has finally been compelled to negotiate and settle with the
Railway unions on their demands to avert the strike. During November-December
2022, the world has been witnessing widespread strike actions in France, UK,
USA, Italy and other European countries.
The growing rate of unionization all over the world, even in the
heartland of imperialist nations like US and UK, even in the companies like
Amazon or Starbucks are opening new avenues of future struggle which demand
more and more continuity, class-oriented united actions and solidarity all over
the globe.
Latin America:
The developments in Latin American countries warrant special mention.
The advancement of the peoples’ struggles against the imperialist backed
exploitative regime and their political fallout in the form of victories of the
Left-leaning forces in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Honduras and the latest in Columbia
and the new possibility of defeat of the Rightwing clique emerging in Brazil
–assert in more pronounced manner that neoliberal right-wing cannot be the last
word. Upsurge of workers, farmers and toiling people against onslaught on their
lives and wide spread inflations even in many countries of Europe and USA also
brightens the prospects of struggles and resistance for the alternative.
The 18th Congress of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU):
In this crucial historic juncture of action and resistance of world
working class led by class-oriented trade unions, the WFTU held its 18th Conference in Rome, on 6-8 May 2022,
with a clarion call to the working class of the world to unite and march
forward to pull the future out of the mud of capitalism.
The Congress adopted the ‘Rome Declaration’, asserting that No
capitalist manoeuvres can sustainably address this crisis, the burden of which
is being shifted to the shoulders of the workers. The Congress set the
priorities for future struggle to strengthen the unity of the global working
class breaking the barrier of race-colour-gender-religion-ethnicity with close
alliances with other section of toiling masses, the protection of Right to
Strike as fundamental Right of working class, for better income-
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wage-remuneration, social security, to protect immigrant-refugees,
against price rise, unemployment and privatization, child-labour and to build
up international solidarity-protest against militarist aggression of NATO.
In totality, global economic crisis together with response of the
neoliberal capitalist order is increasingly exposing the bankruptcy of
capitalism on the one hand and also witnessing organized opposition of the
toiling people worldwide along with its political reflections. Above
international contemporary political issues will be dealt in details in the
Presidential report.
WFTU:
The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is
still trying exploitation free society through class struggles even after 77
years in 2022. We need to observe the message of internationalism, communalism
free society, solidarity to workers and renew our commitment to change the
society.
Com. Tapas Bose was selected by the Confederation
as an observer to the Directive Meeting of the Trade Union International-Public
Services (TUI-PS)- scheduled on 09th& 10th November,
2022 at Surajkund, Haryana, India.
National Situation:
The period since our 48th Conference witnessed the aggressive
pursuit of an extreme right-wing authoritarian communal regime along with the
economic crisis aggravating in hectic pace.During this period, India and
Asia-pacific have emerged as the focal centre of the imperialist-initiatives
along with shameless and desperate bonhomie of the present Central Govt. with
US Imperialism.
Simultaneous desperate and arrogant pursuit of communal divisive
machinations on the society; increasing attacks on minorities and dalits and
violence on women are being exercised in present Central Government project of
degeneration of social fabric together with divisive
polarization; undermining parliamentary democratic process, democratic
institutions and rights of the people are being undermined.
Rabid undemocratic measures were being aggressively pushed through,
trampling underfoot the basic constitutional values, the abrogation of article
370 of the Constitution on J&K, enactment of CAA, along with announcement
on National Population Register (NPR) followed by National Register of Citizens
(NRC), linking grant of citizenship with religion, aggressive and widespread
abusive use of UAPA, Sedition Cases, agencies like NIA, ED etc with a fascistic
repressive intent to curb the rights of expression of opinion, dissent as
dubious means to tackle and mime all oppositions against the authoritarian
anti-people misrule of the present Central Govt and in all the BJP ruled
states.
The principle of federalism enshrined in the Constitution is being
severely subverted; four fundamental pillars of Indian Constitution viz.,
secular democracy,
federalism, social justice and economic sovereignty were and are being
severely
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assaulted. Prime Minister’s loud noise on so called “Parivarbad and
Bhrastachar” is being made to camouflage his Govt’s faithful service to
corporate class, both domestic and foreign at the cost of even human survival
entitlements and basic democratic rights of the people. The Indian Republic has
never been under such structured barbarous assault in its 75 years of
independence.
