AIBDPA

CHQ heartily congratulates all the leaders in various circles for organising the Solidarity Dharna in a big way and thousands of comrades for their enthusiastic participation in large numbers. While supporting the National Strike which has been our tradtion since formation of AIBDPA, inclusion of the important demands of pensioners for the Solidarity Dharna, particularly pension revision and medical claims of BSNL pensioners and the freezing of IDA , have instilled eagerness of the our pensioners to show their anger and anguish against the injustice.

AIBDPA units also joined the Protest Demonstration of AUAB against freezing of IDA on 25-11-2020 and in certain places both were held combined.

Some of the photos received from circles are published circle wise.

MAHARASHTRA CIRCLE

JALGAON

RAIGAD

AHMEDNAGAR

SANGAMNER

AURANGABAD

AMRAVATI

PUNE

NAGPUR

NANDED

BHANDARA

SOLAPUR

SANGLI

BULDANA

TELECOM FACTORY, MUMBAI

PRESS STATEMENT SUPPORTING STRIKE ON 26th NOVEMBER, 2020

NATIONAL COORDINATION COMMITTEE

OF PENSIONERS ASSOCIATIONS.

13-C Feroze Shah Road,

New Delhi.110 001

Website: www.nccpahq.blogspot.com

Email. nccpahq@gmail.com

Dated: 23/11//2020

President: Com. Shiv Gopal Misra, 9717647594

Secretary General: Com. K.K.N. Kutty 9811048303

PRESS STATEENT

The NCCPA, the apex level organisation of all Pensioners Associations and Federations in the country, conveys their fraternal greetings to the working class including the agricultural workers and Kisans who will be making the one-day general strike on 26.11.2020 a grand historic action. This strike action despite the serious pandemic situation of corona COVID-19 in the country is expected to elicit the participation of crores of Indian workers, surpassing the earlier record. The very fact that the strike primarily centres around the demand for the reversal of the ongoing neo liberal economic policies makes it dear to the millions of Indian people, who love this country, who want a self- reliant India to come about. Every segment of the Indian working class has been targeted by the present Government, the last and fierce being the new labour code. The method adopted by this Government to get the seal of approval of Rajya Sabha for the new enactment, which takes away the rights, privileges and benefits enjoyed by the workers conferred upon them by the very same Parliament is indicative of the despotic tenor of the governance of the present ruling dispensation.

The 2019 electoral verdict obtained employing the hate agenda and divisive policies is effectively being used to ensure that crony capitalism is the cardinal principle of governance. Emboldened by that verdict, the Government has been taking various steps which are totally anti labour in content and character. The Kisans who are supposed to be the backbone of Indian economy has also been attacked leaving with no alternative for them except to tread the path of struggle. NCCPA notes with great happiness that many Kisan organisations as also the Agricultural workers Union has lent support to this historic struggle and are participating in this historic action. The coming together of the Kisaans and workers, NCCPA, notes with great satisfaction is bound to be a great harbinger to bring about a real and lasting change in the society.

The pensioner community, especially those retired from the Central Government service received the most unanticipated shock when the Government decided to deny the dearness relief to them for 18 months from Ist January, 2020 to 1^sJuly, 2021. The dearness compensation which was meant to arrest the erosion of the real value of pension has thus been stopped. Read with the notification recently issued in respect of changing the basket of commodities in the computation of the consumer price index and switching over the base year from 2001 to 2016 one genuinely apprehends whether the DR system will remain or not in future. The present ruling class had always been opposed to the cost indexed wage system and once the same is denied to the workers, undoubtedly the pensioners will have to follow. This apart, the reduction of rate of interest effected on term deposits by the Government has considerably reduced the income of the Pensioners as most of them had chosen to invest their savings and retirement wealth in bank deposits. The pandemic has made them immobile and the Government has made them virtual prisoners in their own homes. They are unable to make the both ends meet with considerable reduction in their income and the Government has chosen to impose additional burden by denying them the dearness compensation, which they are otherwise entitled. No special consideration has been given to them either in terms of finance or in terms of priority in case of hospital treatment.

Recently the Central Government has issued an order covering all the employees of Public Sector Enterprises also that their DA will be frozen from 01.10.2020 to 30.06.2021. This is another serious attack. The Government was reluctant initially to extend the benefit of revised pension to the pensioners of autonomous bodies. Many financial benefits that were provided to them on par with the Central Government employees have been stopped on one pretext or the other. The revision of pension in the case of BSNL pensioners has been made to pend since 2017. The pensioners of the BSNL are denied the medical reimbursement, which was in vogue as part of agreement. The revision of pension entitlement of Bank employees especially those retired from the Punjab National Bank has not taken place for years despite the fact that the Bank holds huge reserves as pension fund. In the name of amalgamation of banks, these pensioners are denied their legitimate rights.

The large majority of the Central Government pensioners are denied medical facilities who stay in non-CGHS towns and villages. Those who are affected by the deadly disease of COVID-19 are to incur heavy financial burden, which is not reimbursed by the Government. Almost all private hospitals without exception charges exorbitantly for treatment of COVID-19 patients.

The facility to Senior Citizens granted by the Indian Railways wherein their train fare was reduced by 40% and 50% respectively to gents and ladies had been cancelled in the name of discouraging travel by senior citizens. This is atrocious. Despite many representations from various quarters, the Central Government has not come forward to restore the facility.

The NCCPA has already called upon its affiliates and members to organise dharna/demonstration on 25^th to express solidarity and support to the working class in the country. NCCPA fervently feels that the 26^th November, 2020 strike will bring to the centre stage of discourse the real issues. NCCPA salutes the workers in the country for the strenuous efforts undertaken by them to make the 26^th November, 2020 a grand success. NCCPA expresses its solidarity with them unequivocally and expects the future course of action to be more intense, more united and more militant.

K.K.N. KUTTY

SECRETARY GENERAL.

SOLIDARITY DHARNA IN WEST BENGAL CIRCLE.

CHHATTISGARH CIRCLE- SOLIDARITY DHARNA

SOLIDARITY DHARNA IN KERALA

TAMIL NADU CIRCLE- SOLIDARITY DHARNA.

ASSAM CIRCLE- BONGAIGAON

NORTH EAST I CIRCLE – AGARTALA, TRIPURA

SOLIDARITY DHARNA ON 25-11-2020 IN HARYANA CIRCLE.

NCCPA CALL FOR SOLIDARITY DHARNA ON 25-11-2020 IN SUPPORT OF THE NATIONAL STRIKE OF 26-11-2020 EVOKES MASSIVE RESPONSE.

NCCPA PRESS STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE GENERAL STRIKE OF 26-11-2020

PRESS STATEMENT SUPPORTING STRIKE ON 26th NOVEMBER, 2020

NEW DISTRICT BRANCH FORMED AT JIND IN HARYANA CIRCLE.