DRDO employees threaten strike

[EjazR]

DRDO employees threaten strike-ET Cetera-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times


BANGALORE: All India Defence Employees Federation (AIDEF), which represents 4.5 lakh defence and civilian employees, threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike on Thursday. The AIDEF employees are protesting against the defence ministry’s approval for private sector participation in defence technology in order to revitalise the DRDO and give a major boost to defence research. “We will fight tooth and nail against any such government decision. We are putting the Indian defence industry on its death bed and killing research in the name of restructuring DRDO,” said SN Pathak, president, AIDEF.

The restructuring will follow the recommendations of two review panels, one headed by former secretary in the department of science and technology, P Rama Rao, and the other, chaired by defence secretary Pradeep Kumar. The Rao committee was set up in February 2007 to suggest steps to improve the functioning of the DRDO, after legislators raised a furore over delayed projects and cost over-runs.

Among the projects running behind schedule is the development of the Light Combat Aircraft, the Kaveri engine and an interception, monitoring, direction finding and analysis system, known as ‘Divyadrishti’. Tactical Communication System (TCS) modernisation has also been delayed for years. “The government is acting under the pressure of Indian industry lobbies, lead by CII, FICCI, Assocham, multinational corporations and foreign lobbies, who are eager to snatch the increasing defence budget and earn their profits,” said Mr Pathak.

The federation plans to start a series of agitation programmes such as demonstrations, dharnas and hunger strikes, culminating in a one-day general strike by DRDO unions, if the government fails to settle all the pending demands of the employees, including the withdrawal of the decision to reorganise DRDO. DRDO’s top management said that public private partnership is the way ahead as the defence demand of the country is increasing and the government alone cannot meet this demand. “We spend Rs 50,000 crore on defence acquisitions abroad every year.

We have to become self reliant. Revamping the DRDO, collaborations and joint ventures with the private sector is the way ahead to achieve this goal,” said a top DRDO official, who did not wish to be quoted. “This strategy won’t have any impact on employees, as the work includes within the government and outside the government circle,” he added. The federation fears a reduction in the number of employees at DRDO as a result of the restructuring programme. “At present, there are around 7,000 top scientists and 27,000 group C and group D employees in the DRDO and once the commercialisation of the defence agency takes place, this will drop,” said Saila Bhattacharya, AIDEF general secretary.

Under the recommendations of Dr P Ramrao Committee report on DRDO, the government had in May decided to revamp the DRDO into 7 cluster groups. Some of DRDO’s 51 laboratories across the country will be merged with other public-funded institutions that have similar interests and administrative structures. AIDEF said that the decision by the government to throw 11 out of 51 DRDO laboratories including laboratories in Mysore, Kanpur, Tejpur and Gwalior and merge them with Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), is also a serious concern.

India is set to spend about US$ 200 billion on defence acquisitions over the next 12 years to replace its outdated Soviet-vintage inventory. According to a study by the India Strategic defence magazine, nearly half of this funding, or $100 billion, will go to the Indian Air Force (IAF) which would need to replace more than half of its combat jet fleet as well as the entire transport aircraft and helicopter fleet. The army needs new guns, tanks, rocket launchers, multi-terrain vehicles while the navy needs ships, aircraft carriers, an entire new range of propeller and nuclear-armed submarines.

 

[Tshering22]

DRDO employees threaten strike-ET Cetera-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times


BANGALORE: All India Defence Employees Federation (AIDEF), which represents 4.5 lakh defence and civilian employees, threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike on Thursday. The AIDEF employees are protesting against the defence ministry’s approval for private sector participation in defence technology in order to revitalise the DRDO and give a major boost to defence research. “We will fight tooth and nail against any such government decision. We are putting the Indian defence industry on its death bed and killing research in the name of restructuring DRDO,” said SN Pathak, president, AIDEF.

The restructuring will follow the recommendations of two review panels, one headed by former secretary in the department of science and technology, P Rama Rao, and the other, chaired by defence secretary Pradeep Kumar. The Rao committee was set up in February 2007 to suggest steps to improve the functioning of the DRDO, after legislators raised a furore over delayed projects and cost over-runs.

