WILL CLASS I FEDERATION ACT?

RIGHT TIME FOR THE CLASS I FEDERATION TO ACT

The following copy of the E-Circular of the Class I Retirees' Federation has been published in the September 2015  issue of  the Eastern  News magazine  by  the Kolkata  LIC Retired Class I Officers' Association .

"E-circular dt 8/8/2015 of Federation of Retired LIC Class I Officers' Associations

Re: Implementation of SC order dated 7/5/2015 for IR and our response to LIC

It was exactly a month ago, with whatever was the motive LIC demanded of us to submit a list of those who were affected by the discriminatory basis on DR to enable them to extend the benefit of interim relief granted by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. Their letter to us was dated 6/7. As our Federation had gone to the court on the said single issue we took the LIC's unusual step as a challenge and we would like to inform our members that we have now sent to LIC the first list of pre- 97 retiree-pensioners. The lists furnished by all our units so enthusiastically carry a number of 870 members from 15 out of 16 units. Our premier affiliate at Mumbai who have a stupendous task of collating the data for nearly 400 persons will be completing their list shortly. The same will be sent as the next batch. We would also like to confirm that in compiling the list we have ignored the unwarranted cutoff date of membership imposed by LIC. We have also informed that supplementary lists and also the Family pensioners list will follow.

We did considerable thinking before sending the list, and wrote to our units on our views. It is good that we received a number of feedback. Importantly, we did not want to be at default. Let us wait and see what LIC does.

It is to be noted that while LIC is under compulsion to act and implement the SC order of 7th May 215, how completely and correctly they would implement is still uncertain, We would therefore like our members not to entertain undue hopes.

Should LIC fail to implement fairly and appropriately, we will be vigilant and bring matters to the attention of Hon'ble Supreme court at the right time.

Meantime we are consulting our counsels on the question of our approaching the SC on securing extension of interim relief to all pensioners affected by DR anomaly irrespective of their affiliation of any organisation. We shall keep members informed of our further steps in due course.

With Greetings to all,

GN Sridharan

Gen Secy Fedn.of Retired Class I Officers' Assns. "

My observations

It is gathered that as of now a list consisting of 1266 pre-August 1997 retiree members of the Federation has been submitted to the Central Office by the Federation. From the  above  circular  it is clear that the Federation is  not  quite hopeful of a positive response from LIC .

It is gratifying to note that "Should LIC fail to implement fairly and appropriately, we will be vigilant and bring matters to the attention of Hon'ble Supreme Court at the right time."

But I am sure that the Federation is aware that that the right time should be the earliest time before 23/9/2015 which is now hardly 22 days away.

The best opportunity for the Federation to expose before  the Supreme Court  the  arbitrary approach adopted by LIC to avoid complying with the Supreme Court's order of 7/5/2015 will be available on 7/9/2015 when the IA filed by Chandigarh petitioners  comes up for hearing. The Federation's counsel should  also vehemently submit before the Supreme Court the audacity of LIC in not only not complying with the SC order of 7/5/2015 within the deadline of 6 weeks, but also its high- handedness of adding its own arbitrary conditions for the Federation submitting the list of eligible members over the head of the Supreme Court order. If the Federation's counsel does not use this golden opportunity to drive home our points forcefully in this regard, 'the right time' will  not arrive in time and the Federation's having submitted the list would turn out to be a wasteful exercise.

Let us hope that the Federation would definitely not like its  eagerly waiting members to suffer  by default.

With greetings,

C H Mahadevan