NOINO MEETS ED(P) ON PENDING ISSUES

  NOINO delegation had a brief meeting with ED(P) Shri M R Kumar today, i.e. 29th August 2012, basically to follow-up on certain issues. The meeting was brief owing to the fact that the ED was to embark on a tour. The following issues were raised:-

1. PLLI:- On this issue, ED said that though it seemed difficult within the present parameters, he indicated that the management would try to find a way out to sanction some amount. He said that in case of such possibility, the management would place it in the next Board meeting(probably in the next month).

2. Meal coupons :- a) We reminded the ED about our earlier demand that Meal coupons should be revised every year & that it should be DA-linked. We had recently again submitted a detailed letter on this issue on 9.8.2012. The ED was positive on this issue & indicated that the amount would be revised shortly(probably in the Insurance week) though he did not specify the amount of increase.

    b) We also pointed out (as done several times earlier), that the employees were facing problems in encashment of the coupons with many outlets refusing to accept it, while many were over-charging. This point was also brought out in our letter dated 9.8.2012. ED said that the management was aware of the problems & serious thought was being given on the entire issue of meal coupons & some solution would be worked out in the future.

3. Attendance Grace period:- ED laid to rest the rumours in some quarters about the so-called with-drawal of grace period of 10 minutes while joining office every day saying that there was no such issue.

4. Notification of promotion(Class III to Class I):- We pointed out the inordinate delay in issuing the notification. ED replied that the notification including separate channel for promotion of CA's under to be introduced new clause 1(C) was with the Government. It has already been approved & now it is with the legal department of the Government. It was expected shortly, after which the notification of promotion would be issued.

5. Injustice to Class I Officers:- We pointed out some examples as to how injustice was meted out to Class I Officers in general.

    a) The property returns have to be compulsorily filed only by the Class I Officers which defies logic.

    b) The subsidy on Mediclaim for Class I Officers in service is 2/3rd of the premium whereas for others it is 3/4th of the premium(even retired employees including officers get 3/4th subsidy). ED was positive on this issue & said that this would be set right.

    c) For all mistakes/errors/irregularities, only the Class I Officers are held responsible. We pointed out that in some Zones, warning letters & letters calling for explanation were being issued at the drop of the hat, demoralising the Class I officers. Class I officers are being asked not to depend on the system support & instead manually calculate/check everything. This is next to impossible. On one hand the management expects the Class I Officers to meet all deadlines, come what may & on the other hand for every single mistake, they are held responsible.  We urged ED to intervene & stop this harassment. ED was positive in this matter. This issue would be discussed with the ED in detail later.

NOINO will continue to follow-up all the pending issues.

NOINO SUBMITS NOTE ON TRANSFER POLICY TO MANAGEMENT

      NOINO has submitted a detailed note on the transfer policy of Class I Officers to the management on 25^th August 2012.  The note is reproduced below:

25.8.2012                                                                                                                  

                    

NOTE ON TRANSFER POLICY OF CLASS I OFFICERS

   We are submitting our views on the transfer/posting policy of the Class I Officers in our Corporation. We request you to consider all the suggestions submitted by us.

       The main issue, as we see it, is primarily regarding the posting of the Class I officers on promotion. The problem with the current transfer policy is a) the ‘pick & choose’ policy which is arbitrarily implemented on the whims & fancies of the concerned authorities & b) frequent changes in the policy.

         We have tried to cover all aspects; however, while doing this some of the suggestions may not seem to be directly connected with the transfer policy. We feel that for the smooth working of the Corporation, a systemic approach should be taken instead of viewing the issue of Transfer/Posting in isolation. If the following suggestions are considered, these will have a positive impact on the postings & transfers of Class I Officers. We have the following suggestions to make in this regard:-

