KOCHI: The pensioners of Central Government commodity boards and autonomous bodies such as Spices Board, Coffee Board, Tea Board, Tobacco Board, Marine Products’ Export Development Authority (MPEDA) and other organisations numbering over 600, will stage a sit-in outside the Spices Board head office here on Tuesday to protest against the delay in implementing the Seventh Central Pay Commission Report.
In a statement here, K P Somasekharan, president of Spices Board Pensioners’ Welfare Association, said in a statement the Seventh Pay Commission Report for Central Government employees and pensioners was implemented in August 2016.
“Repeated representations and memorandums at various levels, following the failure to implement the Pay Commission recommendations in the case of employees and pensioners,have not elicited any response,” it said.
Another instance of discrimination was when employees of the boards were granted DA for July 2016 and January 2017, the same was denied to the pensioners seemingly for no reason, the statement said.
“The sit-in is to draw the Centre’s attention for facilitating immediate action for redressal of the problems of pensioners of commodity boards and autonomous bodies,” Somasekharan said.