Published is the text of the speech delivered by Com. K.K.N. Kutty,
Secretary General, NCCPA at the webinar
organised by the co-ordination committee of Pensioners Associations,
Karnataka, Bangalore on 1st October, 2020 to observe and commemorate
the International day for elders.
COM. PRESIDENT, MY DEARY
COLLEAGUES, COMRADES AND FRIENDS.
It gives me great happiness in
associating myself with this gathering on this international Elders day.
International days are occasions to educate people on issues of concern, to
mobilise political will and resources to address global problems. We are observing this day in the midst of a global catastrophe,
the covid 19 plandemic that threatens our very existence .
This year the theme of the day
itself centres around this issue. Healthy
ageing. Aged population has certain
peculiar problems. It did not have a
social dimension a few decades back. The earlier social set up in our country has
undergone changes. So is the problems
concerning the ageing. Looking after
the aged people had not been considered as the responsibility of the society in
those days. The children considered it as the sacred duty
to look after them and attend to their every need.
Globalisation did not only
make changes in the way economic activities are organised in a country, though that is the major
thrust, but has also impacted the social
life. Many old social ethos, customs and
conventions have undergone vast changes.
And today few think that it is
their responsibility to take care of old people, despite cacophony of the
ancient culture and civilisation of our country.
As you all know it was in
1982 the world attention was drawn to
the problems connected with ageing.
International recognition and response came after about a decade in 1990. The United Nation’s General Assembly adopted
a resolution to observe Ist October as
the international day for elders, when
the member countries will evaluate what they have done to the elder community
and chalk out what they must further
do in the coming years
NCCPA is affiliated with
TUI (Trade Union International
Pensioners and Retirees) a unit of the world federation of trade Unions. To the best of my knowledge, NCCPA and two of
its affiliates are those from India associated with the world movement . TUI (P&R)was
founded in 2014 and ever since then, it has been observing this day every year with larger and larger
participation of its members. This year
the observance has a little more importance in as much as 2020 happens to be
the 75th year of the UN existence
and the 30th year of the passing of the said resolution. The milestones are important as the efforts
put in during this period has yielded impressive gains to the aged population
of the world. This is also the year of
nurses and midwife and the decade 2020-30 is declared as decade of healthy
ageing. Incidentally It also happens to be the 75th year of the
World Federation of Trade Unions. The
WFTU was founded 75 years back, i.e. on 3rd October, 1945 in Paris,
France. Its objective was and continues
to be to create a world sans
exploitation and unite the working class to achieve that objective.
The international study has estimated that by 2050 the word will have
1.5 billion old people most of them living in low or middle income Nations. Good
number of them will be inhabitants of East and South East Asia. By the end of 2020, the number of aged
people in the world is expected to be more than the number of children below
the age of 5. These figures indicate the
serious situation that might come about in the years to come.
The attitude of many of the
Governments in the world towards the aged persons, especially after the globalisation
scheme got accelerated in third world countries, is extremely unhelpful despite
they being party to the UN resolution.
Any expenditure from the exchequer on aged people are considered as
wasteful and to be curtailed. It is
reported in the media that in many countries the corona affected aged people
are not treated at all. Or they are given the least importance.
Prior to the collapse of the
Soviet Union as a socialist country, and before the advent of the globalisation
process, even the capitalist countries had a good number of welfare measures
targeting the weaker segment of the society including the old people. Though It was conceived as a cushion to absorb
the nagging resentment over the exploitative methods of the capitalist
development, it had its advantage to the
society. Subsidies, freee health care,
food and shelter camps, unemployment allowance, concessional public transport, a
fair taxation system, market protection, Protection of home industry, restriction over the extent of ownership of
land, etc.. Most of the countries had an affordable or free social security
system by virtue of which the old and
the aged, the retired and the pensioners
benefitted immensely.
The collapse of the soviet socialist system had its impact in as much as the capitalist
world began to consider these welfare measures as a drain over the resources of
the Government. Intense propaganda was
unleashed to the effect that the socialism is an impractical and utopian theory
and must be destroyed as quickly as possible. The ascendancy of the left ideals seen in the
freedom struggles of the many Asian and African Nations in the early part of
the 20th Century started sliding down. The imperialist and despotic nations
thrived. The world became almost
unipolar. When the world was under the hegemonic
dispensation of the two super powers, India took the initiative to have a non aligned block. India became the first to desert it after it
adopted the new economic policies. Indian ruling class began to tilt and with
an apology of there being no alternative sided with the west initially tacitly
and later unashamedly openly. The
globalisation manta, the virtues of an integrated economy, the abject surrender at WTO the selling away of public sector
undertakings, withdrawal of Government
from all welfare activities; diverting funds to
projects that help the corporates to thrive and maximise profit; unbridled corruption were some of the
features, we saw in the two decades that followed the grand declaration of globalisation,
Liberalisation and privatisation in 1991.