1. While we are giving our suggestions in writing, we also suggest that a two day workshop may be convened on this issue at a later date, where minimum 5 representatives of the Class I organizations would be invited. Thread-bare face-to face discussions would reveal many areas of concern from both the sides & a common meeting ground can be reached after such discussions.
2. We are of the opinion that we need to go to the core of the problem & identify the same before going for solutions. We feel that the crux of the problem is regarding the posting on promotion. If, majority of the officers are satisfied with the posting on promotion, then they would be inclined to go for it. This will lead to vacancies in such departments or places (e.g. in division or city branches) where many officers seek posting on transfer. Thus a fair amount of turnover & change of guard will take place.
3. This also leads to the question as to where do most of the officers seek posting (either on transfer or posting on promotion)? It is observed that most of the officers seek transfer either to a) places near their residence or b) in city branches or c) in divisional/zonal/central office departments. It can be understood why officers seek posting in option a) or b) as above. But as regards the option c), it is clear that the pressure of working in a branch is too much & they seek relief from such places.  Hence, if urgent measures are taken to lessen the workload, most of the officers will be happy to work in the branches & to that extent; they will not seek transfers to DO/ZO/CO departments.
4. Late sitting of Class I Officers: - Due to the perennial late-sitting, most of the officers are fed up of working in a branch, which leads to their applying for a place where there is comparatively lesser work-load. One solution is to implement the circular issued by Marketing Operations in July 2002 wherein gap between Introduction & completion of proposals was specified. We have been demanding that this circular should be implemented. If there is no acceptance/registration of proposals on the day of completion, then the officers who are underwriting would be under lesser pressure.
5. Compensation for late-sitting :-  We have been demanding amendment in staff regulations & payment of overtime to Class I Officers. Usually late-sitting is required in the branches. Hence, those who don’t mind sitting late, are rewarded monetarily, it would again reduce the incidence of transfer applications to DO/ZO/CO.
6. Problems of cashiers: - The prime reason of an officer dreading to work in the accounts department is the problems of cashiers. We have suggested several measures to resolve this issue. One solution is to recruit assistant-cum-cashiers. If this problem is resolved, then many officers would be willing to work in branches.
7. Recruitment of Class III/Class IV on a large scale: - Recruitment is the panacea for most of the ills that are affecting the Corporation. Minimum 1 assistant per department of the branch would suffice for the time-being. This would infuse fresh blood in the organization. It would also relieve the tremendous burden of the Class I Officers who are required to do non-supervisory jobs like attending queries of policyholders etc. This will also reduce the incidence of request transfer applications to departments of DO/ZO/CO.
8. Officers working in SSO branches: - We have been demanding for years that Officers should not be posted in the SSO branches for doing the work of cashiers. If at all they are posted due to the proximity of their residence to the particular SSO branch, they should not be working as cashiers. A Class I Officer working as a cashier benefits neither the organization nor the person himself. The organization stands to lose because we would be paying a higher salary for a job which belongs to a lower cadre. The person stands to lose because, for the period he spends in the SSO, he doesn’t gain any worthwhile experience in supervisory duties which would stand him in good stead when his next promotion as AO would be due. Instead, we have been suggesting that such Class III who in normal roster would not be able to get transfer to such areas (close to their residence), should be posted to such SSO branches, and provided they are ready to work as cashiers. This would immediately solve many transfer problems of Class III & on the other hand it would release many Class I Officers in the division for supervisory duties. This will also ease the transfer/posting problems of Class I Officers to some extent.
9. Transparency: - We observe that there is a complete lack of transparency & discussions with the Class I unions while devising the transfer/posting policy every year at all levels. The respective managements at all levels (Division/Zone/Central Office) should have discussions with the unions before deciding any policy. This will help both in understanding each others’ constraints.
10. Changes in transfer policy every year: - We observe that there are frequent changes in the transfer/posting policy every year. E.g. Most of the promotees from AO to ADM in WZ were posted outside their Zone last year, while this year, most of them were retained. In the Zones too, when there is a change in the leadership, there is always a change in the transfer/posting policy. This causes a lot of heart-burn.
11.  Codified transfer policy :- A codified transfer/posting policy will resolve many problems as are stated above. NOINO has been demanding an uniform, codified transfer policy since long.
12. We feel that broadly, posting on promotion to AAO/AO should be within division; that of ADM/DM within Zone & that of SDM & above should be outside Zone.
13.  Declaring area of posting :- As in the case of promotion within Class III, if the tentative areas of posting are declared along with the number of division-wise vacancies for the promotion from Class III to Class I, then the aspirants can give specific choices of posting, which would not only make the task of posting easier for the Personnel department, but also increase the incidence of accepting promotion & decrease the number of request transfer applications as most of the selected employees would be already happy with their posting. 
14. Identifying difficult/hard areas of postings: - Such areas where the level of difficulty/inconvenience is more should be first identified. E.g. Audit/Inspection, naxalite infested areas; communally sensitive areas etc. The transfer norms for the officers posted in such areas should be relaxed. E.g. if an officer posted outside his home division is brought back after say three years, an officer posted in such hard areas should be transferred back after say two years. The officers posted in such hard areas should also be paid some inconvenience allowance.
15.  Developing second line of leadership in areas of specialist positions :- Officers working in such departments such as IT, Actuarial, Investment etc are generally seen as specialists due to a) their qualification b) experience in the field c) proficiency in the particular area. It is also observed that some of them become indispensable OR seen to be indispensable. These employees then almost earn the rights of being retained in the same department year after year. This not only blocks many vacancies in the particular department, but also causes heart-burn to other officers who are not working in the so-called specialist departments. A second-line of leadership should be developed in a particular span to counter this problem.  The question of who is a specialist is also to be pondered. Merely because a person is working in a particular department for a long time does not mean that he is a specialist. In a way, all departments need specialists & experts. Can it be denied that P & IR, legal or for that matter every department requires experts?
16.  Handicapped employees: - The data of all handicapped employees is with the Corporation. We can collect the total number of handicapped employees; classifications according to a) age b) percentage of handicap c) those in the zone of promotion. This will enable us to get a fairly clear picture for posting these officers. These officers can be posted in keeping with their age & percentage of handicap. If the data is provided to us, we can also help the management in sorting-out the priorities.
17.  Number of officers in the Zone as a whole: - It needs to be seen whether all the Zones have adequate number of officers & whether the numbers are uniform & in proportion to the number of division/branches & volume of business. We feel that some Zones are not having enough number of officers. This may also have a bearing on the transfer policy within the Zone.
18.  Distance from home division to be considered instead of change of Zone: - Distance from home division should be the criterion while posting on promotion instead of change of Zone. E.g. Transfer/posting from Belgaum to Kolhapur or Hyderabad to Nanded may change the Zone but the distance may not be too much. On the other hand, e.g. posting from Mumbai to Nagpur may not change the Zone but the distance will be much more.
19.  Roster for Class I Officers’ transfers :- Just as a roster is maintained for Class III employees transfers, a roster should also be maintained for Class I officers. This roster should be prepared in consultation with the union. To ensure a transparent procedure, we may also consider displaying of such roster on the personnel site of the respective office.
20.  Deadline for publishing transfer/posting/promotion lists: - There should be a fixed deadline for issuing annual orders of transfers/posting/promotion lists. We suggest that for AO & above it should be 30th April whereas for AAO’s it should be 31^st August. It is also observed that most of the times the lists are published after office hours, sometimes during un-earthly hours. This should be stopped.
21. Transfers before transfer/promotion round: - We have observed that some officers are transferred from outside a particular Zone to other Zone (mostly request transfers) much before the actual transfer/promotion round for that cadre. This results into such officers getting choice postings as they get the first option. We have also observed that such officers are mostly given favourable posting. This causes a lot of heart-burn among officers who are transferred during the transfer/promotion round. All transfers should be effected only during the transfer/promotion round except under special circumstances.
22. Transfers need not be effected just for the sake of transfer. If the concerned officer is discharging his duties efficiently & without deviation in the rules, he need not be transferred. So long as a vested interest is not developed or not likely to be developed, he need not be transferred. The natural corollary of this is that an officer who is performing his job efficiently is likely to be promoted & hence is also likely to be posted elsewhere on promotion after some time. This will again ensure the churning & change of guard.
23.  Age & seniority: - While posting on promotion or considering request transfers, an officer who is aged 55 years or more or has completed 30 years or more in the Corporation should be considered on priority.
24. Spouse working in LIC :- The request transfer of the spouse of the officer promoted/transferred to the place of his/her posting should be considered immediately.
25. Relief of transferred officers: - It is observed that most of the times, the officers on orders of request transfers are relieved after a long time under the pretext of lack of substitute. This should not happen & the officers concerned should be relieved within a reasonable period of time, say 15 days within the date of the order.
26. Request Transfers should always be first considered before posting officers on promotion. We have observed that in some divisions officers on promotion are given favourable posting as compared to the officers applying for request transfers.
27.  No permission should be sought for commutation from place of posting.
28.  Pay protection in case of transfer (other than request transfer) & posting on promotion from CCA centres to Non-CCA centres.
29.  For shortage of officers in some areas, senior HGA’s may be allowed to officiate as officer by paying suitable incentive. However, this is a short term remedy.
30.  The fact that an officer has served outside his/her division/Zone should also be considered favourably while posting him/her on his/her next promotion.
31.  Officers on the verge of retirement: Officers who are going to retire from the services of the Corporation within 2 years, should be posted at his/her choice place, so that he/she can set right all post-retirement needs before his/her retirement.
32. Shortage in some areas:- It is observed that the CO is posting the Direct Recruit AAO's directly to divisions when their first posting is done, instead of allotting them to the respective Zones. This practice should be stopped & these officers should be allocated to the Zones who will decide their further postings according to their requirements. These officers being young, it is naturally expected that such officers should be prepared to move anywhere within their allotted Zones. This compares unfavourably with those employees who are promoted in the regular round of promotion wherein even females of a much higher age are posted outside their division. If this practice is stopped, then, more officers of higher age can get favourable postings & on the other hand, the problem of shortage in some areas would be mitigated.
33. Recommendations/References of Head of Departments in posting/transfer of Officers in CO: - As far as we understand, the postings/ transfers in CO departments are largely based on the recommendations/ references of the respective Head of Departments. This practice should also be stopped. This implies that an officer having access/ acquaintance/ proximity to the particular Head of the Department has a much greater chance of getting a posting/transfer in the CO departments. Instead of this practice, the CO can give specifications/ requirements/ qualifications to the respective Zone(mainly Western Zone as most of the offices under CO are in Mumbai) & the Zone can spare some of its officers after taking into consideration its own constraints. To bring uniformity, priority/preference should be given to officers who have spent more time in the branches in their career provided they are willing to be posted in CO departments & their performance is good. Giving priority to local officers is desirable looking to the shortage of staff quarters.

