Railway Minister gives directions for “comprehensive training programme” for all employees

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Railways

14-November, 2017

Railway Minister gives directions for “comprehensive training programme” for all employees of Indian Railways to boost productivity & efficiency.

This comprehensive training programme is being launched under the name “Project Saksham”.

The week-long training in skills and domain knowledge will be imparted to all the employees of Indian Railways.

The focus of all such training is to ‘make a difference’ to the job performance.

Under the direction of Minister of Railways & Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal, a comprehensive plan for imparting training to all employees of Indian Railways is being prepared with a view to upgrade skill & knowledge. This comprehensive training programme named as “Project Saksham” will help boost productivity and efficiency.

Under this plan, all employees in each zone will be put through a week’s training in skills and knowledge relevant to their work area over next one year. A communication to this effect from Chairman Railway Board, Shri Ashwani Lohani, has been sent to all General Managers of zonal railways and railways production unit.

General Managers have been advised that such priority training need should be quickly identified for each category of employees (employees can be grouped into their work areas) based on the needs of respective zone. Identification of training needs and formulation of planned training calendar will be required to be completed by December 31st, 2017, ensuring that each employee is imparted training.

It has been emphasized that while continuous learning and education/training has been an integral philosophy and approach of the Railways, there is a need to do a concentrated capsule of training for all employees in a short period of time to boost their productivity and efficiency. This training programme will fulfill this need.

With growing rail network, new trains, different high quality services designed by the railways and the promise of the government to deliver superior and safe rail services and growing expectation of our passengers and commuters for better amenities and services, it is imperative that the railway employees rise to the occasion to deliver on the promise. Employees can and do deliver only when they have the right skills, knowledge and the mindset to deliver to the new standards of excellence that the organization hold from them all. This training will help achieve these objectives.

This training shall be a five-day on the job training or as classroom training in Railway Training Centre depending on the nature of training. However, the reporting managers of all employees receiving training need to be actively involved in the Pre-training and post training process to ensure that the benefits of training get reflected on the job performance and there is improvement within a short time after the training is imparted. The focus of all such training has to be to ‘make a difference’ to the job performance of all departments and employees and thus Indian Railways.

The training, as per the calendar, must be completed within 9 months. You may personally monitor the completion of the plans and their progress. The zone must also devise a few metrics to monitor the impact of Project Saksham.

This training will not only upgrade skill of each of the employees but also go a long-way in improving the performance of the Indian Railways.

PIB

7th Pay Commission | Report of Committee| Special Duty Allowance 

Existing Provisions: It is granted to attract civilian employees to seek posting in North Eastern and Ladakh regions, in view of the risk and hardship prevailing in these areas. At present, SDA is paid @12.5% to Central Government Employees including officers of the All India Services, serving in the North Eastern Region states (including Sikkim) and Union Territories of A&N and Lakshadweep group of Islands & Ladakh. In addition, „Special Allowance for Officers belonging to North – East Cadres of AIS‟ is granted to AIS Officers belonging to the North East Cadres and posted in the North Eastern states at 25%.

Recommendations of 7th CPC: The 7th CPC has recommended that SDA for AIS officers should be paid at the rate of 30 percent of Basic Pay and for other civilian employees at the rate of 10 percent of Basic Pay.

Demands:

I. President Secretariat: SDA@30% be granted to employees of NEHU, Shillong.

II. Secretary, All Ladakh Central Government Employees Association through Minister, Social Justice & Empowerment, Governor‟s Secretariat, J&K, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, MP and Shri Thupstan Chhewang, MP:SDA@25% be granted to employees posted in Ladakh region in addition to Special Compensatory (Remote

Locality) Allowance.

III. Chief Minister, Manipur: SDA be allowed to continue and quantum be increased for officers posted in theNE.

IV. Ministry of Home Affairs: SDA admissible to AIS Service officers may be kept separate.

V. National Council (Staff Side), JCM: The SDA and Special Compensatory Allowance (SCA) are being paid concurrently. However, 7th CPC has recommended that both SDA and SCA should not be granted concurrently. Therefore, following changes have been demanded:

7th CPC recommendations to the effect that where Tough Area Compensatory Allowance is given, the SDA must be withdrawn, should be rejected.

