AGM RESOLUTIONS
Resolutions adopted in the AGM of AIPRPA
held in New Delhi
on 15th and 16th October 2015
The Resolutions adopted in the AGM are being sent to respective Departments of Government of India by the CHQ.
1. Resolution on Nationwide Programme of Action on Postal Pensioners’ Charter of Demands:
There are several exclusive problems to Postal Pensioners that remain unresolved for years. The Postal Pensioners are not allowed to enroll as a beneficiary under CGHS on the plea that only the beneficiaries of the scheme while in service will be permitted to join. This is a clear discrimination perpetrated to Postal Pensioners as against other Civilian Pensioners. The Postal Pensioners in non-CGHS areas drawing FMA are allowed the benefit of reimbursement for any hospitalization treatment on par with the employees in service despite many courts ordering in favour of such Pensioners. Even the Postal Pensioners covered under some of the existing Postal Dispensaries in some parts are denied in-patient treatment and they are forced to pay annual contribution for out-patient treatment. The discussion in SCOVA on allotment of rent-free BSNL landline telephone to all erstwhile P&T Pensioners seems to be an unending process without any finality. There are several other problems like allotment of vacant Postal Staff Quarters to Postal Pensioners on a nominal rent. In addition to these exclusive sectional issues of postal pensioners, there is also the problem of non-issue of orders for refixation of pension for all post-1996 Postman retired pensioners despite Supreme Court Verdict and delay in implementing the July 30th Orders on refixation of pension to all Pre-2006 Pensioners. It is therefore unanimously resolved by this AGM of AIPRPA CHQ held at New Delhi on 15th to 16th October to launch a Nationwide Programme of Action on Postal Pensioners Charter of Demands and that the exact Programme of Action shall be finalized by the CHQ Executive Committee to meet after the submission of 7th CPC Report.
2. Resolution on implementation of Pre-2006 pension refixation:
The 30th July 2015 orders of the Ministry of Pension and Pensioners Welfare notwithstanding, the issues of pre-2006 pensioners have not come to an end in the Department of Posts. The 30th July orders allow refixation of pension w.e.f. 1.1.2006 instead of 24.9.2012 with the quantum of pension refixed in accordance with the P&PW Department OM No.38/37/08-P&PW(A) dated 28-01-2013. The Annexure to the above orders dated 28th January clearly spells out the actual pay in the pay band for each cadre with the appropriate Grade Pay as well as the minimum pension entitled to the Pre-2006 pensioners retired from that cadre. However, in many postal divisions in several circles the refixation of pension to pre-2006 pensioners and family pensioners has not been strictly done as per the above analogy stipulated under the orders of MoP&PW dated 30th July,2015. Moreover the refixation work has not been undertaken in many postal divisions. This Annual General Body Meeting of All India Postal & RMS Pensioners Association resolves to urge upon the Postal Directorate to cause to issue appropriate instructions to all Circles for suo-moto correct refixation of pension to all eligible Pre-2006 pensioners and family pensioners in a time bound manner to avoid delay and disappointment to postal pensioners.
3. Resolution on grant of full pension to pre-2006 Pensioners with less than 33 years of service:
The Supreme Court had dismissed the SLP of the Central Government filed against the judgment of Honourable High Court of Kerala delivered in favour of ‘Inasu’. This means that Pre-2006 pensioners with only 20 years of qualifying service also should be paid full pension instead of proportionate pension. This judgment has been totally ignored by the Government while issuing the orders on 30th July, 2015 on the refixation of pension to Pre-2006 pensioners. The action of the Central Government is completely unjustified and its refusal to extend the judgment to all Pre-2006 pensioners with less than 33 years of service except to the particular pensioner involved in the SLP is nothing but defiance of Apex Court directives. The Annual General Body Meeting of All India Postal & RMS Pensioners Association being held at New Delhi on 15th and 16th October, 2015 unanimously resolves to urge upon the Central Government to comply the Supreme Court orders on the issue of grant of full pension to Pre-2006 retirees with less than 33 years of service.
