KINDLY DO SPARE A THOUGHT FOR THE ELDERLY , WHO TODAY, ARE SUFFERING ........our GS writes to our Finance Minister Ms.Nirmala Sitaraman

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

Ecircular No.DK/86                                                         26-09-2019

Friends, 

Sub: A letter to Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister ... & 

Bank 11th Bi-partite settlement

 It was Sri M Arunachalam, who suggested to me this morning that I address a communication to the new Finance Minister, and if possible, seek a personal interview with her , if not in Delhi, at least in Chennai, where she could be going over, some time. I thought it was a very good suggestion, and it would , on record, complete the entire spread of the Govt. machinery at all levels. 

 Once again, it may be noted that I haven't tried to go into details, because Ministers are busy-bodies, and would not find the time or the patience to look through long drawn letters. When our matter is taken up at some level in the Ministry, it is important that leaders at all levels in Govt. are fairly aware of our issues. So, the purpose of this letter was limited to lodging in the Minister's memory, that we exist, and that we are not a happy lot now. 

There is yet another information that is not exactly a happy one for us: Our President Shri Baliji is unwell , with the sudden detection of a clot or some such thing in the brain, which is rendering one side of body weak and unserviceable. He is being given the best treatment that  there is around in Mumbai, and we hope and pray he does recover fast. Doctors have advised him not to talk, and so none of us is to try and talk to him over phone, till matters are clearer on his condition. We shall keep you updated on his health, as and when we receive news from Mumbai.

News has just trickled in about the 11th Bi-partite settlement for Bank Employees. The final Meeting of the IBA and the Employee Representatives is slated for the 27th and the 28th of Sept.  Agreement seems to have been reached already on the increase of 15% in Pay, and PLI of 4.5%.IBA has also agreed on the demand for 5 day week. What remains unknown is about Pension Revision. Perhaps It may be sorted out in the Meetings fixed for 27th and 28th of Sept., or so we hope. 

With Fraternal Greetings,

D.Krishnan.  General Secretary

Now here is the transcript of the letter to the 

Minister of Finance:

    FEDERATION OF RETIRED LIC CLASS I OFFICERS' ASSOCIATIONS

                                                                                                          26-09-2019

Respected  Smt Nirmalaji,

We the retirees of LIC,  have been representing on our 3 major issues at different Governmental levels (The PM, Minister of State  for Finance, the Secretary Financial Services). We would like to also place before you, very briefly, our three major requirements as Pensioners: 

1.   We are all covered by the Pension scheme of LIC.  When we retired at our respective levels of positions in the LIC, our pensions could serve the need of maintaining us at certain financial levels, in keeping with the positions of responsibility we had occupied while in service. With the passage of years, the total pension we draw has fallen far behind the market, and societal realities.  While the in-service employees of LIC keep getting up-grades on their Pay and Emoluments every 5 years, to keep up with the needs of changing times, we have been left far behind and we are not any more able to lead a life of dignity in keeping with our erstwhile official status. We badly need an up gradation (Revision) in our pensions to bring back the element of parity with the times.

2.   The Family Pension (pension to wife after husband's demise) is a function of the last drawn pay before Retirement, and this factor for most of us is at 15% of last drawn pay of the deceased. We need this to  be raised to at least 30%, so that the widow after the shock exit of the husband, is not given a bigger shock, of being plunged into an abysmally low Family Pension, taking away her independent existence. 

3.   Super Seniors amongst us, those that are in the 80 plus age group, require 5 yearly additions to pension, as in the case of Central Govt. retirees,  so that they can live in some element of comfort in their old age, when monthly out-go on Medicines itself consumes more than a fair percentage of their Pension. 

Kindly do spare a thought for the elderly, who today, are suffering by default, due to no initiative, to keep us abreast of times.  Please do give us 5 minutes of your valuable time for us to meet you personally when you go over to Chennai next.    Thanking you ,

Most Respectfully,

D.Krishnan.