When we meet today, in the aftermath of the of the about turn of the
economic policies of free India, we see
our rulers standing in the shade of imperialist powers losing all self- respect
of a sovereign country, the emergence of which millions sacrificed their
life.
I know many of our friends who
are participating in this webinar belong to India of those yester-years. We dreamt a free and egalitarian India bound
together with the bond of friendship, bereft of poverty, bereft of communal or
religious segregation. We have
tirelessly worked for such a prosperous and peaceful India. We suffered deprivation to enable the
Government to look after the unfortunate and poor countrymen. Today we sit here apprehending whether the
pension we had earned deferring our wages would be available tomorrow. We are aware that those who were recruited in
our time, who worked with us may not get the pension for there is no
guarantee of return for their contributions to the pension fund.
The denial of Dearness relief
is just the harbinger of the things that are likely to emerge in the days to
come. Millions of workers who toil in
the field, in the construction sites, in projects in remote places do not have
any social security . Can you imagine
what type of old day life is waiting for them. The very resolution passed by
the UN general assembly to have a healthy ageing talks about the dire need for
such a pension. The Government and the society which consider the pension as a
wasteful expenditure , to have a social security scheme a drain on the Nation’s
economy seldom remembers that the
infrastructure facilities the present generation enjoys had been the product of
the labour of those people whom they want to deny the security at their old
age. This is what we are to remember and remind
the society while observing the international day for the elders.
It is often said that there is
no ageing if you are concerned, convinced and determined. We can fight the injustice rather we
must. Our erstwhile leaders who dreamt
of a free India, wanted our polity to be a democratic republic, they wanted the
citizens to abide by the law; they wanted no injustice is perpetrated; they
wanted every child who is born in India should feel proud that he or she is
born in this great country; Look around today; degeneration of politics and
politicians is understandable. But what
about the great institution called the judiciary. The needle of suspicion over its
impartibility, its ability to be just and reasonable has been pointed. The
moment the people lose confidence in this institution, anarchy will
follow.
Last year we observed the
international day for elders in an entirely different atmosphere. Had I been an invitee to that gathering we
would have shared our bond of friendship through our palms. Corona pandemic has changed everything so drastically. The
pandemic is spreading in our country without any leaps and bounds Many States have no public health care
system or machinery to combat this dangerous situation. Wherever
existed, it has been stretched
beyond its capability . In the post independent era, systematic efforts were
made to improve the public health care.
Primary and secondary level institutions were built Super-speciality and research centres came
up thereafter. In the post 1991 days,
we have systematically dismantled it paving way for the private entrepreneurs
to enter into this sensitive area. They
built luxurious hospitals. They could
successfully convert the human misery into a lucrative business. Together the health insurance companies came
They also made huge profit out of anxiety and agony of the people. They now
charge exorbitantly for covid treatment without any guarantee of recovery
whatsoever. The Government have
forgotten that there had been a social obligation clause when they allotted the
prime land in urban agglomerations to the private entrepreneurs. Many of them have enjoyed the tax rebates and
concessions.
The Central Government health
Scheme was the product of hard negotiations.
Though it covered only a few cities, initially it was considered a very
good venture. The post 1991 policies saw
it dismantled. It was financially
squeezed. Its expansion was arrested on
the plea that the Pay Commission has suggested an Insurance scheme Had that institution been allowed to expand,
it would have been of great help in this pandemic days not only for the Central
Govt. employees but even to the society as a whole. They could have helped the
meagre public health system in many states to survive. If we are unable to cope up with the spread
of the pandemic and treat the patients properly, without hesitation, we can
assert that the single reason is the systematic dismantling of the public
health care institutions. My friend Com.
Radhakrishna wanted me to speak on CGHS elaborately. What I suggest is an interactive session
where specific questions could be raised and replied. Without doubt one can say that the CGHS as an institution conceived to take
care of the health related problems of Central Government employees; its days
are numbered.