  We are expecting a positive response from you on this matter.

Limits of leased accommodation rent revised

The limits of leased accommodation rent have been revised with effect from 1st August 2012. One new feature is that now, from 1st August 2012, society maintenance charges in such leased houses/flats will also be re-imbursed subject to certain ceilings. The official circular dated 30.7.2012 ref. Estates/Circular no. 57 is available on Jeevan Sanchar. You may be aware that NOINO was continuously following up this issue. The efforts in the recent past by NOINO are as follows:-

1. Raised this issue in meeting with ED(P) Shri B Manivannan on 2.4.2012.

2. Again raised this issue in meeting with MD, Shri Sushobhan Sarker on 13.4.2012.

3. Follow-up with MD, Shri Sushobhan Sarker on 2.6.2012.

4. Follow-up with ED(P) Shri M R Kumar on 2.7.2012.

5. Follow-up with ED(P) Shri M R Kumar on 24.7.2012. 

The revised limits are as follows:-

Cadre	Metro cities	A Class cities	B Class cities	C Class Cities
SDM/DM-in-charge	15600	11400	6900	5700
DM/SBM/ADM	14400	10800	6400	5050
BM-in-charge	12600	9600	5700	4200
BM/AO/ABM/AAO	12000	9000	5400	3950
HGA	7200	4800	3600	3000

In addition to the above, now it has also been decided that the society maintenance charges in such leased houses/flats will also be re-imbursed subject to the following limits.