Reduction in the present rate of SDA of 12.5% should not be accepted.

Discrimination in the grant of SDA between officers of AIS and other employees must be removed and all to be paid SDA at the same rate.

VI. Ministry of Defence: SDA to the Defence Forces at the same rate as applicable to civilian non-AIS employees is to be given. The admissibility of the allowance would be subject to a scheme to be worked out by Ministry of Defence in consultation with Ministry of Finance.

VII. J&K IAS Officers Association:

(i) SDA@12.5% of Basic Pay be granted to the regions of Jammu Province and Kashmir Valley

(ii) Additional Monetary Incentive @25% as payable to Officers belonging to NE Cadres of AIS be allowed.

Analysis and Recommendations of the Committee:

It is observed that the existing provisions relating to SDA at present paid @12.5% to Central Government Employees including officers of the All India Services, serving in the North Eastern Region states (including Sikkim) and Union Territories of A&N and Lakshadweep group of Islands & Ladakh and „Special Allowance for Officers belonging to North – East Cadres of AIS‟ granted @25% as per DoPT‟s OM dated 10th February, 2009 have inadvertently been presented by merging them together in the 7th CPC Report. However, both these allowances are governed differently and SDA @ 12.5% is paid to all officers irrespective of their service but „Special Allowance for Officers belonging to North – East Cadres of AIS‟ is granted @25% to AIS officers of NE Cadre serving in the Cadre.

The Committee, therefore, recommends that the two allowances, SDA and „Special Allowance for Officers belonging to North – East Cadres of AIS‟, may continue to be paid separately as at present at the rate of 10% and 20% respectively after applying the multiplying factor of 0.8 for percentage-based allowances.

As regards the demand of the Ministry of Defence, the Committee is of the view that the facilities available to Defence Forces differ significantly from those available to Civilian employees. Moreover, the demand pertains to including a new category in the existing allowance, which does not come under the purview of the Committee.

Demands relating to NEHU, addition of more categories or enhancement of rates and demands of J&K Officers‟ Association are also outside the purview of this Committee

7th Pay Commission | Committee Report | Professional Update Allowance 

Existing Provisions: This allowance is granted to Scientists/Engineers in certain scientific department like DAE, ISRO etc. to encourage their employees to obtain latest information and keep themselves update to widen their horizon of knowledge.

The present rates are as under

Recommendations of 7th CPC: The 7th CPC has recommended that the amount should be increased by 50 percent. It should be extended to DG, DRDO also. The amount will further rise by 25% each time DA rises by 50%.

Demands:

I. National Council (Staff Side), JCM: Non-gazetted staff of the Department of Atomic Energy get ₹7500/- as Update Allowance. However, while recommending enhancing the Professional Update Allowance to Gazetted Scientific community, the 7th CPC has not recommended the increase in Professional Update Allowance for Non – Gazetted employees of the Department of Atomic Energy. Therefore, Professional Update Allowance for all other sections of employees should be increased by 50%.

II. M/o Health & FW: ₹15000 per annum be granted to Nursing personnel as Professional Update Allowance.

III. Department of Atomic Energy: Professional Update Allowance which is being paid to Scientific Officers / Technical Officers below GP – 5400 and all Technical, Admin, Purchase & Stores and Auxiliary category employees, should be continued and increased by 50% as that of Professional Update Allowance. At present, the Update

Allowance is being paid @₹ 7500/- per year.

Analysis and Recommendations of the Committee:

It has been brought to the notice of the Committee by DAE that Update Allowance is being paid @ ₹7500/- per year to Scientific Officers/Technical Officers below GP – 5400 and all Technical, Administrative, Purchase & Stores and Auxiliary category employees in Department of Atomic Energy. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the Update Allowance may continue to be paid to Scientific Officer/Technical Officers below GP – 5400 and all Technical, Administrative, Purchase & Stores and Auxiliary category employees in Department of Atomic Energy at the existing rates. The recommendations of the 7th CPC be accepted along with the modifications proposed above.

