Reasons for Maharally at Yogakshema on 12th Oct.

                  As all of us are aware, there has been unrest among employees regarding the pending issues for a variety of reasons. A dispassionate analysis reveals the following reasons:-

1. Delay in taking decisions: - The decision making process is either very slow or no decision has been taken. Consider the following:-
1. One more pension option.
2. Recruitment of Class III to ease the workload.
3. PLLI.
4. Anomalies in successive wage revisions.
5. The AAO notification was inordinately delayed this year.
6. Expected increase in Meal Coupons & Tea-Coffee re-imbursement(to officers)
7. No end in sight to the impasse on the paucity of cashiers.
8. No monetary compensation for those involved in EFEAP implementation after office-hours.
2. Problems in implementation of decisions:- Following are classic examples:-
1. Huge problems in the Staff Housing loan portfolio after being transferred to LIC HFL.
2. EFEAP implementation.
3. Recruitment of Class IV.
3. Unilateralism & Lack of transparency on the part of management:-
1. Transferring the Housing loan portfolio to LIC HFL without consulting the unions.
2. ‘Statement of Intent’ of PLLI not made public.
3. No Information sharing meeting since 19^th July 2010.

              Whatever be the reasons, the employees/officers all over the country are facing the music & the ire of the policyholders & agents due to some of the above issues. The workload has increased manifold & there has been no commensurate monetary compensation for the same.

            NOINO & NOIW have, therefore, decided to highlight these issues through a massive demonstration at Yogakshema on 12^th October 2011 during lunch hours. The main focus will be on the issues of one more pension option, problems in Housing loan, & problems in EFEAP implementation. The other issues mentioned above will also be highlighted. We appeal to all employees/officers to join the demonstration in huge numbers & strengthen the movement.

Officers join NOINO en masse at Chandigarh

The steady trickle of officers joining NOINO has turned into a deluge now. Being inspired by NOINO’s relentless pursuit of giving the Class-I Officers their deserved dues, today i.e. on 1st October 2011, 101 officers of Chandigarh Division (North Zone) joined NOINO en masse. NOINO is now in absolute majority in Chandigarh with 144 members on roll. Our heartiest congratulations to the Chandigarh Divisional Committee of NOINO! The team deserves high praise for its tireless efforts & working single-mindedly to strengthen NOINO. The NOINO NZ team also deserves compliments.

Consumer Price Index

CPI for July 2011 is 193, for August 2011 is 194. If it remains same for September 2011, the rise in DA will be by 36 slabs w.e.f. 01.11.2011.

Navratri & Dussehra

We wish you all a very happy Navratri & Dussehra!

It is believed that Goddess Durga on her 10-day journey around the earth removes all evils..!!
May Goddess Durga destroy all evils around us and fill our lives with happiness and prosperity!



NOINO NZ meets ZM, North Zone

From Left: Sarvashri R.C.Meena, Joint Secretary; R.K.Sharma, Zonal Secretary; Dr S.B.Sharan, AI Working President; N.B.Sathe, Zonal Manager; S.K.Saini, Zonal President; Yashpal Singh, Organising Secretary; H.K.Dhiman, Vice President

A delegation of NOINO Northern Zone unit met Zonal Manager Shri N.B.Sathe on 19.09.2011 at 4.30 PM comprising following office-bearers:

1.  Dr S.B.Sharan       All India Working President

2.Shri S.K.Saini        Zonal President

3.Shri H.K.Dhiman       Zonal Vice President

4.Shri Rajiv K. Sharma  Zonal Secretary

5.Shri Yashpal Singh    Organizing Secretary

6.Shri R.C.Meena        Joint Secretary

7.Shri Sanjeev Madan    Zonal Treasurer

   After exchange of pleasantries by both sides our All India Working President took this opportunity to invite the Zonal Manager Shri N.B.Sathe to inaugurate NOINO EC meeting to be held in New Delhi on 21^st & 22^nd November 2011 as Chief Guest which the ZM accepted gladly.

   Next, NOINO NZ raised the issue of hardships being faced by officers on derotation to administration side from marketing side while there remained a few months’ period in completion of 5 yrs from job rotation or purchase of four-wheeler. They also brought to the notice of the ZM that in other Zones like Eastern Zone the derotation list comprised the effective dates of derotation so the officers were saved of the burden of six months’/one year’s depreciation-value to be deposited. The Zonal Manager assured the delegation to look into the matter as brought out by NOINO NZ.