Dismantling of the existing labour laws through Labour Codes to impose
conditions of virtual slavery on the working class and the desperate exercise
of the present Central Govt on Farm Laws including the Essential Commodities
Act targeting the decimation of peasants agriculture to pave the way for
corporate control are integral parts of the ruling class’ authoritarian
aggression on democracy and in governance; the Govt could be compelled to
repeal the Farm Laws by historic Farmers’ struggle; but efforts are being made
to push them through backdoor both at central and state levels. Some of the
states like Karnataka have amended the existing laws in line with those
repealed draconian Farm Laws.
As per Oxfam India’s latest report – just five per cent of Indians own
more than 60 percent of the country’s wealth while the bottom 50 percent of
India’s population possess only three percent of wealth. When the country
suffers from multiple crisis like hunger, unemployment, inflation and health
calamities, India’s billionaires are doing extremely well for themselves. The
Oxfam India calls on the Union
finance Minister to end this obscene inequality and implement progressive tax
measures such as wealth tax in the upcoming budget
The loot on national assets, aggressive pursuit of privatization of
public sector units and financial institutions, imposition of National
Education policy, National Monetisation Pipeline and National Land Monetisation
Corporation -- all are part of the destructive anti-people anti-national
fascistic project to serve the interests of the corporate class, both domestic
and foreign. And such a situation brings forth the stupendous challenges before
the working-class movement to widen and strengthen class unity and united class
struggles against the anti-people misrule combating that strategy of
corporate-communal nexus in governance.
Fixed Term Contract Employment in Defence Forces: Agniveer:
The fixed-term employment in Indian Army in the name of Agniveer Scheme
is nothing but the shameless continuation of the said policy to a fatal level
with disastrous implications for national security. The present Central
Government had already announced to liberalise and allow FDI under automatic
route up to 74% and through Government route up to 100% in civilian defence
production sector to please its imperialist partners. As a supplementary move,
the defence production sector in the Ordinance Factories network has been
corporatized in a dismantled format to sabotage its efficiency and pave the way
for their privatisation. And to facilitate the same without hurdles, the Govt
banned all industrial actions including protests by Essential Defence Service
Ordinance which was later converted into an Act.
As of December 2021, there were 1,04,053 personnel vacancies in army,
12,431 vacancies in the Navy and 5,471 in the Air Force. And now the disastrous
project of contractorization through so called Agniveer Scheme will severely
tell upon
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the quality, determination and commitment of our armed forces
endangering country’s security. This scheme will also endanger the
democratic fabric of the society at large with army trained
unemployed-frustrated Agniveers roaming all around. According to this scheme,
youth will be recruited and trained in armed forces on a four years’ fixed term
contract and thereafter terminated without any pensionary benefit, on payment
of meagre compensation.
Labour Law
Codification- Design to Institutionalise Slavery on Working Class
The programme of dismantling all Labour Laws through so called Labour
Law Codification has been undertaken by the Corporate Communal Nexus in
governance,
since labour remains at the centre of all economic operations. Twenty-nine
existing
labour laws have been repealed and replaced by four Labour Codes, viz.,
Code on Wages 2019, Industrial Relations Code 2020, the Occupational Safety,
Health and Working Conditions Code 2020, and the Code on Social Security, 2020.
With all its limitations and shortcomings, all those 29 Acts provided some
rights, benefits and entitlements to workers. Many of them no longer exist now
and the rest stand extremely diluted. Added to this has been the enactment of
the Essential Defence Service & Maintenance Act (EDSA).
The attack on labour law is further supplemented by Essential Defence
Service Maintenance Act enacted by the Govt which empower the Govt to ban or
restrict normal trade union agitation in any sector and also to invoke ESMA on
the plea of
their connection with defence production; through this atrocious EDS
Act, the Govt empowered itself to ban trade union action in any sector,
particularly all major infrastructural sector like electricity, port,
petroleum, transport, steel, coal etc. This Act also made any trade union
action a criminal offence.
Despite enactment of Labour Codes, the Govt could not yet notify the
Labour Codes officially; but they may do it anytime. This can only be fought
back through organised resistance of the imposition of the Codes and the same
has to be built up at workplace level in a determined defiant manner combining
with national level united action. Resistance and defiance are the way before
us, which has deterred the notification of enacted codes until now.
