Central government employees and pensioners observe “Call Attention Day” today to highlight their demands

On February 1, even as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents her third Union Budget, a sizeable section of Central government employees and pensioners, including defence civilian employees, are observing the day as “Call Attention Day” and holding demonstrations throughout the country in support of their 13 demands. The “Call Attention Day” has been given by the National Joint Council of Action, an umbrella body of Central government employees which represents a workforce of over 3.2 million employees, including those employed in industrial establishments under the Railways, Defence, postal, atomic energy, Indian Space Research Organisation and other departments, and around six million pensioners. Stating that the Central government employees kept the government machinery running during the entire COVID-19 lockdown period, the NJCA has put forth 13 demands: rescinding the government’s avowed intention to corporatise railway production units and the 41 ordnance factories which come under the Ordnance Factories Board; an end to the implementation of the GOCO model at the eight Army Base workshops; stopping the privatisation and outsourcing of permanent and perennial jobs; immediate release of three instalments of dearness allowance/dearness relief owed to Central government employees and pensioners for the months of January and July 2020 and January 2021; implementing the assurances given by the Group of Ministers over the 7th Central Pay Commission demands, including the minimum pay end fitment factor; withdrawing the New Pension Scheme in tandem with the restoration of the guaranteed defined pension under CCS Rules, 1973. Talking to Frontline, representatives of the All India Defence Employees Federation, the Indian National Defence Workers Federation and the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh were unilateral in their stand that “the Modi Government was not keen on settling any of the demands of the Central government employees and defence civilian employees”.