   The delegation also raised the issues relating to market rent being charged from the officers transferred out and other issues related to Leased Accommodation to officers. The Zonal Manager told that after getting information from Estate Department the matter would be looked into on case to case basis.

   In addition to above some issues relating to Srinagar Division & Chandigarh Division were also brought to the knowledge of the ZM which were demanding immediate attention. The Zonal Manager assured the delegation that he would look into the matters pointed-out.

   The delegation also conveyed concern to the Zonal Manager for the delay in notification for AAO promotions & its effect on transfer cases.

From Left: Sarvashri R.C.Meena, Joint Secretary; R.K.Sharma, Zonal Secretary; Dr S.B.Sharan, AI Working President; N.B.Sathe, Zonal Manager; S.K.Saini, Zonal President; Yashpal Singh, Organising Secretary; Sanjeev Madan, Zonal Treasurer

Maharally at Yogakshema on 12th October 2011

We all are aware that currently a lot of issues concerning the employees/officers have remained unsolved. In a nutshell, the following issues are confronting the employees/officers:-

1. Problems in Housing loan.
2. Problems while & after implementation of EFEAP.
3. One more pension option.
4. PLLI.
5. Revision in meal coupons
6. Delay in Class IV recruitment.
7. Necessity of Class III recruitment.
8. Codified/transparent transfer/promotion policy for Class I Officers.
9. Anomalies in successive wage-revisions.
10.  Delay in AAO notification.

This list can be longer. However, the overall attitude of the management has been lethargic & the movement very slow. After the conclusion of the charter last year, we have met the competent authorities several times & submitted memorandums in an attempt to expedite the issues confronting us. But there has been no notable improvement in the scenario.

The next logical step, hence, is to launch an agitation. It has been decided that NOINO & NOIW will jointly organize a demonstration in front of Yogakshema on Wednesday, 12^th October 2011. It has also been decided that this demonstration will focus on three issues viz; one more pension option; problems in housing loan & problems in implementation in EFEAP though the other issues would also be discussed.

AAO notification - current status

As per our information:-

1. The AAO notification is most likely to be issued without considering the increase in age limit for those competing under Clause 1(B) as per our insistence(as it has been very late).

2. MD & C-in-C will return to Mumbai on Monday, i.e. 26th September after which a decision would be taken in this regard. It is very much likely that the notification will be issued in the next week.

A letter to C-in-C on the state of affairs in LIC

NOINO has written a letter to the Current-in-Charge of our Corporation today i.e. 20th September 2011 drawing his attention on several pending issues of the employees. The letter is reproduced below:

20.9.2011

The Current-in-Charge,

L.I.C. of India.

Dear Sir,

Re: Current state of affairs in our Corporation

            We feel constrained to write this letter to you. The letter may be long, but we request you to go personally through it. The subject matter of this letter is obvious from the above title.

            We all love this great institution of ours & this love & loyalty has compelled us to write this letter. For the last one year or so, there has been a feeling among the employees that the Corporation is not on the right track & the decision-making & implementation process has been painfully slow. Some of the decisions have proved to be horribly wrong & the employees have to bear the brunt of it for no fault of theirs. We also feel that the management could be more transparent. Consider the following:-