The Communal Divisive onslaught - Mask of Neo liberal Order:
Continuously resorting to minority-baiting and raising communal issues
to sharpen and sustain communal polarization accompanied by spreading poisonous
campaigns of hate and terror has become an integral part of the governance
strategy of the present Central Govt and its Hindutva outfits. This game plan
has to be understood to be a permanent feature in their governance by which
they seek to consolidate and strengthen the “overarching Hindutva identity” to
reshape people’s consciousness in their favour, to achieve this objective of a
“Hindu Rashtra”.
Actually, this devaluation and destruction of freedom and basic human
values and rationality premised on scientific approach, is inherent to the
structure of neoliberalism at its present stage of crisis, leading to emergence
of right-wing-authoritarian-divisive forces in
governance.
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Determined offensive of organised class
movementagainst this hegemonic divisive social engineering by the
corporate-communal nexus is the only way out to change the class balance of
today’s Indian society. Our movement must pursue this prime task on a priority
basis with conscious initiative for ideological struggle against the Hindutva
ideology and also organised combat against the communal divisive machinations
on the society, at all levels of organisation.
Central
Government Employees Front:
The Confederation of the
Central Government Employees’ & workers’ and Unions, the umbrella
organisation of all the Central Government Employees, Central Undertakings and
the employees of the Public Sector Undertakings had taken decision for
continuous struggles against the Present Central Government on its last
Conference which was held at Nagpur in February, 2020.
No such struggles and
programmes were materialised on their own strength in the year 2021 and 2022
due to Covid-19 pandemic. But taking advantage of the Covid-19, the present
Central Government has taken so many anti employees’ decision like, privatise
the Government sectors, freezing of 18 months DA/DR of Government
employees’/pensioners, introduced the new Labour laws by changing the earlier
Labour Laws.
Recently, the Confederation and
the All India State Government Employees Federation jointly convened one
national convention at Talkotra Stadium, New Delhi on 8th December,
2022 identifying some burning issues, viz. Scrap NPS – Restore OPS, immediate
payment of 18 months DA/DR to the Govt employees/pensioners, filling up of all
vacant post, constitute of the 8th CPC & ors. The joint
convention unanimously decided to hold “Parliament March” followed by
industrial action after the state level joint convention.
National Council, JCM and the NJCA:
The scheme of Joint
Consultative Machinery & Compulsory Arbitration was formed in October, 1967
after the historic strike of the entire Central Government Employees in the
year 1960, wherein it was decided that all grievances would be resolved through
effective negotiation, which ultimately became nothing but a talking shop.
After some successful strikes
of different sectors and some struggles of the Central Government /
Undertakings/ PSU Employees, the government come forward to discuss with the
Standing Committee, National Council, JCM, Staff Side about Board of
Arbitration Issues, Restoration of Commutation in 12 years, Arrears of 18
months DA/DR etc.
On 22nd September,
2022, the Secretary, Expenditure, Govt. of India informed to the Standing
Committee that Govt. was not ready to allow the arrears of 18 months DA/DR.
When the Members, Standing Committee, NC, JCM put pressure that the Govt may
write in the minutes about the rejection of the demand. The official side
informed that once more discussion would take place.
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Regarding
discussion on the Board of Arbitration issues, the Official Side met with the
Standing Committee Members on 17th November, 2022. Com. Tapas Bose
had attended the meeting. Out of 12 nos of Board of Arbitration Awards, the
following issues were accepted by the Govt which were sent to Budget Section
for approval:
1) Revision of Washing Allowances: Before 1/1/1996, the Central
Govt had allowed only Rs.30/- to the eligible employees. As per arbitration
award, it would be Rs.60/- from the date of award. The Govt. finally accepted
in 5th CPC which was applicable from the month of August, 1997. The
arrears of in between period were accepted.
2) Difference of House Rent
Allowances:The
revised rate of HRA of 5th CPC was allowed to the employees from
August, 1997. The award of the BOA was the revised HRA would be applicable from
01/01/1996 instead of August, 1997. Due to huge financial implications, the
Govt. is ready to allow it only from 01/01/1997 instead of 01/01/1996.
