ECIL retirees seek pension

M Somasekhar About 300 employees of the public sector ECIL who have retired from service but are being denied pension have made a fervent plea to the government to extend it under the CCS Pension Rules.

In a representation, they said being employees of a government department (EPD of BARC), which was converted into a PSU (ECIL) and transferred en masse to ECIL, they are placed equally with government employees transferred to MTNL, BSNL, NPCIL, AAI, All India Radio and Doordarshan.

While the transferees in all those entities are given pension benefits, BARC-ECIL transferees are denied those. This amounts to discrimination and violates fundamental rights, they said.

How ECIL was formed

The Electronics Products Division (EPD) of BARC was involved in indigenously developing components, systems and computers. The Centre and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) then decided to establish a commercial manufacturing unit, and the EPD was converted into a PSU under the leadership of the dynamic AS Rao.

ECIL was established in Hyderabad in April 1967 with 300 scientists, engineers and skilled workforce transferred en masse from Mumbai. It emerged as the ‘mother industry’ to electronics, bringing down imports and meeting strategic needs. In 2016-17, its turnover stood at ₹1,700 crore.

Referring to Central government policies on social security and welfare, the retired employees said pensions have been the norm to not just those who retire from government service but also those who got transferred en masse to a PSU or other autonomous bodies.

The practice was regularised by amending the CCS Pension Rules with the insertion of Rules 37A and 37B. Though the amendment was made in 2012, its spirit was followed much earlier. For example the employees of the Telecom Department who were transferred to form MTNL and BSNL in 2012 were allowed this benefit, the petition said.

Within the DAE, when the Nuclear Power Board (NPB) was converted into a PSU, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd, its employees transferred to NPCIL are being paid pensions.

BARC-ECIL migrants are being denied pensions on the grounds that they had signed a memorandum at the time of transfer to ECIL wherein they agreed to abide by ECIL’s service rules, which were non-existent at that point of time, said the petition. Such a memorandum cannot constitute a binding contract, the employees contend.

“We therefore fervently appeal to the Chairman, AEC-cum-Secretary, DAE to kindly review his earlier decision on the matter and grant us the Govt pension at par with employees of NPB at least,” said the petition.

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