Circle Union writes to Chief PMG, Odisha Circle and CHQ on hardships faced by staff while accepting WOS banknotes

MEMORANDUM ON THE GRIEVANCES OF CASUAL LABOURERS WORKING IN THE DEPARTMENT OF POSTS.

To,

All Circle/Divisional/Branch Secretaries, NFPE

All CHQ office bearers of NFPE & affiliated Unions/Associations

Dear Comrades,

Please see the Memorandum to be submitted to the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India etc. below. Please obtain signature of all Casual Labourers in each office and forward it to the following address.

Com. P. Mohan

General Secretary

AIPCPCCWF

2151/1, New Patel Road

New Delhi - 110008

Yours fraternally.

(R. N. Parashar)

Secretary General

NFPE

Click here to view - Memorandum

Post offices struggle to cope with rush

HYDERABAD, November 11, 2016

SENIOR CITIZENS STOOD PATIENTLY IN LONG QUEUES, AWAITING THEIR TURN

Personnel at post offices across the twin cities struggled to handle the increased rush of account holders who thronged counters to change their notes of the denomination of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 that were demonetised.

Anxiety was writ large on the faces of most of the pensioners and other middle-aged persons who prefer post offices to the new age banks. Their minds were full of the thoughts about the way the high denomination notes with them were rendered of no value unless they were exchanged with either less notes or the new Rs. 2,000 notes that came into circulation from Thursday.

At the Head Post Office in Secunderabad as well in Hyderabad - both places that are usually very busy during working hours, the rush was considering higher as they opened for business on Thursday morning, after operations were shut on Wednesday.

“No matter what kind of services or how well they are offered by banks, I can tell you that a post office is the preferred option of pensioners, especially those who have worked with Government agencies,” said Mr. Krishnaswamy, a former employee in a defence agency.

Ditto is the case with a couple who retired from the Postal department itself - Kanthamani and Kuppuswamy who moved from Tamil Nadu to settle down in the City of Pearls.

Together with scores of others, these senior citizens stood patiently in long queues, awaiting their turn. Officials were reluctant to even meet presspersons, leave alone answer questions about the number of transactions that had taken place from Thursday morning, or their volumes.

“We cannot afford to lose our cool, especially because we deal everyday with people who are much older than ones you will find in a bank branch,” said Saraswathi, a senior clerk, as she patiently went about her job, even as other colleagues around her were seen getting irritated.

Source : http://www.thehindu.com

Maternity Leave (ML) for Railway Employees

• It is a full pay leave not debited to any account.
• It is granted as under:

For confinement	180 days
Miscarriage/Abortion	45 days during service
Female Casual workers	4 weeks

1. Temporary Railway employees may be granted Maternity Leave if their employment is likely to continue till they come back to service may be granted Maternity Leave on the basis of Medical Certificate.
2. It may be combined with any other type of leave.
3. Any leave (including LND) upto a maximum 2 years may be granted in continuation of ML if applied for without Medical Certificate.

Source: Maternity Leave

Circle Union writes to Chief PMG, Odisha Circle and CHQ on hardships faced by staff while accepting WOS banknotes

N F P E

ALL INDIA POSTAL EMPLOYEES UNION 

GROUP-C, ODISHA CIRCLE

BRANCH,BHUBANESWAR-751007

Trilochan Parida                                                                                                  R.C.Mishra

 President                                                                                                      Circle Secretary 

                                                                                    Vice-President CHQ & Leader RJCM

E-mail ID-p3orissa@rediffmail.com

No. UN/AIPEU, Gr-C/Odisha/11-2016  

                                                                           Dated-11-11-2016.

To,                                                                      

        Dr. S.K.Kamila, IPoS.

        Chief Post Master General,

        Odisha Circle, Bhubaneswar-751001.

Sub- Hardship faced by staff while accepting WOS Banknotes through PO S.B Accounts & also due to non-supply of Fake note detector machines & cash counting machines-request for remedial action.

Respected Sir,

        It is the constraint of this circle union to bring the above problems faced by staff while accepting WOS Banknotes through PO S B Accounts in almost all single handed & double handed offices where one person is doing both the works i.e. PO SB in finacle and also PLI/McCamish. The staff in the counter at the time of accepting WOS banknotes under CBS finacle are facing hurdles due to denial of transactions after some time for transactions under PLI McCamish and POS. Hence, it is urged for taking up the issue at appropriate level  for collection of WOS notes through PLI McCamish and POS along with CBS Finacle till 30-12-2016 as per decision of Government of India to relieve the staff from stress & to give effective service to the public.

      Further, it has been collected that most of the offices are not having Fake Note Detector & cash counting machines is definitely creating hindrances in collecting WOS notes and also in disbursing new notes as exchange. It is well admitted fact that fake notes are abundantly available in the market and in the absence of Fake note detector machines it will be hard on the part of our employees to detect fake notes, leading to victimization. Therefore, it is requested to kindly arrange for supply of at-least Fake Note Detector Machines to all those post offices, rendering the work of collection & exchange of banned notes.

KIND RESPONSE IN THE MATTER & A LINE OF REPLY IS SOLICITED.