Metro cities	A Class cities	B Class cities	C Class Cities
1000	800	600	300

NOINO will continue to follow-up the pending issues.

SALIENT FEATURES OF NOINO’S CHARTER OF DEMANDS SUBMITTED ON 23.07.2012

PAY SCALES (Cadre Min/Max) : AAO/ABM-39530 - 74910, AO/BM - 53010 - 79060, ADM/SBM - 64560 - 90070, DM - 79000 - 98380, SDM - 95510 - 109990, ZM(O) - 106860 - 122910, ZM(S) - 119700 - 137250. We have demanded 40% increase after merging DA of 425 slabs (assumed at 1.8.2012) to the existing Basic Pay & Increments.

INCREMENT AS PERCENTAGE: We have demanded 5 % of Pay (Basic pay + Grade pay) as increment instead of fixed amount of increment.

GRADE PAY: To make Promotion an attractive proposition, we demand that

(A) The concept of Grade Pay on the lines of Sixth Pay commission & RBI to be introduced in LIC: AAO -> 3000, AO -> 5000, ADM -> 7000, DM -> 9000, SDM -> 11000, ZM(O) -> 13000, ZM(S) -> 15000. This will be a motivating factor for accepting promotion.

(B) The Minimum of each officer cadre scale must be fixed at Maximum (after all stagnation increments) of previous to previous cadre, eg: The Maximum of Assistant must be Minimum of AAO, the Maximum of HGA must be Minimum of AO likewise.

RUNNING SCALE: Many promotee Officers are stuck up at stagnation for good number of years as there is delay in promotion at AAO / AO / ADM & DM levels. Hence we have demanded two running scales – as proposed, here in below.

AAO to DM: 39530-1930(14)-66550-2090(6)-79060-2760(7)-98380

SDM to ZM(S): 95510-2760(3)-103790-3100(1)-106890-3210(6)-126150-440(1)-129590-3760(1)-133350- 3900(1)-137250.

DEARNESS ALLOWANCE: Rate of DA at 0.10% (the actual one).

HOUSE RENT ALLOWANCE: 35% (Metro), 30% (A Class) 25% (B Class) & 20% (C Class) of Pay without ceiling.

CITY COMPENSATORY ALLOWANCE: At the rate of 10%, 8%, 6% of Pay without ceiling.

HILL ALLOWANCE: At the rate of 7%, 6%, 5% & 4%.

TRANSPORT ALLOWANCE: Four wheelers -100 ltrs of petrol pm, Two wheelers-75 ltrs pm & No Vehicle an amount equal to 50 ltrs petrol pm.

FUNCTIONAL ALLOWANCE: Programmers/Audit/Inspection - 5000 pm, BM/ABM(S) in CAB’s - 5500 pm, Developer - 20,000 pm, BSA – 30,000pm, Team Leader (NEW post) – 40,000pm & Project Leader – 50,000 pm. Training Institutes MDC/ZTC/DTC/ATC/ETC – Ranging from 1000 pm to 5000 pm. Others (Programmers (CTC) Etc) Rs. 500 per session.

FIXED PERSONAL ALLOWANCE: AAO/AO – 2090pm, ADM/DM – 2760pm, SDM – 3100pm, ZM (O) – 3210pm, ZM(S) – 3900pm, It should be counted for DA/HRA & Superannuation Benefits. If running scale is accepted, the present FPA to be merged into the Basic Pay.

IN-CHARGE ALLOWANCE: ZO/HOD in CO - 10,000pm, D O - 8,000pm, Branch ranging from 5500pm to 6500pm, SOs - 4,000pm.

KEY HOLDING ALLOWANCE: Safe Key No. 1 - 2000pm & Key No. 2 - 1000 pm.

PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED: 5% of Pay every month.

CASH MEDICAL BENEFIT: 25,000 per annum.

PROJECT ALLOWANCE: Engineering Department personnel working on projects at Rs. 5000 per month.

MID-ACADEMIC YEAR TRANSFER ALLOWANCE: 5,000 per month for each child who is studying at old H Q till the academic year is over.

SPECIAL AREA ALLOWANCE: A special area allowance ( Naxalite prone, highly polluted, Bad Climate Etc) as per Central govt./ State Govt./Local authorities notification, whereever payable should be paid at the rate ranging between 2,500 and 7,500 per month.

SPECIAL ALLOWANCE FOR IN-HOUSE DEVELOPMENT OF ACTUARIAL CAPABILITIES: Ranging from 600 pm (group of 3 papers) to 20000 pm. Acquired Fellowship - 80,000/- pm, Appointed Actuary: 1 Lac pm.

QUALIFICATION ALLOWANCE: Licentiate of I I I / Intermediate of ICWA/CA - 1000pm, Associateship of I I I ICWA/CA - 2000, Fellowship of I I I / MBA / LAW GRADUATE-3000pm.