4. Resolution on pension refixation to post-1996 pensioners of Postman cadre:
The Annual General Body Meeting of All India Postal & RMS Pensioners Association being held at New Delhi from 15th to 16th of October, 2015 is deeply saddened to witness the undue delay on the part of the Postal Department in issuing orders for refixation of Pension to the post-1996 pensioners of Postman cadre consequent on the disposal of the Civil Appeal Number 2010 Of 2009 on 7.5.2015. The delay even after five months of disposal of the SLP by the Supreme Court, based that too after an understanding was reached in consultation with the Advocate of the Government for granting monetary benefit notionally from 1.1.1996 to 10.10.1997, is unacceptable. Thousands of post-1996 postmen retirees are denied their due refixation of pension for years due to the long-drawn legal battle. But the current delay in issuing the orders even after the Supreme Court verdict is causing agony to the pensioners of postal department. This AGM urges for early release of orders.
5. Grant of life membership of CGHS to Andhra and Telengana Postal Pensioners:
This Annual General Body Meeting of All India Postal & RMS Pensioners being held at New Delhi from 15th to 16th October, 2015 resolves to urge upon the Government to consider the peculiar situation developed in the matter of admission of postal pensioners into the CGHS in the state of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. On the intervention of Hyderabad CAT, the Postal Pensioners of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh were admitted into the CGHS on a temporary basis by admitting them for every six months period as against the one year period applicable to other regular subscribers. This had happened 10 years before and no final decision is taken by the Government on this peculiar situation prevailing only in Andhra in the country. As per the existing rules of CGHS, once a pensioner beneficiary pays CGHS annual contribution for a period of 10 years, he is then admitted as a life time beneficiary and no further recovery of CGHS contribution need to be made. The Postal Pensioners of present bifurcated states of Andhra and Telengana, who have thus paid the CGHS contribution for a total period of 10 years through their special six months renewals, are therefore eligible to get life membership into the CGHS without any further payment of contributions. But contrary to existing rules, the six months recovery of contribution is continued beyond the period of 10 years in these two states. The poor pensioners out of fear of discontinuation from CGHS are forced to pay the contributions beyond the 10 years period. This Annual General Body Meeting of All India Postal & RMS Pensioners Association unanimously resolves to urge upon the Government of India to order stoppage of any further recovery from those pensioners who have remitted contributions for a period of 10 years and issue life membership into the CGHS for them.
6. On implementation of Supreme Court judgment against recovery from retiring officials:
This AGM of All India Postal & RMS Pensioners Association being held at New Delhi from 15th to 16th October, 2015 has resolved unanimously to urge upon the Central Government to take efforts to issue appropriate instructions based on the Supreme Court direction about recovering excess amount of salary paid etc from the officials at the time of retirement. The Supreme Court had delivered a judgment stating that no recovery towards any over-payment shall be made from officials during the time of their retirement and within one year of retirement. It is also relevant to note that based on this Supreme Court judgment, the Jabalpur CAT also recently ordered against such recovery of over payment after retirement. As it will be extremely difficult to approach the judiciary by every individual for such issues, this AGM of AIPRPA resolves to urge the Government of India to issue comprehensive instructions to all Departments on this important matter to stop effecting any recovery from retiring officials or retired officials.
7. On extending pensioner favourable court judgments to all similarly placed pensioners:
This Annual General Body meeting of All India Postal & RMS Pensioners Association being held at New Delhi from 15th to 16th October, 2015 noted with dismay that despite insistence by the Staff Side and various Pensioners Organisations to extend the benefit of any judgment of Courts to all similarly placed employees and pensioners instead of implementing only to the petitioner concerned, there is no positive decision by the Government. It is also a fact that any judgment of CAT or High Court or Supreme Court that goes against the employee or pensioner, the same is extended to all similarly placed employees and pensioners systematically. This discriminatory approach of selectively respecting court judgments by the Government of India is unjustified and unethical.
It is also pertinent to point out that the three judges bench of Honourable Supreme Court had held out another judgment on 30-10-2013 stating that this approach of Government is causing unnecessary wastage of public money and consuming valuable time of the Courts. This AGM of AIPRPA therefore has resolved to urge upon the Government of India to extend the benefit if any granted by Courts to any employee or pensioner to all similarly placed persons also automatically without discrimination.