Among the projects running behind schedule is the development of the Light Combat Aircraft, the Kaveri engine and an interception, monitoring, direction finding and analysis system, known as ‘Divyadrishti’. Tactical Communication System (TCS) modernisation has also been delayed for years. “The government is acting under the pressure of Indian industry lobbies, lead by CII, FICCI, Assocham, multinational corporations and foreign lobbies, who are eager to snatch the increasing defence budget and earn their profits,” said Mr Pathak.

The federation plans to start a series of agitation programmes such as demonstrations, dharnas and hunger strikes, culminating in a one-day general strike by DRDO unions, if the government fails to settle all the pending demands of the employees, including the withdrawal of the decision to reorganise DRDO. DRDO’s top management said that public private partnership is the way ahead as the defence demand of the country is increasing and the government alone cannot meet this demand. “We spend Rs 50,000 crore on defence acquisitions abroad every year.

We have to become self reliant. Revamping the DRDO, collaborations and joint ventures with the private sector is the way ahead to achieve this goal,” said a top DRDO official, who did not wish to be quoted. “This strategy won’t have any impact on employees, as the work includes within the government and outside the government circle,” he added. The federation fears a reduction in the number of employees at DRDO as a result of the restructuring programme. “At present, there are around 7,000 top scientists and 27,000 group C and group D employees in the DRDO and once the commercialisation of the defence agency takes place, this will drop,” said Saila Bhattacharya, AIDEF general secretary.

Under the recommendations of Dr P Ramrao Committee report on DRDO, the government had in May decided to revamp the DRDO into 7 cluster groups. Some of DRDO’s 51 laboratories across the country will be merged with other public-funded institutions that have similar interests and administrative structures. AIDEF said that the decision by the government to throw 11 out of 51 DRDO laboratories including laboratories in Mysore, Kanpur, Tejpur and Gwalior and merge them with Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), is also a serious concern.

India is set to spend about US$ 200 billion on defence acquisitions over the next 12 years to replace its outdated Soviet-vintage inventory. According to a study by the India Strategic defence magazine, nearly half of this funding, or $100 billion, will go to the Indian Air Force (IAF) which would need to replace more than half of its combat jet fleet as well as the entire transport aircraft and helicopter fleet. The army needs new guns, tanks, rocket launchers, multi-terrain vehicles while the navy needs ships, aircraft carriers, an entire new range of propeller and nuclear-armed submarines.

This is stupid. What's the need for crying so much? Private firms are the most successful arms makers in the world compared to government run slow-coaches. Unless of course, there's a dedicated government in the center like Israeli or Chinese government who actually care about the country (which GOI doesn't).

So it was best to clear private bigwigs to make arms. The government should disperse this strike immediately as these Soviet-era idiots will only bring our country's indigenous capability down. Better infrastructure, better pays and incentives to scientists, faster induction and better quality are the perks of private firms (of course under government supervision).

Among the projects running behind schedule is the development of the Light Combat Aircraft,

DRDO employees like this idiot Pathak should first answer the bold part along with scores of similar cases the other famous one being Nag, Akash, Arjun all of whom have been behind schedule, delayed, or have lost significant shelf-life. and then talk of any protests.

 

[!!craft!!]

lols this was ought to happen...but is good news at least there is a hint that private firms will participate . this will give good results..

 

[Tshering22]

lols this was ought to happen...but is good news at least there is a hint that private firms will participate . this will give good results..

Yeah. We should ignore these stupid clowns who want to keep Indian defense as their private property under "Government sector" and lag behind China a century at least.

I've got to say that the ruling government has done something decent in getting the private bigshots enter. F-INSAS under TATAs and Artillery projects under L&T is bound to shake the world.

 

[Donatello]

My friends,


I have an honest question..

That does stuff like this happen often in your defense industry? Because it is pretty sad.

 

[!!craft!!]

My friends,


I have an honest question..

That does stuff like this happen often in your defense industry? Because it is pretty sad.

dont worry my frient they are just going on a diet plan they had become kinda lazy .. will become more active after this!!!