1. There has been no Information Sharing Meeting with the unions since 19^th July 2010. Even that meeting was related to the conclusion of wage-revision.
2. The decision to transfer the Housing loan portfolio to HFL has proved to be a disaster. Every time we have a discussion with the management on this issue, some new date/month is dished out saying things would fall in place by that date/month. But the fact of the matter is that even after more than one year, major problems remain to be solved. E.g. employees still have not received the re-imbursement of the subsidy & they have to pay the renewed instalment through their noses. The employees are at a loss to know whom & where to approach. The only solution is to bring back this portfolio to LIC but for some strange reasons we are dragging our feet.
3. The EFEAP implementation has placed the employees in a tight corner. Even in places where the EFEAP was implemented long ago, things have not stabilised. We are not even paying a farthing to the employees who have to implement this at un-earthly hours. The policyholders & agents are not happy in these branches & consequently our image is taking a beating.
4. The issue of one more pension option has also not been solved. We even don’t know what the progress in this matter is.
5. No information is forthcoming as to PLLI. The Board meeting scheduled on 16^th of September has been postponed. Consequently, rumour-mongers are having a field day. The air needs to be cleared forthwith in this matter. The ‘Statement of intent’ should be made public. The employees are eagerly waiting for the PLLI.
6. The AAO notification is pending for several days. This is normally issued in the month of June. It is September now & there are no signs of the same being issued. Employees are eagerly waiting for the same to be expedited.
7. It is a known fact that the recruitment of Class IV is in jeopardy. Though court cases are said to be the impediment, if the management had taken the unions into confidence long back on this issue that could have helped solving this matter much earlier. Even the court cases (some of those) are a result of the faulty interpretation & implementation of the court orders.
8. There is a desperate need for a massive Class III recruitment to ease the workload. However, for years together, recruitment was not done & when it was done the numbers were very few, depending upon some mysterious staff strength formula which baffles the employees.
9. We are eager to outsource many of our portfolios. But the experience till now has proved that these decisions have not proved to be prudent. We (sort of) outsourced the Housing loan portfolio & failed miserably. We outsourced the recruitment process & many irregularities surfaced. Even during this years’ Direct recruit AAO’s recruitment, everyone knows what happened. The results are yet to see the light of the day (yet another example of our slow movement).
10. Even after glaring mistakes & anomalies are pointed out, the same are not rectified in spite of logical arguments. One classic example is that of the employees promoted under 1B & fitted to minimum of basic of AAO’s. The effect of computer increment has got nullified & employees junior to them are drawing one more increment. But in spite of our pointing out this crystal-clear anomaly as also the fact that SBI has rectified this mistake long back in 1996 in an exactly similar situation, the issue is hanging for last 15 years or so. What is the reason for this unprecedented delay?
11. There is no transfer-promotion-posting policy for the Class I officers worth its salt. Genuine cases are being overlooked.
12.   We had demanded last year that the meal coupons should be linked to DA rise & revised periodically. Though the management had not agreed in to-to at that time, there were enough positive indications in this respect. Now we are being told that no proposal of such sort is being considered.
13.  The Corporation is not doing well this year. However, the whole Insurance Industry & the Indian economy is also not doing well. A section of the management is breathing down the necks of the branch officials as if they are responsible for the entire Corporation not doing well.  The overall strategy is not devised by these branch officials. The ‘carrot & stick’ method of motivating has become old hat. But now-a-days the carrot is missing & only the stick is visible.

       The above letter should not be construed as criticism. If at all, it can be termed as a positive one. This is more an attempt of self-evaluation & self-introspection. It is common experience now-a-days to hear evasive answers from the management which betrays a lack of transparency. Though a lot of lip-service is paid to unions’ contribution to the Corporation’s progress, the actual responses of a section of management speak otherwise.

       Time has come to think dis-passionately & work passionately. The employees are already working passionately & with zeal. The management should now think dis-passionately about the shortcomings & consult the unions about solving them. Healthy dissent should be encouraged instead of stifling it. Participative management is the need of the hour.

      Anticipating a frank discussion on these issues,

Yours faithfully,

Sd/-

Ganesh Kamath                   

GS, NOINO

LIC Board meeting postponed

We have been informed that the Board of Directors' meeting of LIC which was scheduled for 16th September 2011 i.e. today has been postponed due to non-availability of many of the Board members. Board members are busy with some different important assignments. Next date of the meeting has not yet been conveyed to us.

Many important decisions including PLLI and others were to be taken in this meeting.

AAO notification & PLLI – followed up again

You might be knowing that we had earlier taken up the two issues of AAO notification and PLLI twice with the ED(P) - once on 8th August 2011 & then on Friday, 9th September 2011. The details of these discussions are available on this blog site on the respective dates. Today, i.e. on 13th September 2011, our All India General Secretary Shri Ganesh Kamath along with Smt. Trupti Bramhe, EC member, NOINO met the Chief(Personnel) Shri T Mendiratta for a follow-up of the two issues. The following transpired in the meeting:

1. AAO notification:- We reiterated our earlier demand that the AAO notification be issued immediately without any further delay. We expressed our apprehensions that this unprecedented delay would result into agony for the officers waiting for transfers & those aspiring for promotions would have to un-necessarily suffer monetary loss to the extent of delay. Chief (P) replied that the management was seized of the issue & the picture was likely to be clear in the next week. He agreed to convey our strong sentiments to the competent authority.

2. PLLI:- We protested the fact that the 'statement of intent' was not made public. We reiterated our demand that it should be made public before-hand so that the employees know what are the parameters & work accordingly. We said that in absence of authentic information, rumour-mongers were making merry & it was in the interest of the Corporation that the air be cleared forthwith. We also demanded that the PLLI should be without any ceiling. Chief(P) agreed to look into the matter as early as possible.

NOINO will continue to follow up the issues of employees' interests.