As on today, more than 3.5
crores of people are affected by Covid 19.
And it is fast spreading. More
than 10 lakhs people are In our own
country, of which slightly less than one lakh lost their life. The number of death is really alarming. The people have started talking about fate
and destiny instead of pinning any hope either over the medical system or the
Governmental efficacy, even though the health workers all over the world have
acquitted themselves creditably in combating the pandemic. There appears to be only a slight degree of
difference in so far as the attitude of the capitalist Governments are concerned
with perhaps the exception of Switzerland, New Zealand, South Korea etc.
The study that was conducted
over the impact of the covid on world economy as early as in April, 2020.has stated
that the disruption of supply chain of commodities due to closure of factories
or reduction in the workforce will decelerate the growth by a whopping 32%. How far this study was right could be seen
from the fact that the India’s growth rate dipped to minus 24% in the last
quarter. Some of the conclusions of the study were:
(a) The
world will have to face a severe economic crisis;
(b) Delay
of every month in combating the covid pandemic either by preventive or curative
remedies, the world GDP will have a reduction
of 2.5 to 3% on an average
(c) If
the covid continues to spread in the same rate for another 2-3 months, the
world will witness the greatest recession in the past two centuries.
India specific situation is
summed up as under:-
(i)
The supply chain disruption was extreme in
India, as the migrant workers fled from the work-spots in the absence of any
protection provided by the owner of the factories or the concerned Governments;
(ii)
Demand reduction was of the order of 30% during
the lock down period;
(iii)
Goods movements in Port was declined by 20% ;and
in Railways by 30%
(iv)
Civil aviation sector alone registered a loss of
Rs. 40 Billion dollars.
(v)
Tourism industry became the worst affected and
reached its turnover to almost zero during the lock down period.
(vi)
The farm goods were destroyed due to the non
availability of personnel to harvest to the extent of 37%.
(vii)
Of the 46 crores employed in the country 42 crores were in informal sector. Those who lost job in rural areas was 57% and in the urban agglomerations
80%
(viii)
India’s manufacturing sector is predominantly in
what is called the MSMEs. (Micro, small and medium enterprises) 30% of the GDP is provided by this sector. 50% of
our industrial workers are in this sector.
It is estimated that 40% of the Units will be closed down permanently.
(ix)
Tourism, hotel, real estate, financial services,
Banks, metal industry, automobile, textile, electricity, mining, food products,
all have incurred heavy losses during the lock down period.
(x)
India will experience economic recession worse
than what happened in 1929-30
Before, I talk of the micro
issues, referred to by Com. Radhakrishna, in his welcome address, let me mention
a few facets of the 20 Trillion pandemic
package of the Prime Minister.
We are witness to the global
financial crisis of 2008. It is now
widely recognised that the unhindered use, abuse and misuse of Bank instruments
and derivatives triggered the said crisis.
Profit at any cost is the single point objective of the corporate
existence. If India could, despite the
globalisation of its economy escaped from its terrific fall out it was s due to
the PSU banks.. Having recognised and
having admitted that, our rulers consistently between 2008-2020 pursued the
policy of privatisation of the PSU banks.
In the name of consolidation, the present government has started
amalgamation of various banks thereby
withdrawing their presence from the market systematically. The recessionary trend in the economy which
has started even before the pandemic made its entry, will now turn into a full-
fledged recession . It is not that our present day rulers are not aware of it.
The 20 Trillion package was
supposed to avert it. But when the
details were unfolded one could find
that 90% of the package was to help out
the corporates. To address a production
crisis some times, such stimulus package might be helpful. Even the rate of reduction of taxation
rates, especially for those in the manufacturing sector is considered a
panacea. But the present day scenario
or the oncoming crisis is basically the
offshoot of the supply chain disruption and low demand due to the obliteration
of wage earners from the society. The
remedial proposals ought to have been centred around the strengthening of the
purchasing power of the common people.
Hardly 10% of the package went in for that. The recent survey indicated that most of the covid
affected patients are from the lower rung of the society who are per force to
go in search of work as the alternative is penury. It was in fact a Hobson’s
choice between disease or destitution.
As mentioned earlier, the significant
cause as to why we could not
arrest the spread of the deadly disease is the weakened public health system
and the unhindered foray of private
players in an area which basically must have been service oriented and nor profit
motivated.