3) Parity of pay scales at par
with the CSS cadre:
We all are aware that since inception, i.e., before independence, theAll India
Audit and Accounts Association was fought to the issue. We are grateful to our
former great leaders who had struggled a lot in the issue. So many times, we
achieved it and again the CSS cadre had upgraded their pay-scale to the upper
tier. From 01/01/1986, when the pay scales was again upgraded to the CSS cadre,
further struggle had been started and our former leaders went to the Board of
Arbitration and got the award that the pay scales of the SA should be at par
with the CSS cadre.
During
the struggle, a group of activists mistakenly left us with the analogy that
Court Case was the right-path instead of the struggles. The Supreme Court of
India gave judgement that the Central Govt would be discussed the issue with
the Staff Side and would come to a conclusion.
Finally
in a meeting of the Standing Committee, NC, JCM, Staff Side on 17th
November, the Govt. finally accepted the BOA award on the issue from 01/01/1986
notionally. Regarding arrears on the issue, the Official Side informed that due
to huge financial implications, another round of discussion will be required
which will be held shortly.
In
this regard, a detailed note was circulated by the All India Audit and Accounts
Association.
All the constituents under the
NJCA had taken a decision on 17th November, 2022 with a single point
agenda, i.e. “Scrap NPS – Restore OPS”, series of programmes: Convention
at national level on 20th January, 2022 at New Delhi, March to
Parliament, Indefinite period of Industrial Action throughout the year of 2023.
Contd……12
:::: 12
::::
All India Audit and Accounts Pensioners’
Association:
The All India Audit and
Accounts Pensioners Association was formed in the year 2018 after the
successful conference at Guwahati. Now it is affiliated under the National
Co-ordination Committee of Pensions Association, New Delhi.
The NE of the All India
Pensioners Association could not visited to their all Branch unit in different
States due to Covid-19 pandemic. It is utmost necessary to form all the branch
unit in all states under the All India Audit & Accounts Pensioners
Association. During the period, the apex leaders wrote some letters
highlighting the issues of the IA&AD pensioners.
Com. Subhas Chandra Pandey,
Permanent Invitee of the All India Audit and Accounts Association and the
Working President of the All India Audit and Accounts Pensioners Association
has been elected as one of the National Executive member of the NCCPA in its
last conference.
Departmental Front:
Some of the issues that
agitated our members much could be taken into the agenda items of Departmental
Council Meeting of the IA&AD or with the Government of India through
National Council, JCM, Staff Side.
NFU to Supervisor: In the month of June, 2019,
the Hd. Qrs. Office informed that the DOP&T did not accept this proposal.
Immediately after the last conference, the AIAAA once again re-opened the case
before the Hd. Qrs Office alongwith the Divisional Accounts Cadre with a fresh
look. After discussion with our Association, the DOP&T had accepted our
proposals. As a result, hundreds of employees in this cadre got benefit of NFU
after completion of 4 years of service.
DEO to Auditor/Accountant: From the day one of the
arbitrary induction of the DEO (technical) cadre in the IA&AD, the only All
India Audit and Accounts Association protested against it. In the last
submission before the Restructuring Committee of the IA&AD-2018, our All
India Association categorically opined that the DEO should come into the main
stream cadre. But the other microscopic Federation denied and specifically
submitted before the Restructuring Committee that the DEO may continue as a
separate technical cadre. Our members
are now happy that the C&AG of India accepted our proposal and passed
order. As a result, hundreds of the employees of DEO cadre cleared the DEA for
Auditor/Accountant and got promotion in the main stream cadre.
Compassionate Appointment: The All India Audit and
Accounts Association is the only Apex Association, had submitted the list of
employees died due to Covid-19 in addition to normal case not only to our Hd.
Qrs Office but also to the Govt. through NC, JCM, Staff side. After the
discussion, the Hd. Qrs Office issued circular that the pending compassionate
appointment case can be transferred to any other office where vacancy exists.
As a result, a good number of appointments have happened in field offices.
Still the process is going on in some of the field offices.
Contd…..13
:::: 13
::::
But
till date some of the following cases are not finalised:
1)
Grant
of non functional upgradation to Adhoc & RT AAOs after completion of 4
years’ service. The creation of Adhoc/RT AAO done by the C&AG
Administration and allowed them Gazetted Status also. Even, their past service
was not counted when NFU was introduced in the IA&AD. Till today, the only
Apex Association is trying to overcome the issue.
