DK -52 Circular from Gen Secretary D.Krishnan

FEDERATION OF RETIRED LIC CLASS I OFFICERS' ASSOCIATIONS        

President :    N.P. Bali 705, Sur, Veena Saaz, Thakur Complex, Kandivali (East), Mumbai - 400 101 Mob : 9820324213 Email Id - npbali@hotmail.com

General Secretary :    D Krishnan No.6/1, Sreshta Riverside Apartments, Wood Creek Road, Nandambakkam, Chennai - 600089 Tel : 9176635967 / 044 42850049. Email Id - dkrishnan1@gmail.com

E circular No.DK/52                                                            12-01-2019     

Friends,                      

Sub: Some break-through initiatives ......             

1. You might recall our reporting to you about the  matter of term assurance cover for  the retired class 1 officers also, as one of the points discussed with the EDs Personnel, on the 13th of Nov 2018. The concept having been accepted, is indeed a very welcome development. But then, when you go through the Circular, you find, in the narration, that this applies only to those retiring after 1-4-2018!  (The CO Circular of 2-1-2019 attached below) This is where the catch comes in. In discussions, we had made it clear that , if the idea is accepted, the past retiree officers too, would be given the benefit .  The Premium Tables set out in the CO Circular on the subject, does go right up to the age group of 75! This would make it appear that the original thinking was for extending the scheme for retiree officers up to the age of 75. But then there seems to have been a turn around on this idea , when the Circular was being Drafted! 

We have addressed letters to the ED Personnel and the ED P&GS raising questions as to how the change over happened, which has finally resulted in the exclusion of most of the past retiree officers from this benefit. We would await  some explanation for such exclusion and come back on this later on.

2. It may be recalled that  in the reporting after the Executive Committee Meeting at Bengaluru, on the 9th of Dec 2018, we had mentioned about a number of the EC members, suggesting  a move towards a joint action  with other Petitioners, with regard to the Case in the Supreme Court. Their point was that, all of us are essentially making similar Prayers before the SC , and it would add synergy if we  cooperated and coordinated on our approach, and spoke in one voice, instead of spraying energy in a non-focused manner. Following up on this line of thinking, we did have an informal meeting with the General Secretary of AIRIEF, the other major Petitioner in the fray, at Bengaluru on the 9th of Dec itself. That discussion has now gained momentum and a conclave of all the Petitioners has been planned at Chennai  for the 2nd of Feb 2019. AIRIEF has taken the initiative in writing to the other Petitioners, asking them to join the Meeting at Chennai planned for the 2nd of Feb 2019.  We for our part, are playing the support and facilitating role for the Chennai Meet planned for the 2nd of Feb 2019.

If the coming together, itself is taken as some kind of a tacit agreement on a joint push, the Conclave will then need to look at the different SLPs filed in SC , and see, as to how far we could go in chalking out a common approach to furthering the Case in the SC. The more important thing would be in coming to the nitty- gritty of  how each Petitioner would Brief their Counsel, to fall in line with this common thrust, in the Court.

  This we feel is a major improvement in our onward march, as , at one stage, we could only think of it as an ideal thing, but sat back with the knowledge, that it might be difficult to forge a unity, in practice, given the ground realities of the individual characteristics and style and approach of the different Associations involved. Now we have taken one major step towards realizing this dream. It has to be seen, how many of the parties involved, turn up for the Conclave, and how ready we are to shed our inhibitions of  individual identities, in favour of a common result being achieved, for the Community of Pensioners of LIC. We shall certainly keep all our members informed as and when things take further shape.

With warm Greetings to all, for Pongal and Sankranti festivals     

D.krishnan

General Secretary