Unresolved Demands Fuel Unrest - 515 Army Base Workshop Karmika Sangh Protest in Bangalore

BMS & BPMS Army Base Workshops Employees Protest Against 10 Years of Government Neglect; Demand Urgent Action

غیر حل شدہ مطالبات: 515 آرمی بیس ورکشاپ کے ملازمین کا بنگلور میں احتجاج

Unresolved Demands Fuel Unrest - 515 Army Base Workshop Karmika Sangh Protest in Bangalore

BMS & BPMS Karmika Sangh Organizations Protest Against 10 Years of Government Neglect

Karmika Sanghs Protest at Army Base Workshops, Demand Urgent Government Action

Bangalore: In July, Karmika Sanghs staged massive protests at the 515 Army Base Workshop against the Modi-led NDA government, demanding immediate action on long-pending issues. The protests, spearheaded by the Bharat Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) and the Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh (BPMS), aimed to pressure the government into addressing their concerns.

Samiullah Khan, President of the 515 Army Base Karmika Sangh, emphasized that their issues have remained unresolved for the past decade. "We have been protesting continuously, but the government has shown no interest in addressing our demands. This negligence has led to widespread dissatisfaction and unrest among employees," he stated.

BPMS National General Secretary Thiru Kumar highlighted that the organizations have been organizing extensive protests and agitations nationwide to draw the government's attention. "Our major demands include the implementation of the 8th Finance Commission for fair payment and salaries, and the provision of cashless treatment for Army Base workers, similar to what is provided for Navy and other defense ministry organizations," Kumar elaborated.

Kumar also pointed out that vacancies resulting from employee deaths and retirements have not been filled, leading to an increased workload on current employees. "This has caused significant inconvenience. We urge the government to recruit new employees and abandon the idea of contract laborers," he added.

Additionally, Kumar called for an increase in the amount allocated to employee insurance policies. "The government must take immediate steps to ensure the welfare of its workers," he said.

On the occasion, both Samiullah Khan and Thiru Kumar expressed hope that their persistent struggle would yield results. "We believe that our demands will be implemented comprehensively by the central government," they stated.

Despite the ongoing protests, the government has yet to address these critical issues. The employee unions remain steadfast in their resolve, continuing to advocate for their rights and well-being.

Bangalore: In front of 515 army base workshops, the concerned employee unions staged massive protests against the Modi led central NDA government throughout the month of July and put demands before the authorities concerned.

In this regard, Samiullah Khan, President of 515 Army Base Workshop Employees Union, said that their issues and demands have been pending for the past 10 years, while we continued our protests and the Government is not at all bothered to address them, due to which there is great dissatisfaction & unrest amongst the employees due to these remain unresolved matters for long time.

While BPMS National General Secretary Thiru Kumar said that all their demands have been forwarded to the Finance Ministry by the top leadership of the BPMS with an urgent appeal to implement these demands as soon as possible so that the employees who have been suffering may have a sense of relief.

On this occasion, Samiullah Khan and Thirukumar expressed hope that their long-standing struggle will bear fruit and their demands will be implemented comprehensively by the central government.

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1. Thiru Kumar, National General Secretary, BPMS
2. Samiullah Khan, President, 515 Army Base Workshop Employees Union, Bengaluru

Demands of BMS & BPMS:

1. The New Pension Scheme should be abolished and the implementation of the Guaranteed Pension Scheme as Old Pension Scheme i.e. CCS Pension Rules 1972 (Now 2021) should be restored.

2.. The Eighth Central Pay Commission should be constituted to revise the salaries and allowances of Central Government employees, State- Governments employees, and Autonomous Bodies employees. The Pay Commissions not only look into Salaries and Allowances of the employees, but also review the service conditions etc of employees so that the workforce may be well-equipped to meet the evolving needs of society and create art efficient departmental set-up that fulfils the aspirations of the citizens of India. The last revision was based on the 7th Pay Commission recommendations in January 2016. It has been customary to constitute Pay Commissions on every 10 years for above purpose. We urge the immediate constitution of the 8th Pay Commission to ensure revision of Salaries and Allowances by January 2026.

3. There are many Posts lying vacant in various Central Government Departments/Institutions. Due to the retirement of employees at large number and non-filling of posts, the efficiency of the Government Departments is getting affected. We demand immediate action on filling of all the vacancies in order to maintain efficiency of the Government Departments. This will also reduce unemployment.

4. The ceiling of income tax exempted income should be 2800,000, and the amount of standard deduction should also be increased to provide relief to the employees and to encourage savings amongst them. The monetary ceiling under Section 80 C and 80 D of the Income Tax Act, 1961 should also be enhanced.

5. The Central Employees Group Insurance Scheme 1980 should be revised as per recommendations of 7th CPC. Under CGEGIS, the employees receive insurance amounts of ₹15,000, 230,000, ₹60,000, and 120,000 respectively as per the recommendations of the fourth pay commission, for which deductions of 215, 230, 260, and ₹120 respectively are made. We demand implementation of the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission to enhance the insurance amount to a minimum of 215 lakh.

6. Employees retiring one day before i.c. 30 June or 31 December, their date of the annual increment should be given a notional increment for the purpose of pensionary benefits. There is a rule to provide an increment after one full year of successful service.

The Hon'ble Supreme Court and various High Courts & CAT have given verdicts in favour of the employees in the matter. The employees who have approached the Court have been given this benefit whereas the others are constrained to approach the Hon'ble Court to get similar treatment.

Therefore, we demand issuance of an executive order in the matter to provide one notional increment for pensionary benefits to all those employees who have retired or are retiring on 31 December or 30 June and their annual increments were/ are scheduled on 1 January and 1 July, as per the order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court.

7. The recovery of commutation of pension should be made for 12 years instead of 15 years. The interest rate on the commuted value of the pension is recoverable in 2.66 years. The Commutation Factor is 8.194 (For 61 Year i.e. the next birthday of the employee).

Thus, the total recovery period of the commuted amount is 8.194 +2.66 10.85 years. Even after full recovery, the pensioner keeps on paying for 15 years, and thus he goes on to pay additionally for more than 4 years (15 years minus 10.85 4.15 years). Thus, excess recovery is taking place for 4.15 years. We cannot have a risk factor for 4 years as the recovery of the commuted value of Pension is recovered in 10.85 years. While providing the Commutation amount the risk factor is already taken into account as per the mortality table of the Institute of Actuaries of India.

8. Anti-employees, anti-establishment recommendations of Prof K Vijay Raghavan Committee on