2)
Cadre
Restructuring of IA&AD: The Cadre Restructuring of the IA&AD has been
completed and introduce by the Hd. Qrs Office from 1/1/2021. The C&AG
Administration has arbitrarily done it without the discussion of the Staff Side
of IA&AD. The scientific proposal of the All India Audit and Accounts
Association was not considered by the C&AG administration. It was cleared
without announcement of the final sanctioned strength in different field
offices. As a result, in most of the
field offices, not a single promotion order had been issued for the year 2021
and 2022 from the MTS to Sr. Auditor/Accountant. The All India Audit and
Accounts Association strongly condemned not only the attitude taken by the
C&AG administration but also suggest complete review of the restructuring
process.
3)
AAO
to SAO promotion: The C&AG administration merged both the AO and SAO cadre
into one SAO cadre in the month of October, 2019. As a result, the AAOs would
be eligible to get the promotion to the post of SAO w.e.f. 1/1/2020. As it is a
Gr-A service, the consultation of the UPSC is required.
4)
But
till today, some of the DPC of field offices for the year 2020 are not cleared
by the Hd. Qrs Office. The UPSC and the C&AG administration is blaming each
other. As a result, members of the All India Association became frustrated for
not settling the promotion in time when vacancy exist. There should be no hesitation in clearing the
due promotion in time by the C&AG in person.
YPP – formal contractorization
of functions of the IA&AD:
The C&AG
administration had taken the decision and initiated contractorization of
functions of the IA&AD by initiating Young Professional Programme (YPP). It
is nothing but contractorization of auditing and accounting functions. The
Association submitted letter to the Hd. Qrs Office to stop the YPP immediately
and filled up the vacant position immediately. The Association also highlighted
that there is no other constitutional authorities who have taken such decision
at their office.
Moreover, it is
also observed that the Hd. Qrs Office is encouraging the field offices to take
retired employees on contractual basis, depriving the own staff for allowing
promotion particularly when the employees cleared the departmental examination.
Contd….14
:::: 14
::::
Stenographer and Rajbhasa
issue:
1)
The
peculiar situation is going on particularly in the IA&AD, where the most
deprived is the Stenographer cadre. Those who are posted in different field
level offices are not getting the pay scales at par with CSS cadre when it is
applicable only those who are posted at the C&AG office at New Delhi. The
Association has taken up the matter with the Govt. through NC, JCM, Staff Side
which is under active consideration.
2)
The
same situation is going on for Rajbhasa Cadre. The Hd. Qrs Office is not
maintaining the stipulated guidelines for the cadre. The issue is taken up for
discussion with the Hd. Qrs Office immediately.
Employees Co-operative Societies and the C&AG
administration:
For the last few years, the All
India Association observed that on the issue of Co-operative Societies, the
C&AG administration is very much enthusiastic in taking steps to paralyse
the present functioning. We are aware that the Employees Co-operative Societies
runned by the employees of the IA&AD in some different field offices for
more than 100 years. The Hd. Qrs Office is forced to field administration to
change the name of the society in particular name prescribed by the C&AG
administration. No other Central Government Department/Ministry has moved such
type of action to their respective field offices except the IA&AD.
Organisation:
We have passed very abnormal
time due to Covid-19 pandemic in three occasions which was nearly one and half
year. Till date some consequence effect is going on and are going through some
hard time. We have to assess/ self-introspection on our organization inability
and willingness to implement the decisions. Unanimous decisions have been taken
in NE meeting/Working Committee Meeting on different issues but there were many
lapses and shortcomings for the implementation part.
I would like to confess that
during the last tenure, as a whole, we do lack seriousness to take the
challenges before us.
We are aware that the means of
the effective organisation – leaderships at apex level and as well as the field
level should realise the challenges and take effective steps/attend to it on
long terms basis.
The 48th Conference
had taken decision to release the arrear salary of our former Secretary
General, Com. M.S.Raja. He has served in this organisation more than 14 years
and retired. Moreover, after the death of Com. MSR, the NE as well as Working
Committee had given a call of Special Fund of Rs.500/- each. The decision was
ignored by majority of field level units including the N.E. Members. As a
result, the arrears were cleared by the organisation after long time.