8. Resolution on delayed grant of Pension and Family Pension to officials and dependents under NPS:
This Annual General Body Meeting of All India Postal & RMS Employees Association being held at New Delhi from 15th to 16th of October, 2015 notes with deep concern that there is considerable delay in sanctioning pension to retiring officials covered under NPS Scheme. Similar delay is experienced in the case of grant of family pension to the dependents of NPS officials also. There are cases where even after more than two to three years pension or family pension is not sanctioned to such persons. The livelihood of retired officials as well as the dependent family members of NPS officials is fully resting on the monthly pension or family pension irrespective of the meagreness of the quantum. This AGM of AIPRPA has therefore resolves to urge upon the Government to issue suitable instructions to PFRDA authority to ensure sanction of pension or family pension to NPS cases on par with the time limit taken for sanction of pension / family pension under Defined Pension Scheme.
9. Resolution on biometric linking of Aadhar Card to PPOs:
The instruction to link the Aadhar card of Pensioners with the PPOs may not pose any bigger problem if it is only a matter of submission of a self attested photocopy of the aadhaar cards by the pensioners, who are having such aadhar cards. But the insistence that the pensioners must physically come to the HPOs and biometrics to be taken from them by the Department for linking the aadhaar cards are causing much suffering to the pensioners at their old age. There are many instances wherein the biometric of fingers and eyes taken are not approved in spite of their having issued with aadhar cards earlier. The senior citizens at their old age are unnecessarily sent from pillar to post for set righting this problem. This AGM of AIPRPA therefore resolves to urge the Government to not to insist for linking of Aadhaar Cards with biometric reverification but simply accept the self-attested photocopy of aadhar cards from pensioners who are having such aadhar cards at present.
10. Resolution on non-issue of revised PPOs to Postal Pensioners:
The issue of non-issue of revised PPOs to Central Government Pensioners is an item continuously under discussion in SCOVA meetings and the progress is being intimated by the Ministry of Pension in successive meetings. In the recently held SCOVA meeting on 13th October, 2015 also the information is provided that only around 8000 cases are still to be issued with fresh PPOs in the case of Postal Pensioners. However, this AGM of AIPRPA finds that many pensioners are yet to be issued with revised PPOs in many postal circles. As the 7thCPC is expected to submit its recommendations soon, and the pension is expected to be revised once again, the work of issue of revised PPOs for Pre-2006 pensioners cannot be delayed further. This AGM of AIPRPA therefore resolves unanimously to urge upon the Government to issue strong instructions to complete the work of revised PPOs without any further delay.
11. Resolution on opening of new CGHS dispensary in the bifurcated State of Andhra Pradesh as well as in all Revenue States without CGHS at present:
Consequent on bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh into Telengana and Andhra recently, the only CGHS exists in Hyderabad City comes under the Telengana State and the State of Andhra Pradesh is left without any CGHS at all. There are many instances of such bifurcation of States in the past resulting in one of the bifurcated states left without any CGHS in the past. This AGM of AIPRPA also finds that there are many revenue States in the country without any CGHS at present. Though the CGHS dispensaries are formed under certain specifications like total number of beneficiaries in that city etc, it is felt that such specifications require suitable relaxation to ensure at least one CGHS dispensary in each State. In addition to larger States like Andhra now going without any CGHS, there are many remote and difficult states in North Eastern part of the country without any CGHS at present. This AGM therefore urges upon the Government of India to consider to relax the conditions for opening a CGHS to enable each State gets at least one CGHS dispensary without exception. In addition it is to be ensured that all employees and pensioners of every circle or state to enrol as CGHS beneficiary without discrimination as held out by the judgment of Kerala High Court and also to authorise one qualified referral hospital in each revenue district for the benefit of taking treatment by employees and pensioners without the strain of travelling to the only CGHS available in the State as directed by the Kerala State Human Rights Commission. This AGM of AIPRPA urges for favourable action in this matter
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