Exhorbitant Air Fares -

NEWS ITEM

The Non-Gazetted Govt. Officers' Association, Andaman and Nicobar Islands has demanded additional Air India flights between Chennai-Port Blair and Kolkatta - Port Blair sectors in view of the impending summer vacation. In a Fax Message sent to the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Air India Ltd., Mumbai, Shri D.Ayyappan, General Secretary of the Association informed him that hundreds of government employees of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and their family members who have to visit their home towns on the mainland or to visit mainland for various purposes, are stranded in the islands due to non-avalability of flight tickets. He stated that Air India is operating one flight each from Chennai and Kolkatta to Port Blair daily which is insufficient to meet the summer vacation rush here. It was further stated that no additional flight between Port Blair and Kolkatta/Chennai sector has been announced by the Air India Ltd., so far.

He expressed concern over the non-availability of tickets even to pateints to mainland hospitals. On the exhorbitant fare being charged by the Air India Ltd., he told the Chairman-cum-Managing Director that tickets in the Air India flights are block booked for tourists while government employees and other islanders are forced to purchase tickets on exhorbitant fare both from Air India and private airlines. Shri. Ayyappan informed the Air India Ltd. that gorvenment employees are in an agitated mood here and sought the intervention of the Chairman-cum-Managing Director to have some additional Air India flights between Chennai-POrt Blair and Kolkatta-Port Blair in order to ease the summer vacation rush in the above sectors. The Association has further urged the Air India Ltd. that massive booking of low fare tickets for tourists from mainland may be discouraged at least during summer vacation

D.Ayyppan

General Secretary

NOTICE

Promotion to Head Clerk /HGC
1. Orders for promotion to the posts of Head Clerks and Higher Grade Clerks which arose following the restructuring of the Amalgamated Clerical Cadre will be issued soon. DPC meetings have already been completed.

Upgradation under ACP/MACP
Screening Committee meetings for remaining cases of ACP/MACP of LGC/HGC/Head Clerks have been held recently.
Screening Committee meeting for 2nd MACP for HGCs has also been held.
Screening Committee meeting for 2nd MACP for Personal Assistants was also conducted.
Orders for all the above upgardation will be issued shortly.

Formation of State Committee of Confederation of Central Got. Employees & Workers

Com. S K Vyas addresses a Press Conference

News Item

Shri SK Vyas, President, Confederation of Central Govt. Employees & Workers and Member JCM National Council, Govt. of India, New Delhi, while addressing a Press Conference at Port Blair today (18.04.2011) evening demanded revision of wages of central government employees after every five years as is being done in respect of public sector employees. Outlining the schedule of agitational programme during the next three months on the 14 point charter of demands submitted to the Government, Shri Vyas said that all the central government employees and workers will be made aware of the demands through an intensive campaign and the agitation will culminate with a Parliament March and, if needed, a nation-wide strike by government employees. He dealt at length the unscientific wage revision done by the Sixth Central Pay Commission. Referring to the demand of the NGOs’ Association for the upward revision of LGC and HGCs, Shri Vyas informed that the Confederation has already taken up the matter with the Govt. of India. Shri D. Ayyappan, General Secretary and Shri TS Sreekumar, Asst. General Secretary of the NGOs’ Association were also present in the Press Conference.

Earlier on the day, a meeting of the representatives of Associations and Union functioning among the employees of central government organisations in the islands and Non-Gazetted Govt. Officers’ Association was held at Port Blair in which a State Committee of the Confederation of Central Govt. Employees & Workers was formed and Shri Steephen Fernandez (of Postal Union) was elected as President while Shri D. Ayyappan (of NGOs’ Association) and Shri PA Rasheed (Doordarshan) were elected as General Secretary and Treasurer respectively. Members from each Union/Association were elected to the Committee. The State Committee will coordinate among the Unions and Associations affiliated to the Confederation on various issues and demands of government employees in the islands. Shri SK Vyas addressing the meeting emphasized the need to form such a Committee for the coordinated working of Unions and Associations.