Contd….15
:::: 15
::::
Financial Position-Remittance of HQr Quota and
Special Fund:
The Audited Accounts for the
last 3 years have been attached with the report. It would give a clear picture
of the Hd. Qrs remittance by the units. Majority of the units had not submitted
their membership position as a result it difficult to calculate and collect the
actual Head Quarter Quota.
The last conference had
maintained the decision of the earlier conference that the Hd. Qr. Quota of
Rs.12/- per member per month and the subscription of members at field level
would be Rs.30/- per month per member. There are so many units have even today
not revised their membership @ Rs.30/- and as a result the unit do not pay the
Hd. Qr Quota as per the revised constitution of the All India Association. Very
unfortunate that the unit led by the NE members also failed to clear the Hd. Qr
Quota at the prescribed rate.
The audited accounts for the
last 3 years give a picture that not a single rupee has been allowed towards
loss of pay to the Secretary General. The Secretary General could not be in
foreign service, which was very much required, due to critical state of funds.
If the same situation will be going on in coming days, then it will be
difficult to take foreign service in favour of the coming Secretary General.
We would discuss this part
seriously and decide on how to overcome this and act accordingly.
SUPREME COURT ORDER: HISTORIC
ACHIEVEMENT
IN THE CASE OF COM. K A MANUEL
OF KERALA
Real movement never lost. In
the year 2009, the Kerala A&E administration took decision that the pension
work of AG office would be outsourced. The Audit and Accounts Association,
Branch-Kerala had protested against the attempt to outsource the work to be
done by the AG employees. The decision had been withdrawn following the strike.
Com. Manuel was the then Secretary of Cat-2 Association. The Administration put
false allegations against him and dismissed him from the service. The CAT,
Kerala quashed the dismissed order at 2010 which was upheld by Division Bench
of Kerala High Court. Then the case was approached in the Supreme Court by the
C&AG of India. And now the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India also dismissed
the appeal by the C&AG of India and asked to reinstate Com. K A Manuel.
The All India Audit and
Accounts Association is thankful to all the field level units to stand to the
Kerala Unit during the entire struggle. We are also thankful to all the veteran
leaders for extending full support in all respect to the entire Kerala Unit.
All the unit leadership will
take lesson from this that “Struggle is the right path- there is no short
cut way”. On behalf of the National Executive Members, I would like to
express, “Red Salute Com. Manuel”.
Contd…..16
:::: 16
::::
Conclusion:
The situation facing us is
challenging no doubt but not insurmountable. The intervening period has witnessed
aggressive restructuring of the governance of economy, political
systems/institutions and the society towards more desperate authoritarian
direction in our country, that reflects the crisis as well as weaknesses of the
neoliberal order, not its strength. That
is why the intervening period alsowitness increasing resistance to the neo
liberal agenda and also to its reflection in the governance and society;
retrograde change in the codified labour laws could still be halted from being
implemented for the last 3 years at the national level.
For the last few years, we are
observing that there is a very systematic attack to undermine the
Constitutional Authorities in our country. Some of the Constitutional
Authorities are resisting the attack very carefully. On the other hand, few
Constitutional Authorities are compromising in this regard. For the last one
and half decades the Association raised the issue that our department was not
discharging the Constitutional Obligation to the people of India. But being the
head of the department, no Comptroller & Auditor General of India had taken
any move in this regard.
Reorientation of our work and
heightening of struggles can make our united combat effective to make ruling
class retreat. Objective situation for a combative heightened struggle very
much exists as understood from increasing response of working employees and
toiling people to the call of struggles, provided we could reach them
convincingly. This is not an impossible task, if the call is properly responded
to by our organisation at all levels, we can make ourselves to respond to take
up these task of reorientation …..That must be the pledge to be adopted by our
49th Conference.
To fight these policies, we
require solid organisational structure and organisational discipline.
We will fight and we will win.
49th
Conference Zindabad!
All
India Audit and Accounts Association Zindabad!
Confederation
of Central Government Employees and Workers Zindabad!
Workers
Unity Zindabad!
Thiruvananthapuram, Sd/-
Dated: 27th
January, 2023 Tapas
Bose
Secretary General