The demand of the Ministry of H&FW to grant this allowance to Nurses does not come under the purview of the Committee.

The additional financial implications are estimated to be ₹ 8.50 crore per annum and will benefit approximately 23400 personnel.

7th CPC - Nursing Allowance In The Committee Report

Existing Provisions: Nursing Allowance is the composite term used for four allowances granted to nursing personnel: Nursing Allowance, Uniform Allowance, Washing Allowance and Messing Allowance, presently granted at the following rates:

Recommendations of 7th CPC: No change in the rate of Nursing Allowance is recommended. However, the rate of Nursing Allowance will go up by 25 percent each time DA rises by 50 percent. Uniform Allowance and Washing Allowance have been subsumed in the  newly recommended Dress Allowance for Nurses and will not be payable separately. Messing Allowance is petty in nature. It is recommended that it should be abolished.

Demands:

I. National Council (Staff Side), JCM: The rate of this allowance be increased by a factor of 2.25.

II. M/o Health & FW: Multiplying factor of 1.5 may be extended in case of Nursing Allowance.

Analysis and Recommendations of the Committee:

The Committee notes that the rate of the Nursing Allowance has not been revised by the 7th CPC although it is partially linked to DA. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the rates of Nursing Allowance be multiplied by a factor of 1.5 and be increased to ₹7200 per month.

The additional financial implication on account of the changes proposed by the Committee is estimated to be ₹ 49.00 crore per annum and will benefit approximately 17000 personnel.

7th Pay Commission | Hydrographic Survey Allowance | Report of Committee

Existing Provisions: This allowance is paid to Naval Officers for tougher working conditions, as under

Category	Rates per month in Rs.
Surveyors Class-IV	1200
Surveyors Class-III	1500
Surveyors Class-II	1800
Surveyors Class-I	2100
Non-Surveyor Officers on ships	600
Surveyor Recorder-III	300
Surveyor Recorder- II	450
Surveyor Recorder–I (PO and Below)	600
Surveyor Recorder–I (CPO and above)	750
Non-Surveyor Sailors serving on ships	150

Recommendations of 7th CPC: The 7th CPC has recommended that this allowance be paid as per Cell R3H3 of the newly proposed Risk and Hardship Matrix @ ₹1200 pm for level 9 and above and ₹1000/- pm for level upto 8 (For non – surveyors).

Demands:

Ministry of Defence: This allowance may be paid to Surveyors as per Cell R3H1 and for Non – Surveyors, it may be paid as per cell R3H2 of the Risk & Hardship Matrix.

Analysis and Recommendations of the Committee:

The Committee notes that the rates of Hydrographic Survey Allowance for Surveyors (Class I – IV) being paid currently range from ₹1200 pm to ₹2100 pm. Thus, the recommended rates are not commensurate with the existing provisions and tougher working conditions.

Moreover, the jobs done by the Surveyors are commercially viable and they generate revenue for the Government.

It is, therefore, recommended that Hydrographic Survey Allowance be paid as per R3H2 (₹ 3400 pm for Level 9 & above and ₹ 2700 for level 8 & below) for Surveyors (Class I – IV) and rates as recommended by 7th CPC for other categories (presently being paid this allowance in the range of ₹ 150- ₹ 600 pm) may continue to be as per R3H3 of R&H Matrix.

The additional financial implications on account of the changes proposed by the Committee is estimated to be ₹ 1.52 crore per annum and will benefit approximately 658 personnel.

HQ News from Delhi – Confederation

HQ NEWS FROM DELHI

CHANGE THE ANTI – PEOPLE ANTI – WORKER POLICIES OR ELSE THE PEOPLE & WORKERS WILL CHANGE THE GOVT.

The unprecedented joint trade union ‘mahapadav’ of workers concluded in the evening of 11th November 2017 with a clarion call to the working class of the country to intensify the struggle against the anti worker, anti people and anti national policies of the BJP led government.

