70,000 Employees Of Ordnance Factories Fume Against Discriminative Bonus Payment Post Corporatization Of OFBs

It is festival season and Government Employees of the different Departments will be getting Bonus from the Government even though they are not directly covered under the Bonus Act. It was the then Caretaker Prime Minister Charan Singh who took the bold decision of making Bonus Payment to the Central Government Employees including Railways and Defence. While Railways, a section of the Defence Industries like Ordnance Factories, Postal Department Employees are eligible for Productivity Linked Bonus based on their Performance, other Central Government Employees are eligible only for 30 Days Wages as Ad-hoc Bonus with a ceiling of Rs.7000/- for 30 Days.

Ordnance Factories Employees used to get 41 / 40 Days Productivity Linked Bonus based on a Cabinet approved formula up to 2021-22. However, post corporatization of Ordnance Factories even though the employees are still Government Employees on Deemed Deputation, the 7 Corporations of Ordnance Factories have independently started deciding the number days PLB for the Employees of 41 Ordnance Factories. Due to which the Ordnance Factories Employees in YIL have been paid 43 Days PLB, the Employees of Ordnance Factories under AWEIL was paid only 30 days PLB. So far as MIL is concern, it has paid 37 days PLB to the Non-Gazetted employees but it has rewarded its officers with Rs.5000/- Productivity Linked Incentive as an Indirect Bonus. The employees of MIL are telling that by reducing their number of days PLB, the amount has been utilized for payment of incentive to the Officers.

In this situation the AIDEF, the major Federation of Defence Civilian Employees have immediately registered their protest against the discrimination and have written to the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh expressing their unhappiness on this discriminatory Bonus Payment by shooting a letter to him. www.indianpsu.com accessed a copy of the AIDEF letter dated 21/10/2023 addressed to the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh demanding for PLB not less than 41 Days for the Employees of Ordnance Factories and its sister organizations and restoration of the OFB status to the Ordnance Factories is published here for the benefit of the viewers of www.indianpsu.com –

To,
Shri Rajnath Singh Ji,
Hon’ble Defence Minister,
Ministry of Defence,
South Block, New Delhi – 110 001

Subject : Protest against discriminatory Productivity Linked Bonus Payment made to the Employees of 41 Ordnance Factories who are on Deemed Deputation with the 7 Ordnance Factory Corporations– Reg.

Respected Sir,
Time and again we are bringing to the notice of your honor about the manner in which the Employees in Ordnance Factories are being treated in an unfair manner post corporatization of Ordnance Factories. it is so pathetic that for the past more than 3 years there is no compassionate appointment in the Ordnance Factories. The wards of the deceased Employees of Ordnance Factories including those who died in Factory Accidents are denied Compassionate Appointment. It is most unfortunate that the officials in the MoD / DDP are not even able to issue an instruction to grant compassionate appointment to the wards of the deceased employees who died as Central Government Employees / Defence Civilian Employees. Situation has become so much inhuman in the MoD / DDP The latest attack on the employees of Ordnance Factories is the discriminatory payment of Productivity Linked bonus.

You will appreciate that in accordance with the Cabinet decision and also the commitment given by the Government of India in the Hon’ble High Court that all the Service Conditions of the Employees would be fully protected during their Deemed Deputation with the 7 Ordnance Factory Corporations. However, on each and every occasions these commitments are violated by the MoD / DDP and also the Corporations. In accordance with the Cabinet approved PLB formula for the Ordnance Factories, DGQA, DGAQA & PCDA(Fys), issued vide MoD / DDP OM Dated 27 th July, 2000 the following are the features of the PLB Formula.

i) Average Piece Work Profit of the Ordnance Factories will form basis to determinethe PLB that will be payable in a year.

ii) The revised PLB formula has a base of 30 days for 25% Piece Work Profit and for every 2% increase in Piece Work Profit, one additional day of PLB will be payable provided that this payment for more than 30 days will be due only when Piece Work Profit exceeds the index of 25% by 4% i.e., in other words for 29% PW profit, the PLB payable will he 31 days, Thereafter, for every 2% increase, PLB will increase by one day.

iii) If the average Piece Work Profit exceeds 50% in any year, it shall be restricted to 50% for purposes of PLB. PLB shall thus not be paid in excess of 41 days in any year.

From the above, it is amply clear that the PLB Payment has to be made based on the average Piece Work Profit of all the 41 Ordnance factories and not on Corporation wise. Since the 7 DPSU’s have released their own PLB Orders the following is the number of days PLB for Different Corporations.

No PLB Orders has been issued for the employees of DGQA & DGAQA so far.

Similarly the Employees of DOO(C&S), Defence Field Unit Offices and Ordnance Factory Hospitals are also denied PLB, which they were eligible prior to corporatization of Ordnance Factories. This is a blatant discrimination amongst the Defence Civilian Employees of Ordnance Factories who are on Deemed Deputation. It is also pertinent to mention here that while the MIL paid only 37 Days PLB to the Group ‘C’ and Group ‘B’ Non Gazetted Employees, all the Gazetted Employees / Officers including Group ‘A’ & Group ‘B’ of MIL are paid a fixed amount of Rs.5000/- as Productivity Incentive.

The above disparity and discrimination amongst the employees of Ordnance Factories have created a total dissatisfaction and discontentment amongst the employees, since for no mistake of their’s they are being discriminated in the payment of PLB. Therefore we request you to kindly intervene in the matter and necessary steps may be taken to remove such type of discrimination amongst the employees who were getting same number of days Bonus prior to Corporatization and also to ensure that PLB is paid not less than 41 days so all the Employees of the 7 Ordnance Factory Corporations, DGQA, DGAQA, DoO (C&S), Defence Field Units and Ordnance Factory Hospitals. Employees are of no fault for less Piece Work Profit Percentage, it is only because of the fact that the Government has not provided sufficient Work Load to the Ordnance Factories and major part of the products being manufactured in the Ordnance Factories are being diverted to Private Industries and the Ordnance Factories and its employees are paying the price for the same. Another matter of concern is that even in those factories where little bit of workload is there, the management of these factories are not able to procure all the required materials / spares and position the same for productionization due to various reasons. The net result is the poor employees have to shoulder all the burden of the mistakes committed / wrong decisions taken by the Government and the Corporations.

In view of the above, we once again reiterate our demand that the Government should withdraw its decision of Corporatization of Ordnance Factories and Restore back the status of Ordnance Factories as Ordnance Factory Board as prevailed as on 30th September, 2021.
Awaiting for your earlier and favourable decision please.

Yours sincerely,

C. SRIKUMAR
General Secretary
Leader Staff side
Departmental Council (JCM)
Ministry of Defence