Today (18.04.2011) evening, Shri SK Vyas accompanied by Shri D. Ayyappan, General Secretary and other leaders of the NGOs’ Association met the Chief Secretary, A & N Administration and discussed with him various problems and issues of government employees working in the islands. Shri Vyas requested the Chief Secretary to re-consider the decision of the Administration to enhance the working hours of teachers and informed the Chief Secretary that nowhere in the country the working hours of teachers has been enhanced. He said that the working hours have been increased by 25% but without any increase in the existing salary of teachers. He told the Chief Secretary to take up the matter with the Govt. of India to exempt these islands from enhancing the working hours of teachers considering the geographical condition and other practical difficulties here particularly those being faced by the women teachers. He informed the Chief Secretary that the Confederation will also take up this matter with the Govt. of India in this regard. The Chief Secretary assured Shri SK Vyas that he will consider the matter sympathetically.

Inaugural Session of ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2011

NEWS ITEM

The two-day Annual Conference of the Non-Gazetted Govt. Officers’ Association, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, began at Kerela Samajam Hall, Port Blair today the 16^th April, 2011 at 4.30 p.m. Inaugurating the Conference, Shri S K Vyas, President of the Confederation of Central Govt. Employees & Workers’ and Member National Council, JCM, Govt. of India , demanded that the wage revision of Central Govt. employees should be done after every five years considering the sky-rocketing prices. He criticized the government for not accepting various demands put up the staff side in the National Anomaly Committee and JCM National Council and said that most of the anomalies after Sixth Central Pay Commission remain unsettled. He said that the Confederation of Central Govt. Employees & Workers will launch a country-wide agitation on the charter of demands already submitted to the government which include (i) against privatization and contractorisation, (ii) strengthening of public distribution system, etc. Shri B.Chandrachoodan, General Secretary, CITU A & N Islands, Shri. T Biswas, BSNL Employees Union Circle Secretary(i/c) and Shri Steephen Fernandez, Divisional Secretary, All India Postal Employees Union(P-3) also addressed the Inaugural Session.

Earlier, Shri S C Biswas, President of the Association hoisted the Association’s flag and the Chief Guest and others paid tributes to the martyrs at the specially erected Martyrs Memorial Column at the Kerela Samajam premises. Shri Rajaram Yadav, Retired Dy. Education Officer, who is the Chairman of the Reception Committee welcomed the gathering. A large number of government employees and others attended the Inaugural Session. Shri. T Harikrishna, Secretary, Reception Committee proposed a vote of thanks.

Earlier on the day, on his arrival at Port Blair airport today (16.04.2011), Shri S K Vyas was received by a large number members of the Association led bye Shri S C Biswas, President and Shri D Ayyappan, General Secretary.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2011

Non-Gazetted Govt. Officers’ Association

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Holds

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

April 16 – 17, 2011 at Kerela Samajam Hall, Port Blair

Programme

16.04.2011 1600 Hrs Inaugural Session

(Open to all)

17.04.2011 0930 Hrs Delegate Session

(Office bearers, Delegates

& Observers will attend)

Com. S.K.Vyas

(President, Confederation of Central Govt. Employees & Workers, New Delhi and Member, JCM National Council, Govt. of India)

will inaugurate the Conference

at 4 p.m. on 16^th April, 2011

All are requested to attend

the inaugural session

S.C.Biswas D.Ayyappan

(President) (General Secretary)

