Joining The 7 Ordnance Factory Corporations Will Be A Suicidal Move , Warns AIDEF
Post Corporatisation Of BSNL, where more than a Lakh employees were forced to take Voluntary Retirement, still wait for their terminal benefits to be settled, claims AIDEF
The Modi 02 Government Corporatised the 41 Ordnance Factories in to 7 Corporations. The Employees and the Federations opposed the move and the AIDEF challenged the Government decision in the High Court. AIDEF has been demanding from the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to publish a notification declaring that all the employees and Officers of the 41 Ordnance Factories will remain as Central Government Employees till their retirement from service. So far, the government is maintaining silence on this demand.
The deemed deputation period will be over by 30th September 24 and the more than 70,000 employees are worried about their future. Now, the Defence Ministry issued a Circular to the CMDs of the 7 Companies on June 21, 2024 to finalise the HR Policies of their Corporations and forward the same by 26th June, 2024. Sources in the Defence Ministry say that during July, 2024, the Companies will ask for options from the employees to join their Companies and that some package is already made for the same.
Employees, mainly the NPS employees numbering almost 40,000 are a worried lot. As expected, the AIDEF has plunged in to action and its President SN Pathak and General Secretary C. Srikumar have issued a joint statement in which they have appealed to the employees not to accept the option to join the 7 Corporations which they term would be a suicidal move. www.indianpsu.com – accessed a copy of their appeal issued today. The Contents are published below for the benefit of our viewers.
AIDEF’S APPEAL TO THE EMPLOYEES OF ORDNANCE FACTORIES
BE VIGILANT ! BE ALERT !
DO NOT FALL IN TO THE TRAP OF OPTING FOR ABSORPTION IN THE 7 ORDNANCE FACTORIES CORPORATIONS (7 DPSUS)
The Day Government announced Corporatisation of Ordnance Factories during June 2021 we vehemently opposed corporatisation of Ordnance Factories, since it is a clear violation of the written Agreements and Assurances given in the past by the successive Governments. On 16th July, 2021 we have categorically told the Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh that none of the Ordnance Factory employees will join the Corporation as a DPSU Employee, and that they will remain as Central Government Employees /Defence civilian Employees in the Ordnance Factories (7 DPSUs).
The AIDEF has also challenged the decision of the Government in the Madras High Court, the next hearing is scheduled on 28/06/2024. In this situation the deemed deputation period is coming to an end on September 30, 2024. We have already requested the Ministry of Defence that since the employees of Ordnance Factories in a referendum held have given their verdict that they will not join the 7 Corporations, Government should publish a notification declaring that all the employees of Ordnance Factories who are on deemed deputation will continue to remain as Central Government Employees / Defence Civilian employees till their retirement from service with all benefits.
Modi 0.2 Government, in its 100 day Agenda, Corporatised the Ordnance Factories, now in the Modi 0.3 Government it may be planning the next step of Privatisation. As a part of this conspiracy the MoD/DDP on 21/06/2024 issued a direction to the CMDs of all the 7 Corporations that :-
i) This is in reference to draft Common Terms of absorption for the employees of 7 New DPSUs submitted by the New DPSUs for examination of DDP.
ii) It was mentioned in the draft common Terms of Absorption that the Service rules/Policies shall be modelled on the lines of HR rules/Policies of CPSEs/DPSUs.
iii) All the 7 new DPSUs are therefore requested to intimate the status of Service rules/Policies in respect of their DPSU to DDP by 24/06/2024.
Things are now clear that the Companies will be asking for option from the Employees very shortly to get absorbed in the 7 Companies on their terms and conditions. The companies may come with the so called “Attractive Packages” to tempt the employees to join their Companies. We are confident that the large majority of the employees will not opt to join the Companies and if anybody opt to join the 7 Companies it will be nothing but suicidal due to the following reasons :-
1) The bitter experience of BSNL post Corporatisation, in which more than a Lakh employees were forced to take VR and even now their terminal benefits are not settled. The Pensioners who retired from BSNL, their Pension as per 7th CPC not revised. After formation of BSNL, no support from the Government and all private players were extended all facilities like 5G spectrum etc., even today there is no fixed date for payment of wages to the BSNL Employees.
2) After Corporatisation of Government Mint (SPMCIL) for currency note printing etc, Reserve Bank has established Private Printing Presses in the name of Joint Venture and SPMCIL is struggling without workload.
3) NPS Employees will lose their claim to restore old Pension Scheme once they join the 7 companies.
4) Employees will lose the status of Central Government Employees/Defence Civilian Employees and the immediate casualty will be Medical treatment under CGHS / CS(MA) Rules / OFMR and CSD benefit etc.
5) Today if the company does not have money to pay salary due to shortage of workload etc., then it is the duty of the Government to pay salary to its employees and other benefits. However, in the case of DPSUs Employees there is no such mandate for the Government.
6) Weekly working hours will become 48 hours.
The above are only few dangers which are anticipated. There will be many attacks on employees in different forms. In our meeting with Additional Secretary (DP), wherein we told that none of the employees will join the Company, then he stated that “If that is the case, then we will go to the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) for further decision bringing the facts before them”.
The MoD has committed before the Hon’ble High Court of Madras in the WP of AIDEF that “no employee will be forced to join the 7 Companies” Therefore, the future of the Ordnance Factory employees is in their hands only. We as the pioneer federation, savior and the strong voice of the Defence Civilian Employees appeal to the employees of Ordnance Factories “please do not get trapped, please do not fall prey to the temptations of the 7 companies, let us not give option to join / get absorbed in the 7 Companies which is suicidal. We are recruited as Central Government Employees/ Defence Civilian Employees and we will remain and retire from service with that status only from the Ordnance Factories”.
AIDEF will stand like a rock behind the Employees in this battle. Our Affiliated Unions are requested to sensitize and to educate all the employees in this direction irrespective of their affiliation.