PENSION: One more Pension Option, as third retirement benefit, option to join GTIS scheme Etc.

LEAVE TRAVEL CONCESSION : Air Travel, 6000 kms one way, Encashment, Package Tour, Etc.

LEAVE ENCASHMENT: 30 days once in 2 years, Gross salary, Encashment of CL/SL, Accumulation of PL upto 360 days.

ENTERTAINMENT EXPENSES: AAO/AO – 1500pm, ADM/DM – 2500pm, DZM – 3000pm.PM.

LATE SITTING COMPENSATION: Either time Compensation or late sitting allowance of 5000 pm to all officers who are required to work after office hours/shift hours.

EDUCATION LOAN: Minimum of 10 Lakhs at Free/Nominal rate of interest.

CAR SCHEME VI & DRIVER ALLOWANCE: Repairs – 2000pm, Mileage – 10000 kms, Driver – 6000 pm.

FESTIVAL ADVANCE: An amount equal to One Month’s Gross Salary be paid as Festival Advance.

EMERGENCY LOAN: Rs. 5 Lakh at Free/Nominal rate of interest, recoverable in 24 Monthly Instalments.

HOUSING LOANS: The cost of construction is going up day by day, the loan quantum to be increased substantially in commensurate with real estate rate prevailing in the market. Housing portfolio to be brought back to LIC. Group insurance scheme for housing loanees to be introduced. The Perquisite payable by the Officer on the Housing Loan should be borne by LIC as in case of RBI.

VEHICLE ADVANCE (Administrative Side): Full purchase value of CAR, Cost of Insurance & Registration, Twice during the service, Etc.

MOBILE / CELL PHONE FACILITY: AAO/AO – 1000pm, ADM/DM – 2000pm, Advance to Purchase Cell phone – 10000, recovery – 10 monthly instalments, Etc.

P L L I: Revised, simplified, common rate and mutually agreed norms for calculation.

LEAVE: Accumulation of SL/CSL without ceiling, Encashment of unavailed SL/CSL, Paternity Leave, Sick leave to take care of Family Members who are sick, Sabbatical Leave, Etc.

Other Demands: LEARNING ALLOWANCE, BRIEFCASE REIMBURSEMENT, MAID SERVANT ALLOWANCE, FURNITURE ALLOWANCE (RBI), PERFORMANCE AWARDS TO OFFICERS ON THE ADMIN SIDE, INCENTIVE FOR CLAIM RECYCLING / CLAIM INVESTIGATION, NEWSPAPER REIMBURSEMENTS, MEDICLAIM SCHEME, HOLIDAY HOMES, GROUP INSURANCE ( 15 LAKHS), EXECUTIVE CHECK-UP (Once in a year), ALLOWANCE ON TRANSFER, TRANSPORATION/PACKING CHARGES, CASHLESS MEDICLAIM, UNIFORM & TRANSPARENT PROMOTION/TRANSFER POLICY, INADEQUACY OF STAFF / WORK LOAD / OTHER PROBLEMS, COMPUTER ADVANCE, DA LINKED MEAL COUPON Etc...

NOINO submits Charter of Demands

NOINO President Shri Prakash Javadekar handing over NOINO’s Charter of Demands to Shri D.K.Mehrotra, Chairman, LIC of India

NOINO submitted its ‘Charter of Demands’ (for wage-revision due on 01.08.2012) on 23^rd July 2012 i.e. today at 11 a.m. NOINO is affiliated to BMS, the largest central trade-union of India, the foundation day of which falls on 23^rd July.

The NOINO delegation which submitted the Charter was led by Shri Prakash Javadekar, President, NOINO & MP, Rajyasabha. The delegation submitted the Charter to Shri Dinesh Mehrotra, Chairman, LIC on behalf of Class I Officers of LIC of India. Others in the delegation were Dr. S B Sharan, WP, NOINO; Shri Ganesh Kamath, GS, NOINO; Shri Rajesh Dubey, Secretary, NOINO, Shri S G Elangadi, VP, NOINO; Shri Kirit Barot, EC member, NOINO; Shri Vishwas Shastri, GS, NOINO, WZ; Smt Anagha Sant, Secretary, NOINO; Shri Y N Murthy, Secretary, NOINO; Shri Sanjay Ramdasi, Joint treasurer, NOINO, Smt Trupti Bramhe, EC member, NOINO; Shri Manish Patankar, President, NOINO, Mumbai; Shri Dattaraj Prabhukhanolkar, GS, NOINO, Mumbai & all the Mumbai activists.

   Following were the points submitted during the discussion:-

1.  Shri Prakash Javadekar stressed the importance of immediate negotiations & early settlement. He said that the previous charter was settled 3 years after it became due & this time we together must make efforts to settle it early. He also promised that he would raise this matter in the coming monsoon session.

2. The delegation also demanded that the charter of LIC should be permanently de-linked from that of the Banking industry with regards to the norms as well as the time-table of settlement.

3. The delegation also pointed out that while the premium income had risen by 59% in the last 4 years; the total income had risen by 69%; the number of policies serviced had risen by 5 crores, the number of employees had reduced by 1.5%. Consequently the burden on Class I Officers had increased tremendously. The rate of inflation has doubled in the last 5 years, & the rise in DA failed to match the rate of inflation.

