‘Name chief, members of 7th pay commission’

The Central Civil Pensioners’ Forum urged the Centre to announce the name of the chairman and committee members of the VII Central Pay Commission at the earliest, with terms of references in consultation with pensioners representatives and with clear instruction to submit its recommendations before June 2015.

A resolution to this effect was adopted at a fourth annual general body meeting of the forum at Srirangam recently.

Another resolution demanded that the government declare interim relief in addition to DA due from January 1, 2014 with effect from that date as the DA was crossing 100 basic points.

The meeting urged the government to drop the proposed health insurance scheme under consideration for the past several years as it was not favoured in several advanced countries in the world.

The government should recognise government headquarters hospitals in all the districts to function as CGHS for central government pensioners by appointing separate doctors for this purpose and utilise the facilities available in such hospitals.

Yet another resolution demanded the Centre to reconsider its decision to revise FMA to Rs. 1,200 to pensioners residing in non-CGHS areas as in the case of EPF and public sector undertaking pensioners.

The meeting urged the Centre to consider to exempt all pensions from Income Tax Act, to grant HRA to all pensioners, enhanced pension for 10 years to the family on the death of the pensioner, exempt from service tax the telephone bills of phones in the name of pensioners and senior citizens. V.S. Ramanujam presided over the programme. N. Guruswamy, president, presented the Pensioners Day address.

Mr. Ramanujam was elected as the new president. N. Guruswamy is the new general secretary and V. Hari Vasudevan secretary (finance) on the occasion.