: Employees of Ordnance Factory and High Energy Projectile Factory belonging to All India Defence Employees Federation (AIDEF), Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh (BPMS), Confederation of Defence Recognised Associations (CDRA) are learnt to be in the midst of a campaign to boycott the Foundation Day celebration of the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), in continuation of their protest against dismantling of the Ordnance Factory Board last year.
The employee unions have issued a joint circular with an appeal to its members not to participate in the celebrations citing the "miserable condition" of the employees of the 41 production units across the country after the corporatisation through formation of seven DPSUs. According to representatives of the employee unions, the campaign was triggered by the circular issued by AVNL, Avadi, to the production units under its ambit to participate in Founders Day celebrations on August 14 by writing essays, photography and designing logo.
The Ordnance Factory, Tiruchi, is a part of Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWEIL), while the HEPF is a unit of Munitions India Limited. The other DPSUs constitute Armed Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL), Troop Comforts Limited (TCL), Yantra India Limited, India Optel Limited, and Gliders India Limited.
The Government has failed in implementing its assurances for protecting the service conditions and welfare of the employees, the employee unions have charged.
"It is astonishing that when the very formation of these seven PSUs is under scrutiny by the judiciary, most of the major assurances given to the Federations and CDRA by the Government relating to the service conditions etc., of the employees having been put aside, with no clarity in attending to many of the burning issues of the employees in the new entity, what is there to celebrate such a non-event," the joint circular states.
The employee unions have been expressing their displeasure over non-rectification of shortcomings in their working conditions that include non-correlation of piece work correlation in the seventh Central Pay Commission scale; and reduction in the wages of employees due to stoppage of overtime working without any compensation. Stoppage of admission at entry level in the Ordnance Factory Schools for the children and grand children of the employees and proposal to hand over the schools to other agencies; proposal to hand over Ordnance Factory Hospitals to State Governments/other agencies; short supply of medicines in the Ordnance Factory Hospitals, and undue delay in the final settlement of GPF and payment of terminal benefits to the retired/retiring employees, figure among other grievances that remain unresolved.