WITH REGARDS.

                                                                                                                         Yours faithfully,

                                                  

(R.C.Mishra)

Circle Secretary

Centre paves way for timely promotions of employees

 Friday, November 11, 2016,

New Delhi, Nov 11: All central government departments have been asked to conduct meetings of Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) in time to check "abnormal delay" in giving career benefits to employees.

The move comes after noticing cases of delay in holding the meeting of DPC, which decides on employees' promotions.

Centre paves way for timely promotions

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has issued instructions to all the departments asking them to ensure timely promotions to the employees by conducting meetings of DPC in time. A model calender has also been issued by the DoPT in this regard.

It has been brought to the notice of the government that many promotion posts are lying vacant due to abnormal delay in convening DPCs. "The objective of timely promotions of employees in various ministries and departments can be achieved only by holding DPC meetings.

"In view of above, all ministries and departments are again advised to ensure strict compliance of instructions in order achieve the desired objectives of timely convening of DPCs or preparation of approved select panels within the prescribed time frame," the DoPT said in an order. There are about 50.68 lakh central government employees.

PTI

Source : http://www.oneindia.com

Heading to an ATM/bank for cash today? Here are a few things you should know

Starting today, all ATMs will be open for transactions. So if you are among the scores of hassled, cash-hit customers heading to your bank or ATM for reprieve, here are a few things you should know. 
1) Old Rs 500 & Rs 1000 notes are yet to be fully flushed out from ATMs. Process of reconfiguring the machines still on. So your patience will be tested. 
2) ATMs will only dispense Rs 100 notes, some will have Rs 50 notes. Hang in there, SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya says it will take 10 days for ATM operations to normalise. 
3) If you have an SBI account, there's some relief. SBI's cash deposit machines have started accepting up to Rs 50,000 from Thursday midnight. 
4) Surcharge on use of ATMs beyond 5 free transactions has been waived. 
5) The old notes can be used for paying fees, taxes and penalties for central and state governments, including municipal and local bodies. 
How should I get rid of my old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes?

 
You can do that by visiting any branch of your own bank or that of any other bank, or any post office. Old notes of 500 and 1,000 amounting to 4,000 can be exchanged for denominations of 50 and 100 till December 31. 
What do I submit as ID proof?

 
Aadhaar card, voter ID, ration card, passport, PAN. Don't forget to carry a photocopy. You need fo fill up a declaration form which will then be verified. 
What if I don't have a bank account?

 
If your relative or friend has a bank account, you can use that, provided the account holder gives you permission in writing, which must be produced to the bank. Also, you need identity proof. 
This is what you need to do for withdrawals

 
a) You can do it at bank counters, post offices 
b) The limit is 10,000 per day. There is a weekly limit, of 20,000, including ATM withdrawals, up to Nov 24, 2016 
c) You need cheque or withdrawal slip. At ATMs, the withdrawal limit is 2,000 per day till November 18 and 4,000 per day from November 19 onwards till further notice. 
Don't rush to the banks, they will remain open tomorrow and on Sunday. All major banks say they will work till late to meet demand. 
Need I go to my bank branch only?

 
For exchange up to 4,000 you may go to any bank branch with valid ID proof. For exchange over 4,000, which will be credited to bank account only, you may go to the branch where you have an account or any other branch of the same bank. In case, you want to go to a bank where you don't have an account, you will have to submit valid ID proof and account details required for electronic fund transfer to your account. 
Can I send my representative?

 
Personal visit is preferable. You may also send your representative with written authorisation. The representative should produce authority letter and his/her valid ID proof. 
If you still have a problem, you can contact RBI control room by email or telephone:
publicquery@rbi.org.in, (011 23093230) 

Doubts on accepting WOS banknotes

FOR INFORMATION OF OUR P As / SPMs / POSTMASTERs

Dear Comrades,

We have been receiving a series of telephone calls from many  staff members of Odisha Circle if the WOS banknotes can be accepted only under PO Savings Bank Accounts or under any other POSB Schemes.

In this regard, this Divisional Union has earlier requested the SSPOS, Bhubaneswar Division which was got clarified on 10.11.2016  on the basis of Directorate’s letter (eMail) dated 10.11.2016 that WOS Currency Notes can be accepted for deposits in any of the POSB schemes subject to KYC compliance and rulings of the respective schemes up to 30.12.2016.

The above clarification has already been published in this site elsewhere.

But we feel that the above clarification has not yet reached  all post offices raising so many questions in the minds of our staff members.

A few minutes ago this Divisional Secretary discussed the above deficiency with Sri Ashok Rath,  Asst. Director (SB), O / o the Chief Postmaster General, Odisha Circle  with request to circulate the above order for information of our employees. He told me that the said order has already been sent through eMail to all Regional / Divisional Heads. We requested him to circulate the order once again to all H Os / GPOs once again which was accepted.

The Asst. Director also informed that he is presently available in his seat and any one can call him over his mobile No.9437246866 for any query on the issue.

