English version of HINDI speech by S C Maheswari Secy Genl BPS at Ambala on 9/12/2018 & at Saharanpur on 22.12.2018

Dignitaries on the Dais, Ladies & gentlemen,

Bharat Pensioners Samaj needs no introduction to our affiliates, associates and members. It was founded way back in 1955 by Justice (Retired) Shankar Saran of Allahabad High Court. It is to-day is the largest All India Federation of Pensioners’ Associations recognized by GOI M/O Personnel, PG & pensions and is also an associate association of International Federation on Ageing (IFA).The organization has connectivity with pensioners organizations located in far-flung remote areas of the country and with grass-root level active pensioners through a well-developed network of SMS, email, WhatsApp, website, blog, Facebook, twitter, yahoo group and YouTube etc.

            Over the decades BPS has been instrumental in getting several benefits to Pensioners and Family Pensioners pay commission to pay commission such as inclusion of pension & other retirement benefits in the terms of reference of 4th CPC through an executive order, 40% commutation, modified parity, calculation of gratuity on the basis of Pay+ DA,30% of last pay as family pension, provision of FMA,40% fitment factor in vth CPC & in vith CPC enhanced family pension for 10 yrs in case of death in harness, Age related additional pension, pension to be 50% of last pay, Common multiplication factor and pension parity in pension revision of pre 2016 pensioners/family pension and merging of postal dispensaries with CGHS in 7^th cpc, provision of consultation & treatment at CGHS rates in Rly empaneled hospitals in case of non-referred RELHS beneficiaries, launching of CTSE Scheme for cashless treatment to Rly beneficiaries in case of emergencies, Launching of pensioners portal, online grievance redressal system, Aarpan Portal, Nivaran Portal, dissemination of latest information in real time, Publication of hand books , compendiums and latest orders/circulars on websites of different departments, extension of CSD canteen facility to Defence Civilian Pensioners etc, etc . Bharat Pensioners Samaj continue to strive for OROP for Civil Pensioners (As 9 Court cases are pending in different courts issue is now subjudice ), extension of the benefits of Court judgments to all similarly placed pensioners (Govt has informed that National litigation policy is under review), Revision of pension of Pre 2016 Rly running staff ( issue is under reexamination of Ministry of Rlys),Extension of benefit of 4600/ grade pay instead of 4200 to those retired from pre revised scale of 6500-10500 (As per latest information available to BPS, DOE has agreed to accept the demand orders yet to be issued) extension of benefit of 7th CPC to all Autonomous bodies/PSU pensioners ( Partial success is achieved in that 7th CPC benefits extended to several boards though not from 1.1.2016 as demanded), benefit of up-gradation to pensioners (UOI has obtained stay from S C), extension of benefit of Pay Commission, increment, enhanced DA, gratuity etc. to those retired on 31/12 & 30th June {UOI has obtained a stay from S C}, Streamlining pension rules with special reference to secondary family pensioners (Govt has informed that they are in process of streamlining Rules) ,Merger of 33 postal dispensaries with CGHS (demand has been finally accepted, orders are issued)

            Pensioners and their families form a significant proportion of the Indian voting population and are therefore in a much better position than ever before of getting their voice heard in the halls of power and of their just demands being met. The need for them all to speak in one voice is thus paramount.

Ladies & gentlemen.

As pensioners we have only two main issues common across Central/State Govt./ all ministries & departments including PSUs Autonomous bodies, EPS 95 etc    i.e. 1. Pension.  2. Healthcare. We simply desire that GOI should implement in letter & spirit, Article 21,14 & 41 of the Indian constitution taking care to extend benefit of court pronouncements in Nakara vs UOI decided on 17.12.2018 and ii) Consumer Education & Research ... vs Union Of India & Others decided on 27 January, 1995 and other CAT/HC/SC judgements on pension/service matters which have attained legal finality., to all similarly placed without pushing each one of them to courts to seek redressal on the same issues and Pay commission’s recommendations. Though an employee in the organized sector covered by the so-called non-contributory pension scheme in fact contributes sufficiently during his years in service towards his old age in three ways. i.e.

·         by tirelessly toiling for the development of the country during the entire period of his productive years;

·         by accepting lower salaries; Salaries of pensionable employees are by design kept at lower levels. In the context of Civil Servants Pension payments, the principle guiding the fixation of the pay package is one of intentionally spreading out the compensation over a long period of time, whereby the wages paid out during the work tenure is kept low by design and pension payments during the retirement phase compensate for the low wages (This has come out in studies got conducted by the Central Pay Commissions)

·         by foregoing every month with interest, the matching contribution by employer to his Provident Fund.

Still requirement of more funds if really needed can very well be met (i)if govt. ensures that food grain in stores and in transit is not allowed to rot or wasted at any cost. In our country food grain equal to human consumption of entire population is rendered unfit for human consumption due to improper storage/vested interests and corruption. (ii) loan waivers and freebees to get votes (i.e. pre-election era) is done from party funds & not from public money. (iii) Corporates who are loan defaulters are not helped not even through bankruptcy code and are made to repay with interest. Instead of loan waiver to farmers which benefit a fraction of them, remove middle man encourage them to directly market their products through their own cooperatives, provide cheap but quality storage &transit facilities nearer to their fields, install more food processing units.

Ladies & gentlemen, we are not getting desired results as we do not speak in one voice & do not stand united. Bharat Pensioners Samaj mission is to bring 57lac of CG pensioners, 80 lac state pensioners, 58 lac EPS-95 pensioners and over 8 lac of PSUs/a autonomous body Pensioners together to ensure their welfare with respect to Financial security, Healthcare & Social security. As a step towards this goal, BPS & its MOU Partners AISCCON, AIFPA & NFRP have come together to strive jointly & severally for the common issues.  We have also floated an open invitation to all other organizations with similar thinking to join us in this mission.

There has been a vast change in the scenario over the last decade. Internet savvy number of Pensioners & family Pensioners has gone up considerably. Now Social media, digitization and mobile connectivity provides a very strong platform through which Sr citizens and pensioners can make their presence felt. We plan to high light our issues and build up agitation if required through Twitter. In consultation with MOU partners it is proposed to start a joint IT war room, modality of which will be formulated after discussion with MOU partners. BPS is also in process to constitute a Think Tank. In coming days with our dedicated team of office-bearers & staff, our endeavor will be to use a mix of modern technology and tradition methods effectively for consolidating our strength & to attain consensus on common issues to make our voice heard. Every Pensioner has within him/her a library of intelligence, knowledge & experience. Just Imagine the kind of connected intelligence and power Pensioners can create through the network of just 1%  of total pensioners . So, let us all work for it.

Thank you

Jai hind