As I mentioned initially, the
convenor wanted me to address some of the issues he had raised. The most important in my opinion is the
organisational state of affairs of NCCPA.
NCCPA as the name suggests was meant to be an apex organisation of all
Pensioners Associations and Federations especially of the Central Government
employees. In its Ratlam conference,
decision was taken to open its doors to all organisations of the pensioners and retirees.
The idea to submit a common memorandum to the 7th CPC by all Pensioners Associations of the CGEs
was mooted in the National Executive Committee meeting. Due to the untiring efforts of Late Com.S.K.
Vyas, that attempt had a fair chance of success. But after the convention at Chennai and
preparation of a common memorandum, the
enthusiasm seems to have been faded out.
Many presented a reflection of a perceived superiority over others. To overcome this Com. Vyas suggested the
formation of a confederation under the name and style of BCPC. After his demise, both, the idea and the
organisation, he so assiduously created were abandoned. Quite a number of impediments had come up
thereafter. The registration of NCCPA as
a federal set up could not be brought about.
It was decided at the last meeting to seek registration under the Trade
Union Act. The decision was put to practice. All papers were prepared and submitted. Now
it is pending for the reasons that in order to be registered as a federation,
it requires two Associations registered under the trade Union Act must be affiliated to the said federation. Steps have been taken in this direction and
we hope to fulfil this condition soon.
If any organisation has to be
effective and perceived to be so, it must have the capacity to raise the issues
of the members before the authorities and get them resolved. The present Government has taken the decision, it appears, to give
representation to only those small state level organisations in the SCOVA set
up. Since both the President and
Secretary General of NCCPA are members of the JCM National council and are its standing committee
members, many issues were taken up in
that forum and settlement brought about.
That effort has continued and quite a number of issues connected with
the Covid 19 treatment of CGEs could be got settled. Financially also, the organisation cannot be
said to be on a sound footing. The
matter came up for discussion at our Jaipur conference and it has been decided
to double the rate of subscription.
NCCPA has been publishing a journal, thanks to the help of our West Bengal
comrades, and the same has come out uninterrupted upto March,2020. Consequent
upon the Covid and the close down of Post offices, Printing presses etc. it has
now been discontinued. Attempts are
being made to re-commence the publication. In the meantime, the National Executive decided to bring out the journal in
electronic form . The first edition of
that will be released by 15th October, 2020.
As per the decision of the
last conference, we had prepared a document on health insurance. This was
subjected to one round of discussion.
There had been certain suggestions and certain reservation expressed by
some comrades. Once this is ironed
out it could be presented to the JCM
Staff side as the insurance scheme covers the working employees also
Reduction of Bank interest will
no doubt cause depletion of the income of the pensioners. The rate is fixed taking into account various
factors. Consequent upon the reduction
and the denial of Dearness relief the
pensioners have been put to hardship.
This will have to be taken up
with a view to find out a separate dispensation for senior citizens.
Autonomous organisations. On the basis of the report of the Committee
set up by the Government, the functioning and funding of autonomous
organisations have been re-evaluated by the Government. NCCPA will
take up the issue concerning pension with a view to protect the
entitlements of the pensioners to whom the new scheme should not be made
applicable During the discussion earlier
the Staff Side had demanded that the entitlement of the employees and
pensioners must not be depended upon the performance of the organisation. It is better, that the coffee board
pensioners Association takes the initiative to have a meeting of all autonomous
organisations’ leaders along with the National sect. of the NCCPA.
Privatisation of many
departments are on the anvil. Normally
the matter is discussed with the employee’s representatives in so far as its
impact on service conditions are concerned.
In the matter of pension entitlement
there must be a specific clause in the agreement.
The denial of DR has been
objected by the NCCPA and all its affiliates.
In fact we have spearheaded the programmatic action as per the decision
taken at the National Executive meeting.
Thousands of E mail messages have been sent to the Prime Minister and
the same is continuing. We are in
close contact with the serving
employees’ organisations. Whatever joint
decisions are taken, we will strive our best that it is implemented at all
centres.
I thank all of you for the
patient hearing. I am grateful for the
organisers for inviting me to this function to observe and commemorate the
international day for elders. Millions
of retired persons must have joined together to observe this day throughout the
world. Let us be together in this
endeavour that not a single elder person suffers in the world. Thank you once again.
K.K.N. KUTTY
Secretary General,
NCCPA.