 

[black flame]

well they had their chance since the 50's and blew it..... its time for them to step back and let the mantle to the private players.............
well according to me the privatization should be done in a phased manner for the next 5 years the private players should be involved in PPP ...... and gradually increase their presence in the sector........... and with in next 10yrs the private players should take over 90% of the projects and drdo should do the remaining 10% and they should more over be a strict regulating and governing body under strict vigilance by the central vigilance council and the army air force and navy for their respective projects............. and when the contract is given to the private players it should be divided to 2 competitor say for Eg, if we are designing a aircraft or a missile the contract should be given to top two contenders and the prototype development should be developed and the best one of the two should be given the order if both are better consider them both........... if this goes by 2030 india will have a Highly advanced army navy and air force and will have a very high tech domestic defense industry and will have the competitive edge over the adversaries with less dependence on foreign companies else still it will be loosing the valuable the foreign exchange and the domestic defense industry will still be the same

 

[anathema]

Well they are scared **** !!! If private players ever come into industry -- two things are bound to happen !!

1) DRDO will loose its importance as the prima dona of Indian defence.
2) If private industries start studying the DRDO projects --then they will definetly point out the gross mis -management of the projects -- No government/DRDO person will ever want that.

I hope Private players do come into picture...we need L&T, TATA , etc....

 

[leo1476]

DRDO just wastes precious resources anyway. They know they get screwed by (even Indian) competition.

 

[sparklingway]

Good to hear that they have the right to unionize and defend their legal rights. The elitists here of course cannot understand the unions are the only source because of whom the workers are able to get whatever small increases in real wages compared to increases in productivity. Elites are always taught that unions are instigators of treachery because unions work against the interests if the elites but in the interest of the large populace.

However, it is sad but natural for public sector employees to fear the bogeyman of privatization. It is but natural for jobs to be outsourced to private firms as the corporate sector grows. The workers will eventually loose their jobs in the public sector if the policies continue but the skilled will find jobs wherever the production is outsourced.

Protectionism at state and individual level is flawed, but natural and understandable.

 

[CONNAN]

well its time to fire the junk from DRDO

 

[anathema]

Good to hear that they have the right to unionize and defend their legal rights. The elitists here of course cannot understand the unions are the only source because of whom the workers are able to get whatever small increases in real wages compared to increases in productivity. Elites are always taught that unions are instigators of treachery because unions work against the interests if the elites but in the interest of the large populace.

However, it is sad but natural for public sector employees to fear the bogeyman of privatization. It is but natural for jobs to be outsourced to private firms as the corporate sector grows. The workers will eventually loose their jobs in the public sector if the policies continue but the skilled will find jobs wherever the production is outsourced.

Protectionism at state and individual level is flawed, but natural and understandable.

Although i agree with you principally !! But mismanagement of Unions in achieving personal/selfish gains is equally rampant !!

A classic example in case of India would be a state -- Kerala !!

It is one of the few states in India which is a stronghold of communism. Home to all the unions. Any production factory which opens up a shop over there faces various hindrances in their operations in the form of strikes which lasts for days in a month -- its effect significant annually ! Most of the strikes are vested interests -- playgroud of politics..Companies like Coca-Cola, MRF , struggle to meet their targets over there. The entire state is primarily driven from NRI funds.
Now consider the same guy from Kerala when he goes abroad -- he works his *** of to meet ends -- but the same guy if working in the state falls prey to the politics. sad actually.

 

[d14gtc]

I jst Remember a Prank out f it : -

an Economist explains his reason for having two wives...!
First : MOnopoly Should be broken...& second competition Improves the Services.

 

[noksss]

Give a full security cover when these employees are going in indefinite-fasting so that they can't move from their place Automatically after some days they will stop the agitation and get back to work .If they are making some strike Lathi-charge them as these employees will be afraid of that and never do this again .I accept that they have done lot of achievements but they are responsible for the death of more soilders in kargil by not giving WLR on time .

 

[Ras]

Good to hear that they have the right to unionize and defend their legal rights. The elitists here of course cannot understand the unions are the only source because of whom the workers are able to get whatever small increases in real wages compared to increases in productivity. Elites are always taught that unions are instigators of treachery because unions work against the interests if the elites but in the interest of the large populace.

However, it is sad but natural for public sector employees to fear the bogeyman of privatization. It is but natural for jobs to be outsourced to private firms as the corporate sector grows. The workers will eventually loose their jobs in the public sector if the policies continue but the skilled will find jobs wherever the production is outsourced.

Protectionism at state and individual level is flawed, but natural and understandable.

A notable thought but which does not happen in real life...what does happen is that by collective "threats" not "bargaining" they make companies unsustainable especially in a globalized world where the competition is somewhere else.

I should know...union ba@stards destroyed my industry.