Teachers March towards Raj Nivas

PRESS NOTE

The Non-Gazetted Govt. Officers’ Association, Andaman and Nicobar Islands has organized a Mass Demonstration in front of the Directorate of Education at 3.15 p.m. and a Raj Niwas March at 04.30 p.m. today (08.04.2011) demanding reconsideration of the unilateral decision of the A & N Administration to increase the working hours of teachers in the islands in the pretext of implementation of Right of Children to Free & Compulsory Education Act, 2009. Hundreds of teachers, mostly lady teachers, joined the procession to Raj Niwas wherea another hundreds of teachers were already waiting. A delegation of the Association met the Lt. Governor at 5.30 p.m. and presented a Memorandum urging him to reconsider the decision. The Memorandum urged the Lt. Governor to take up the matter with the Central Government to exempt the A & N Islands from the enhanced working hours (45 hours per week) considering the geographical condition of these islands. It was brought to the notice of the Lt. Governor that no State/UT on the mainland has increased the working hours of teachers as part of the Right to Education Act. The Lt. Governor, who gave a patient hearing to the delegation, directed the Principal Secretary(Edn) and Secretary (Edn) to hold further meetings with the Association representatives. Emerging from the meeting with Lt. Governor, Shri. D.Ayyappan, General Secretary of the Association while addressing the unprecedented huge crowd of teachers who thronged the road towards Raj Niwas from 5.00 p.m. onwards, declared that further course of action in the matter will be taken after the proposed meetings with the Chief Secretary and Secretary (Education). Shri S C Biswas, President, Shri T.S.Sreekumar, Asst. General Secretary, Shri Sadanand Rai, Organising Secretary, Smti Rekha Sharma, Organising Secretary of the Association and Shri H L Prasad and Shri Venkat Rama Rao, Vice President and Secretary respectively of the South Andaman Teachers’ Branch of the Association addressed the gathering and vowed to continue the agitation till the order of the Administration is withdrawn. Mass Demonstrations organized by the Association at various outstations like Diglipur, Rangat, Little Andaman etc., saw huge participation of teachers of those areas.

Demonstration by Diglipur Branch of NGOs' Association

A Historical Mass Demonstration by teachers

News Item

Non-Gazetted Govt. Officers’ Association has organized Mass Demonstration today (4^th April, 2011) all over the islands to protest against the unilateral decision of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration to increase the working hours of teachers by 1 ½ hours daily in the name of implementation Right of Children to Free & Compulsory Education Act, 2009. Thousands of teachers working under the Education Department participated in the Mass Demonstration throughout the islands. At Port Blair, the Mass Demonstration was organized in front of the Directorate of Education in which more than two thousand teachers participated. Addressing the huge gathering, D. Ayyappan, General Secretary of the Association said that the Association has been requesting the Administration also to implement a number of other provisions in the Right to Education Act relating to the basic infrastructure in the schools. He said that a historical legislation like the Right to Education Act should be implemented with the full support of all stakeholders. Shri SC Biswas, President of the Association in his address called upon the teachers to remain united to fight the autocratic decision of the Administration. Other speakers also stressed the need to provide basic infrastructure to the schools before enhancing the working hours of teachers. Hundreds of teachers participated in the Mass Demonstration at Diglipur, Mayabunder, Billiground, Rangat, Kadamtala, Little Andaman, etc.

Teritorry-wide demonstration programme by teachers

PRESS NOTE

The Non-Gazetted Govt. Officers’ Association, Andaman and Nicobar Islands has decided to launch a territory-wide agitation to protest against the unilateral decision of the A & N Administration to increase the working hours of teachers in the islands in the pretext of implementation of Right of Children to Free & Compulsory Education Act, 2009. In the first phase of agitation, Mass Demonstration will be staged by teachers all over the islands on 04.04.2011(Monday). At Port Blair, the South Andaman Teachers’ Branch of the Association will stage the Mass Demonstration in front of the Directorate of Education at Port Blair at 3.15 p.m. on 04.04.2011 (Monday). Teachers working at Port Blair and South Andaman areas will participate in the programme at Port Blair. All the Branch Committees of the Association have been asked to mobilize maximum number of teachers for the agitational programme. The next round of agitational programme will be decided later on.

Sd/-

(D.Ayyappan)

General Secretary

Mass Demonstration on 04th April

SOUTH ANDAMAN TEACHERS' BRANCH

of

NON-GAZETTED GOVT. OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION

ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS

Organises

MASS DEMONSTRATION

In front of the Directorate of Education

on 04^th April, 2011 (Monday) at 3.15 p.m.

to protest against the unilateral decision of the Administration to increase the working hours of teachers

All the teachers are requested to participate.