People's Democracy

ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS

  Govt Employees Observe Protest Day

 AT the call of the Confederation of Central Government Employees And Workers, the Non-Gazetted Government Officers Association of Andaman & Nicobar Islands organised demonstrations at various offices in Port Blair on March 11. This was in protest against the central government’s new DA formula that proposes to restrict neutralisation of increases in the cost of living to 50 per cent, as against 100 per cent that is currently admissible for central government employees. This means that government servants will be getting only half of the DA as and when it is due in future.

 The employees were also protesting against the government’s refusal to implement the Fifth Pay Commission’s recommendation to merge 50 per cent of the DA with the pay. Now the DA has reached 52 per cent, yet the government is unwilling to merge 50 per cent of it with pay as recommended by the commission.

 The Protest Day on March 11 was the first in a series of agitations to be launched by central government employees against the central government’s anti-employee policies.

 At Port Blair, a central programme was also held in the Secretariat premises, in addition to the one held at noon, in which a large number of government employees participated. These included a good number of women.

 The association’s president Pranab Banerjee, vice president V Ramdas and general secretary D Ayyappan led the programme.

 The call for the action came from the association’s two-day annual conference that was held at Billiground, Middle Andaman, on February 21-22. Inaugurating the conference, CITU secretary Jibon Roy said the anti-employee and anti-working class laws, to be passed by parliament, would deprive the government employees as well as those of the public sector undertakings, banks, insurance, etc, of the benefits they hitherto enjoyed. Roy said employees and workers are becoming jobless due to the BJP-led government’s wrong policies. There is virtually no new job opportunity in the government sector due to the ban on creation of posts the central government has imposed. Roy urged the government employees to organise themselves to fight these policies.

 Earlier, welcoming the delegates and others, reception committee chairman S S Samadar threw light upon various struggles conducted by government employees in the islands. Besides the delegates, a large number of trade union leaders, kisan leaders, sympathisers and others attended the inaugural session.

 Later, a public meeting held at the Billiground Bazaar, was addressed by Jibon Roy, B Chandrachoodan (CITU), Tapan Bepari (CPI-M), and S B Chatterjee (Pensioners’ Association). Mohammed Raza, who was then the association’s president, presided.

 On February 22, in the delegates session, the association’s general secretary Pranab Banerjee presented his report on the functioning of the association during the last one year and about the international and national situation, with particular reference to government employees’ movements. After discussion, the general secretary’s report as well as the audited accounts for the last one year were unanimously adopted.

 The conference also discussed and adopted the association’s programme of action for the next one year. A public meeting was held on February 22, 2003 evening too which was also addressed by the leaders of the association.

 The conference elected a new committee that will be led by Pranab Banerjee as president and D Ayyappan as general secretary.

 Coming from different parts of the island territory, 75 delegates/observers attended the conference, representing thousands of government employees.

 The association will observe its golden jubilee year over the next one year, for which its executive committee will chalk out detailed programmes.