The huge mass of workers who gathered from all over the country and from all sectors of the economy enthusiastically endorsed the unanimous call of the leadership of the joint trade union movement, made in the light of the 8th August 2017 national convention, to prepare for an indefinite country wide general strike if the government does not change tack and heed the voice of the working class. The trade unions decided to chalk out a prolonged course of agitations and actions towards that objective.

The string of actions will start with district level joint conventions to be completed by the first week of January 2018 followed by joint ‘Satyagraha’/ courting of arrest at the district headquarters in the last week of January. The common date for the courting of arrest in all districts in the state will be decided by the joint meeting of the state leadership of the trade unions.

In case of any anti worker measures being announced in the Union Budget, joint protest demonstrations will be held on the same day all over the country. The central trade unions will meet soon after the presentation of the Union Budget and decide upon the next course of action.

Along with this programme, the central trade unions also decided to go into joint industry/ sectoral strike whenever the government takes measures at privatisation. The national federations of scheme workers affiliated to the central trade unions will go on strike before the presentation of the Union Budget on their own demands. The date of the strike will be decided in their joint meeting.

The three days ‘mahapadav’ was significant in many ways. This was the first time that ten central trade unions and independent industrial federations jointly organised dharna in the national capital continuously for three days mobilising tens of thousands of workers on each day. The participation of women workers, not only the scheme workers, but also from other sections like beedi, construction, domestic workers, street vendors, home based workers etc was very huge, particularly on the third day. The participation of young workers was also remarkable.

Another significant feature is the participation of several state level trade unions. Some of them are part of the state level joint trade union platforms in states like Kerala, Telangana etc. In addition around 3000 transport workers, owners cum drivers of trucks etc from different states, who are not affiliated to any central trade union, participated at the initiative of the All India Road Transport Workers’ Federation.

The workers displayed extraordinary resolve to participate in the ‘mahapadav’ overcoming many difficulties. The air pollution in Delhi received wide coverage in the media all over the country. Delhi’s description as a ‘toxic gas chamber’ with a situation of ‘public health emergency’ created scare, particularly among those coming from the southern states. The banning of demonstrations and mobilisations at Jantar Mantar by the National Green Tribunal also raised questions on whether the ‘mahapadav’ will be allowed at all.

Many trains were running inordinately late and several were cancelled. Thousands of workers, including women workers from remote villages who travelled all the way to the nearest railway station had to go back after finding that the train they were to travel was cancelled. Thousands refused to go back despite knowing that their train was late. They just wanted to participate in the ‘mahapadav’ even for a little while. On each of the three days thousands arrived at the venue just as the dharna was about to conclude or after it was adjourned for the day. Around thousand women workers reached Delhi in the night of 11th November!

Attempts were made to create confusion among the workers. The BMS which has deserted the joint trade union movement on the eve of the country wide general strike on 2nd September 2015, the first one after the BJP led Modi government came to power certifying that the government was positive to the demands of the workers, gave a call for a rally in the national capital on 17th November. Rumours were floated that the ‘mahapadav’ has been cancelled. The government, which has been totally ignoring the 12 point charter of demands of the trade unions during the last over two years, called a meeting on 3rd November 2017 sending a notice of less than 48 hours. It did not invite the INTUC, one of the major trade unions and a constituent of the joint movement. When the trade unions protested and refused to attend the meeting unless INTUC was also invited, the government called another meeting but on the same day when three other central trade unions were called to depose before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour in Mumbai. After the trade unions again protested against the casual attitude of the Ministry of Labour, ultimately theo meeting was fixed on the evening of 7th November. But the government had nothing to offer. The trade unions stuck to their programme. The workers brushed aside all these machinations to confuse, divide and disrupt their unity and participated in the ‘mahapadav’ in large numbers.

The discipline displayed by the workers, belonging to different organisations and different states, during the entire duration of the three days’ ‘mahapadav’ was exemplary. Majority of the workers sat throughout the day and showed eagerness to hear the speakers – not less than 30 of them, in three sessions, every day! They responded with enthusiasm whenever a call was given to intensify the struggle.