4. The delegation also pointed out that the private insurance companies in spite of not doing well were paying more than what was paid in LIC. It also submitted that all employees were nothing but (human) assets & needed to be encouraged by giving a good wage-rise. While the Insurance Act specified that the industry can pay up to 15% of total premium income as expenses towards salary & other benefits, the cost today stood at only about 6%.

5. In view of all these factors, the charter of demands submitted by NOINO mainly demanded 40% rise; running scales; grade pay & increment as a percentage of pay (basic pay + grade pay)  instead of a fixed amount. The salient features of the charter would be posted shortly.

     The Chairman patiently heard the delegation & assured that the management would make all efforts for early negotiations, an early & satisfactory settlement after taking into consideration the charter of demands submitted by NOINO.

NOINO Study Class at Nagpur on 13th & 14th August 2012

As per decisions taken in last EC meeting at Indore, Study Class of NOINO is to be held at Nagpur on 13^th & 14^th August 2012. Following nos. of activists are expected from respective Zones:

  Central Zone: 5

  Eastern Zone: 10

  East Central Zone: 5

  North Central Zone: 5

  North Zone: 10

  South Central Zone: 10

  South Zone: 5

  West Zone: 30

The venue of the Study Class is:

  Kala Bhavan,

  South Ambazari Road,

  Shradhanand Peth,

  Lakhmi Nagar,

  Nagpur – 440010

The stay arrangement is at the venue itself. The venue has been booked for the period from 12.08.2012 (7 pm) to 15.08.2012 (8 am). As such, participants (nominated by their respective Zonal Secretaries) are requested to book their tickets accordingly.

More details in this respect have been sent to all the Zonal Secretaries. However, for any further assistance at Nagpur, any of the following office-bearers of our Nagpur Divisional Unit may be contacted:

1) SHRI MILIND WAGH, MOBILE NO. 09923504046  mp_wagh@licindia.com

2) SHRI ANIL BHAGDIKAR, MOBILE NO. 09923388758  a.bhagdikar@licindia.com

3) SMT MADHURI BARVE, MOBILE NO. 09850301152  m.barve@licindia.com

4) SHRI VINAY GIRDHAR, MOBILE NO. 09423135379  v.giridhar@licindia.com

5) SHRI PRAVIN GAYKI, MOBILE NO. 09423307940  p.gaiki@licindia.com

NOINO DELEGATION MEETS ED(P) ON PENDING ISSUES

    A NOINO delegation consisting of Shri Ganesh Kamath, GS, NOINO; Shri Dattaraj Prabhukhanolkar, Divl Secr., NOINO, Mumbai Divisions; Shri Suryakant Gawde, EC member, NOINO, WZ; Smt. Saroj Kurdukar, VP, NOINO, Mumbai; & Smt Trupti Bramhe, EC member, NOINO Central Committee met ED(Personnel), Shri M R Kumar on 2^nd July 2012 to discuss & follow-up pending issues. Shri T Mendiratta, Chief (Personnel) was also present during the discussions. After taking up certain individual issues, we raised the following general issues:-

1. One more pension option :- ED replied that though nothing moved in the recent past regarding this issue, in the light of the continuous representations from the employee unions, as also the fact that very few of the employees did not opt for the pension, the management would take up this issue with the government soon.
2. Instructions about PL encashment: - We pointed out that there was an inordinate delay in issue of instructions regarding removal of the condition of compulsory availment of leave while encashment of PL during service. ED replied that the management was continuously in the touch with the authorities & said that the instructions were expected soon.
3. Revision in lease accommodation rent: - We once again raised this issue & demanded immediate revision in lease accommodation rent. We also pointed out that this factor was also a deterrent for officers accepting posting outside their division. ED replied that the matter was under active consideration & very shortly, there was likely to be a revision in the limits.
4. Sabbatical leave for women employees: - We reminded ED about our demand for sabbatical leave for women employees vide our letter dated 17.3.2012 & demanded that this leave should be introduced at the earliest in LIC. ED said that till now, the management had not moved in this matter. However, we insisted that the matter be resolved soon. ED assured to look into the demand sympathetically.
5. Revision in Ex-gratia re-imbursement for High cost/protracted treatment---We reminded ED about our letter dated 27.3.2012 regarding this issue. We have raised three demands---1) Limits to be revised to 10 lakhs at one time 2)--Full re-imbursement to be allowed---3) Limit of 180 days to be removed for all diseases. We pointed out that this demand was pending since long. ED agreed to look into the matter.
6. Anomaly after computer increment: - We once again raised this demand & reminded ED that SBI has settled this issue in 1996(i.e. 16 years back) by granting one more increment to all the affected employees. We strongly insisted that this matter be sorted out before settlement of Charter (due on 1.8.2012). We pointed out that the anomaly was crystal clear & it was a clear case of injustice to the affected employees. ED assured to look into the matter.
7. Recruitment in Class III: - We submitted that branches were reeling under immense pressure due to lack of staff & Class I Officers were bearing the brunt of it. The Class I Officers are required to perform non-supervisory duties which are affecting both the individual officer as well as the organization. We also demanded that the recruitment process should not be entrusted to outside agencies. ED said that such recruitment was under active consideration.
8. 5 days week: - ED was not positive in this matter. He said that so long as the volume of collections across the counter was heavy, it would not be prudent to accede to this demand. As & when, the alternate channels of payment would become popular, this demand could be considered. We have still insisted on this demand.
9. Information sharing meeting :- We pointed out that there was no information sharing meeting for more than two years & demanded that such meeting should be convened immediately. ED said that such meeting would be convened in the near future.
10.  Programmers being utilized for other jobs :- We pointed out that in NZ, AAO (Programmers) in branches have been asked to perform administrative jobs. On the query by our NZ activists (particularly in Amritsar division), they were told that such instructions were issued by the Zonal Office. We asked the ED whether CO has issued any such instructions. We also queried whether the management considered the programmer in the branch to be redundant? If so, why were the vacancies in the cadre of programmers were being notified? Why were the applications for change in cadre from programmer to administration being turned down? Whether this was applicable only to PG1 or also applicable to PG2? ED said that there were no such instructions from the CO & agreed to look into the matter.

