THE Finance Ministry in its order dated 23rd April 2020 has stopped D.A (Dearness Allowance) payable to the Central Government employees and also Dearness Relief to its pensioners @4% from January 2020 till July 2021. It is not only that Dearness allowance and relief to Pensioners due from1st January 2020 is impounded but also that DA and Dearness relief from 1st July 2020 and 1st January 2021 shall also not be paid. Also, no arrears for the period from 1st January 2020 till 30th June 2021 shall be paid. One day salary cut for 'PM Cares" Fund and loss of DA has resulted in 7% loss for employees. This order will not even spare the frontline workers.
This latest attack of Modi govt. in a series of onslaughts on working people clearly betrays its policy of shifting the entire burden of economic crisis generated out of Corona pandemic and subsequent abrupt lockdown onto the shoulders of workers and employees. Apprehensions of imposition of Financial Emergency in the country are looming large. Already some state govts. like, Gujarat and Rajasthan have legalised 12 hours work day. While the Modi govt. has forced lakhs of migrant workers to be stranded without food and shelter, deprived overwhelming majority of unorganized workers of lockdown wages, despite its own orders for the payment of same, is offering huge tax concessions and relief packages worth lakhs and lakh of crores to corporate companies and has allocated only a paltry sum, less than 1%of GDP, as financial package to fight Covid-19 pandemic. Instead of taxing filthy rich and business tycoons, the govt. is robbing common, working people to fund not only its own coffers but also that of the corporates.
Freezing DA is not only a huge monetary attack that leads to immense hardship, particularly in the backdrop of expected post-lockdown rise in inflation, but is also snatching a hard-earned right of the Central Government employees and Pensioners. Additionally, the govt. has disallowed transport allowance to the employees not attending office during lockdown period. Moreover, it is apprehended that salary cut of one day to 'PM Cares" Fund, may continue for one year. The Central Government order of Freezing DA may very well also be a signal or a beginning to effect similar cuts in DA and wages of employees of state govts, public sector undertakings, industrial workers, etc.
At this hour of Crisis it is time that the govt. should consider imposing 10% Covid19 tax on the Corporates, instead of targeting Central Government employees and Pensioners, and working people at large.
AICCTU demands immediate withdrawal of this Order of Finance Ministry.
AICCTU also demands stoppage of any DA freeze or any wage cut or any wage deduction in whatever name under the garb of pandemic crisis, for the employees and workers in general.
