Coronavirus lockdown | Unions hit out at DA freeze

Unions on Friday termed arbitrary the Centre’s decision to freeze the dearness allowance (DA) of its employees and dearness relief (DR) of pensioners and demanded its roll-back.

In a statement, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) denounced the decision announced on Thursday.

“No doubt, the country has been passing through a financial crisis, but why should workers and employees be made the sacrificial item for the same. Quite a number of employees are deployed and consequently are involved in various governmental activities and services meant to combat the spread of the pandemic COVID-19...,” it said.

The CITU said the government did not consult unions and federations of its employees before taking the decision. “The CITU strongly condemns this retrograde decision of the Central government to confiscate outright the legitimate dues of the employees and the pensioners,” it said.

The All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) said the decision was “highly arbitrary and unfair”. “The very basis of payment of DA and DR is to compensate the employees and the pensioners for the increase in the cost of living... After the cost of living has gone up, it is unfair to deny the compensation to the employees,” it said in a statement.

The AIBEA urged the government to reconsider the decision and said the government had extended concessions to the corporate sector through tax relief for liquidity, but it deprived its own employees of the liquidity they were eligible for. “In a system where there is no control on price rise, denying compensation to wage-earners when prices go up is grossly unjust. There are many other ways for the government to find resources that are additionally needed to contain the pandemic,” it said.