The National Confederation of Officers’ Associations of Central PSU’s (NCOA) has demanded that the government come out with a white paper on its policy on PSUs.

NCOA asked the government to stop “wilful destruction of PSUs under false arguments such as private sector efficiency and direct foreign investments,” all of which were supposed to result in higher economic growth.

K. Ashok Rao, president, and Baby Thomas, secretary general of NCOA, pointed out that disinvestment and privatisation in the country have not resulted in any advantage to the consumer, employees or tax payers. The only beneficiaries are the growing monopolies in the private sector, they alleged.

During the last two decades, the leaders said, there has been no serious effort to revive sick units in the public sector. There are several units such as HMT, ITI and Instrumentation Ltd which have enormous potential for revival. The association called for serious efforts to revive sick units and to take steps to prevent industrial sickness.

Referring to industrial relations, the association said discontent among the working class is growing rapidly. Citing the labour troubles at Maruti factory in Manesar, NCOA asked the government to amend the industrial relations legislation in order to introduce collective supervisory and managerial mechanism.

The last pay revision was carried out in 2007 based on the recommendations of the Justice M.J. Rao Committee. Neither the committee nor the presidential directive has defined the tenure of the salary revision, while in several organisations such as Coal India, HAL and IRE , the workers wage agreements have defined five years as the validity of the agreement.

NCOA, representing over one lakh officers, has demanded that the government accept five years as the tenure of the salary revision and start the process of pay revision with effect from January.

sajeevkumar.v@thehindu.co.in

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