NOINO will continue to follow-up all the pending issues.

Report on 15th EC meeting of NOINO at Indore

15^th EC meeting of NOINO was held at Indore on 4^th & 5^th June 2012. Total 36 delegates (including office-bearers) from all-over-India participated in the meeting. The proceedings of the meeting are given below:

04.06.2012

1.      The meeting started at 10 a.m with Shramik Geet by Shri Vilas Purkar, Vice President, NOINO. There were Vishwakarma Poojan and Deep Prajwalan by the dignitaries on the dais.

2.      Shri Rajiv Kalra, Vice President, NOINO CZ delivered the welcome address. He also introduced the guests at dais. Then, office-bearers of NOINO Indore Unit welcomed the guests with bouquet. Thereafter, there was self introduction by the delegates.

3.      The General Secretary’s key-note address followed thereafter which was delivered by Shri Ganesh Kamath, GS. He deliberated & put forth the views of the organization regarding International matters, National issues and the matters related to LIC Industry. Vote of thanks for the inaugural session was cast by Shri Sudhir Nema, Secretary, NOINO.

4.      The proceedings of EC meeting continued. Shri Ganesh Kamath, GS presented the General Secretary’s report for the period from last EC meeting (21^st & 22^nd November 2011) at New Delhi to this EC meeting i.e. 4^th June. In an elaborate manner he described different activities of NOINO on national level as also by different units all over India. He also stated that during last 6 months NOINO met different authorities of LIC management 6 times, out of which, 3 times with C-in-C, 2 times with MD, and 1 time with ED (P). “Besides these meetings NOINO wrote several letters to the authorities on different issues during this period”, he informed.

5.      Then All India Treasurer Shri Dattatray Aloni presented the accounts for the Calendar year 2011. He also briefed the house regarding various financial aspects. During his session elaborate discussions were held on financial matters. The importance of having the Divisional and Zonal Accounts audited was stressed. It was advised to open Bank A/cs in the name of the Organization at all Zonal & Divisional Headquarters where our Units stand. All the Zonal Secretaries were advised to deposit the affiliation fees for the year 2011-2012 by 30.06.2012 and for the year 2012-2013 by 30.09.2012 with the Central Committee.

6.      Then there was lunch break. After the lunch, Zonal Secretaries reporting started. All Zonal Secretaries present reported on different activities of their respective Zones including (a) total no. of whole-life & ordinary membership, (b) status of affiliation-fee payment, (c) total no. of existing Divl Units and future possibilities, (d) tours undertaken & proposed, etc.

7.      After tea-break, Presentation of Final Charter and Discussion over it started. Shri C.T.Joshi, Chairman, Charter Committee initiated the Charter Presentation and Discussion. Shri Y.N.Murthy, Vice Chairman, Charter Committee presented the final charter prepared. A lively discussion ensued. All the points for modifications were noted and it was decided that the gist of the charter, which would be submitted to the management on 23^rd July 2012, would be circulated to all shortly after submission of Charter.

The day’s proceedings ended with this.

There was a meeting of All India office-bearers from 6 p.m. onwards which discussed the matters related to next Extended EC meeting in NCZ and subsequent EC meeting, succession of office-bearers on retirement, Study-class on 13^th & 14^th August 2012 etc. Following decisions were taken on above matters:

(a)   It was decided in Delhi EC meeting that 16^th (Extended) EC meeting would be held at Dehradun in North Central Zone. Since it would be an extended EC meeting, more delegates (around 160 nos.) would be attending this meeting. As such, the expenditure would also be more. To meet the expenditures of this (16^th) EC meeting, it has been decided that we shall collect funds through coupons of Rs.100/- denomination each. Our Nagpur Divisional Unit has taken the responsibility of getting the coupons printed and dispatching these to all Zonal Units. A separate communication in this regard is being sent to all the Zonal Secretaries.

(b)   It has been decided that 17^th EC meeting will be held at Hyderabad in South Central Zone.

(c)   3 of our All India office-bearers and 1 EC member retired in between our EC meetings at Delhi & Indore. They are Shri Vilas Purkar, Vice President; Shri Navin Choudhary, Vice President; Shri Suresh Sardeshpande, Secretary; and Shri Shyamrao Jawalkar, EC member.