B SAMAL

Divisional Secretary & 

Vice-President, AIPEU, Group-C, Odisha Circle

Central government employees get shield as Centre clears changes in anti-graft law

New Delhi: All central government employees may get a ‘shield’ from prosecution as the Centre has okayed changes in anti-corruption law and decided to make it mandatory for investigating agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take its prior approval before conducting any enquiry against them.

Union minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said the government has readied a draft anti-corruption amendment bill to protect honest officers. “We have decided to introduce the anti-corruption amendment bill in the upcoming session of the Parliament. A provision for providing safeguard to all categories of government employees is being offered there. The changes are to ensure that honest employees are not harassed,” said Singh, minister of state for personnel.

The winter session begins from Wednesday.

He said such a decision was necessary to ensure that the bureaucracy, which is an essential tool of good governance, continues to work without any fear or favour. The decision assumes significance as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently said that the government’s job is to ensure safety of honest employees. The move is also based on the recommendation of a Parliamentary committee, which had suggested the shield for public servants by making it mandatory conditions for probe agencies like CBI and police to take “previous approval” of competent authority before conducting any enquiry or investigation against a public servant—including from peon to secretary.

However, such an approval will not be necessary for cases involving “arrest of a person on the spot on the charge of accepting or attempting to accept any undue advantage for himself or for any other person,” the panel had said. The committee, that examined changes in the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, gave its report in August this year.

The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 19 August 2013 during the UPA rule. However, it was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee, which had submitted its report to the Upper House on 6 February 2014, but the bill could not be passed then.

On 29 April last year, the Union Cabinet gave its approval to amend the Prevention of Corruption Act by pursuing the amendment bill after moving official amendments. It was sent to the Select Committee for examination and report on 7 December last year.

Source : http://www.livemint.com

After 7th Pay Commission salary hikes, move on to raise minimum wage ceiling under EPF

 

money A hike in the wage limit as proposed would mean all employees drawing basic salary Rs 25,000 would have to compulsorily contribute to the provident fund.

The minimum wage ceiling under the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) could soon be raised to Rs 25,000 from the existing Rs 15,000. A proposal to to enhance the limit is likely to be sent by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to the government. A decision to propose the change has been taken at a recent meeting of Sub-committee of the Central Board of Trustees, EPFO, on contract workers held on November 7. Central Board of Trustees (CBT) is the highest decision-making body of the EPFO.

A hike in the wage limit as proposed would mean all employees drawing basic salary Rs 25,000 would have to compulsorily contribute to the provident fund. However, those drawing above that limit will have the option to become member of the provident fund, and can opt out if they want to.

The move comes in wake of changes in the wage structure in accordance with the proposal of the 7th Pay Commission. Trade union representatives at the CBT sub-committee meeting pointed out that the minimum wage of Central government employees after implementation of the Pay Commission report has been hiked to Rs 18,000. and hence the EPFO’s wage ceiling of Rs 15,000 needs to be altered. They pointed out that there could be further increase in minimum wages from the Rs 18,000 is likely with the trade unions demanding a minimum wage of at least Rs 21,000 to Rs 22000.

In fact, the Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI) is directly linked to the minimum wage ceiling. At present, If an employee is earning up to Rs 15,000 he or she can avail of benefits under the Employees Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI). The scheme provides life insurance of up to Rs 6 lakhs.

Source : http://www.financialexpress.com

7th Pay Commission: Crackdown on black money to delay higher allowances.

New Delhi, November 10: On Tuesday night Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the nation by surprise and announced a crackdown on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes with effect from same midnight, making these notes invalid across India. The recent development has no doubt caused inconvenience to common people. But the most effected ones are government employees who have been eagerly waiting for the 7th Pay Commission award which may get delayed following Narendra Modi’s surgical strike on black money to curb rising black money, fake currency, and corruption. There are reports that higher allowances under the 7th Pay Commission which were to be implemented soon will be delayed when the situation returns to normalcy.

“The process of higher allowances may be delayed as now the government is busy for making situation normal after a surgical strike on black money,” a top official of Finance Ministry was quoted by a news portal on condition of anonymity. The official further added that “after the surgical strike on black money issues related to many other financial activities has been increased and the Narendra Modi government has to kept the process of higher allowances in the pipeline and are waiting for things to get normalised. However, the government is keen to implement the higher allowances speedily in a time-bound manner.”

The top official further added that “the Narendra Modi government is in fear of any eventual incident for a surgical strike on black money in the country and in view of the current scenario, the government has decided to delay the announce of higher allowances”.

The Central Government employees unions are pressing hard on the government to announce the higher allowance and they had recently called for a Parliament march on December 12. Earlier there were reports that the ‘Committee on Allowances’ has already given a final touch to its report on higher allowances. The committee met up with the deadline of four months given to it by the cabinet to submit its reports, the top official confirmed.

There are reports that the quantum of allowances may not vary from those proposed by the 7th Pay Commission as the committee looking into the issue sticks with the 7th Pay Commission’s recommendations on allowances proposed higher allowances with retrospective effect from August 2016 but the central government employees unions demanded for implementation of the allowances with effect from January 2016.

Recently Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa said that his team is ready to submit its report whenever Finance Minister Arun Jaitley calls up. The committee on allowances was set up July this year in the direction of the cabinet.

Source : http://www.india.com/