However all this was of no consequence to the corporate media. The corporate controlled mainstream print and electronic media chose to black out the ‘mahapadav’ and the demands of the workers, the backbone of our economy. All that they could capture was some poor street vendors ‘doing hectic business’ selling shoes and books and the long lines near the public toilets!

But the ‘mahapadav’ and the issues raised by it received wide publicity in the social media and some pro people television channels. Several teams active in the social media talked to the workers and union leaders and uploaded them in the websites.

The struggle and the demands of the workers also received huge support from various organisations within the country as well as from outside. The two major international organisations of the working class, the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) sent messages of solidarity. In addition, national trade union organisations from different countries including Greece, Nepal etc expressed solidarity. The joint platform of over 100 kisan organisations and several women’s organisations came out in support of the ‘mahapadav’. 50 eminent personalities including writers, university professors, scientists, researchers, artists and social workers, signed a letter to the Prime Minister demanding that the issues raised by the joint movement of the workers be addressed immediately. There were many more such expressions of support to the struggle of the workers.

The three days ‘mahapadav’ makes one thing certain. Discontent against the policies being pursued by the government is growing among all sections of the working class – unorganised sector workers, organised sector workers, those in the public sector and in the private sector, the scheme workers, contract workers and all others. Even large sections of the middle class employees who have voted for BJP are becoming disillusioned with the government’s policies. It has shown that the workers are ready to fight. What is necessary is to make them aware that alternatives to the disastrous neoliberal policies exist; to make them aware that it is the working class which has to lead the struggle for such an alternative; and create confidence among them that they can do it through their organised strength and by uniting with other sections of toiling people like the peasants and agricultural workers.

Source: Confederation

Hospital Patient Care Allowance/Patient Care Allowance | Report of Committee | 7th Pay commission

Existing Provisions: Patient Care Allowance (PCA) is admissible to Group ₹C‟ and „D‟ (nonMinisterial) employees excluding nursing personnel working in the health care delivery institutions/establishments (other than hospitals) with less than 30 beds, subject to the condition that no Night Weightage Allowance and Risk Allowance will be admissible to these employees. Similarly placed employees working in hospitals are eligible for Hospital Patient Care Allowance (HPCA). Hospital Patient Care Allowance@ ₹2,100 pm for Group ₹C‟ staff and ₹2,085 pm for Group ₹D‟ Staff.

Recommendations of 7th CPC: The 7th CPC has recommended that this allowance shall be paid as per Cell R1H3 of the newly proposed Risk and Hardship Matrix @₹5,300/- pm for level 9 and above and @₹4,100/- pm upto level 8. It has also been recommended that HPCA / PCA should be admissible to only those employees who come in continuous and routine contact with the patients. The amount of allowance will increase by 25% each time DA rises by 50%.

Demands:

I. National Council (Staff Side), JCM: The exclusion of the Ministerial Staff by the 7th CPC is without substantive reason as the job of the Ministerial staff working on the premises of the Hospitals involves risk. Therefore, this allowance should continue to be paid to Ministerial staff working in Hospitals.

II. M/o Health & FW: Doctors may be granted Risk & Hardship Allowance as per cell R1H2 of Risk & Hardship Matrix and Nursing Personnel may be granted as per rates of R1H3 of the matrix.

Analysis and Recommendations of the Committee:

The Committee notes that Doctors are granted NPA and the Nurses get Nursing Allowance. The NPA will be paid @20% of the Basic Pay and the Nursing Allowance, which was not recommended to be increased by the 7th CPC, is being recommended to be increased by 1.5 by the Committee. As such, demands for a separate Risk & Hardship Allowance for Doctors and Nurses may not be accepted.

As regards grant of HPCA / PCA to ministerial staff working on hospital premises, the Committee is of the view that working on hospital premises does involve an element of risk. The recommendations of the 7th CPC on HPCA/ PCA may, therefore, be modified to the extent that these allowances, at present admissible to ministerial staff working in hospital premises, will not be discontinued and be paid to them as per R1H3 of the Risk & Hardship Matrix.

The additional financial implication on account of the changes proposed by the Committee is estimated to be ₹ 30 crore per annum and will benefit approximately 15000 employees.