As per decisions taken in last EC meeting at Delhi, successors to these office-bearers were elected. A new post of Organizing Secretary was also created. The structure of Vice Presidents, Secretaries and Organizing Secretary; which came, are being given below:

Vice Presidents: Shri A.K.Lahiri (EZ),

                              Shri S.G.Khapre (WZ),

                              Shri S.G.Elangadi (SCZ), and

                              Shri S.K.Saini (NZ).

    Secretaries:   Smt. Anagha Sant (WZ),

                            Shri S.R.Nema (CZ),

                            Shri Y.N.Murthy (SCZ), and

                            Shri Sibabrata Saha (EZ).

    Organizing Secretary:           Shri Rajesh Dubey (NCZ)

(d)   It has been decided to hold a study-class of activists from all-over-India at Nagpur on 13^th & 14^th August 2012. Details of the study-class are being sent to all the Zonal Secretaries separately.

The meeting ended at 9 p.m.

05.06.2012

1.      The meeting started at 9 a.m. As per agenda, discussion on amendments in NOINO’s constitution was initiated by Shri Suresh Sardeshpande, Secretary. Consensus was drawn and mainly following amendments were adopted:

(a)    NOINO will extend its membership to International Offices of LIC also.

(b)    We shall also have our units in Public Sector General Insurance and Private Sector Life & General Insurance.

(c)     Main office-bearers (WP, GS, Treasurer & Org. Secr.) will not continue for more than 2 terms in a row henceforth.

(d)    Participation in EC meetings will be based on affiliation-fees paid.

(e)    Besides Ordinary and Whole Life members, Honorary Members may be admitted.

More details will be circulated separately.

2.      As per succession-plan, approval of the house was taken for the office-bearers elected in the office-bearers’ meeting conducted in the earlier evening.

3.      Other Organizational matters were discussed by Smt. Anagha Sant, Secretary. She expressed her seriousness over financial discipline within the Organization. She stressed the importance of timely submission of affiliation fees by the divisions to Central Treasury and urged the office-bearers present to be serious on this count as our audited a/cs were being submitted to Govt. authorities and IT returns in the name of Organization were being filed regularly and timely. She also said that there were needs to reach all the members and discuss the relevance of our Charter. “The Divisional Units have to play important role in this” she said. She also motivated the delegates for fund-raising.

4.      Due to paucity of time “formation of media-cell” could not occur. However, the publisher of NOINO news-bulletin, Shri Y.N.Murthy discussed at large his difficulties in publishing the bulletin and suggested several steps to the office-bearers so that the bulletin could be published timely.

5.      Shri Prakash Javadekar, President, NOINO & MP, Rajyasabha reached the venue at exactly 1 p.m. and lunch-break was announced. Delegates took lunch with Shri Javadekar.

6.      After-lunch session started at 2 p.m. There were felicitations of the retired office-bearers, 3 of whom were present. People remembered the contributions & dedication of Shri Vilas Purkar, Shri Suresh Sardeshpande and Shri Shyamrao Jawalkar and requested them to continue their support to NOINO. All 3 expressed their gratitude towards the Organization and shared their experiences as NOINO activists.

7.      After felicitation ceremony, there was concluding speech by Shri Ganesh Kamath, General Secretary. He appealed the office-bearers and activists to be more active and more serious in Organization’s works and requested to concentrate on the basic job of the Organization i.e. fulfilling the aspirations of common members.

8.      The session was handed over to Shri Prakash Javadekar at 3 p.m. for his Presidential address and replying to the queries of the delegates and local activists on various Organizational and Social & Political issues. The hall was full to the capacity to hear Shri Javadekar. A large no. of local activists and members gathered at the venue to hear him.

9.      In his Presidential speech, Shri Javadekar expressed his happiness and satisfaction over spread of NOINO to almost all the areas of the country – to the remotest places like Srinagar & Leh in North and Silchar & Siliguri in North East. However, he expressed that still there was need to work more and enhance the membership. He also fixed target for different Zones. He said that he was always available for NOINO and ready to fight for the cause of Class-I officers of LIC.

10. After the Presidential address, question-answer session ensued. The large gathering bombarded Shri Javadekar with a bundle of questions on different issues related to common people of India as also the working class. Shri Javadekar, as is his wont, answered all the questions patiently & in detail.

11. Earlier, on 4^th & 5^th June, both days, our meeting was graced with presence of Shri Sudhakar Ektare, former VP, NOIW and Shri Sahasrabuddheji, state-level BMS leader. Both leaders expressed their happiness over decision of NOINO to hold EC meeting at Indore, extended their support to NOINO and also requested the leaderships of NOINO to play vital role in organizing unorganized sectors.

12. In the end, NOINO President Shri Prakash Javadekar expressed personal thanks to the activists of NOINO CZ & NOINO Indore Unit by name – Sarvashri R.O.Kalra, Vivek Verma, H.K.Singh, Shailesh Lele, R.K.Sohane, Dileep Pande, A.K.Jharia, S.M.Munje, S.R.Nema, Naushad Ali Sheikh and all others – for making the meeting a grand success.

The vote of thanks was cast by Shri Shailesh Lele.