New Delhi: While addressing a public rally in October 2016 Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi, acclaiming the Countless contribution of women in nation building, said with sincerity, “Women need to be respected and treated right’. In his first Mann Ki Baat radio address of 2018, Prime Minister Modi spoke of women’s empowerment and in his 40th Mann Ki Baat broadcast, the PM spoke at length about woman power in diverse fields. On another occasion in 2019 PM said “respecting women has been a tradition in India” and “women have been recognized as ‘Shakti’.
But the experience of Manjusha Bhatnagar, a retired lady executive who served for almost four decades in senior positions at Navaratna Public Sector Companies does not gel with what the Prime Minister had pledged in public on multiple occasions. If her words are to be believed, Manjusha was “ill-treated” and “deprived of deserving opportunities” while working with Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), a subsidiary of ONGC. Manjusha Bhatnagar, a single mother who was solely dependent on her “salary and then retirement benefits” was “deprived of over RS.76 Lakhs, due to the deliberate and discriminatory miscalculation by MRPL management for reasons best known to them.”
The former lady executive of the Public Sector Company firmly believes, she is being “harassed” even after retirement and “the Prime Ministers’ concern on women has never been taken seriously by the Company management and instead MRPL is deriving pleasure through denying me my legitimate dues and in turn have drastically reduced my pension, which is the only revenue resource source for rest of my life”. Listen to her “dismal” tale in her own words.
Manjusha Bhatnagar says, she “Was appointed as General Manager ( HR) in Grade E8 after applying through proper channel, which means the full benefit of her past service in IOC was to be given and joined MRPL on August 18, 2007. It is a thumb rule of the Government that with increase in responsibility, a promotion- the compensation increases. Minimum one increment is granted. However, MRPL has scant regard to follow Government rules or shall we say, – follows selectively.
Having joined through proper channel, my IOC Basic Pay of Rs.61850/- in Grade E6 should have been protected and the promised five additional increments should have been granted, taking my Basic Pay to Rs.71700/- pm. Instead, MRPL chose to reduce it to Rs.59471/- and when the issue was raised, never sought any clarification from the Department of Public Enterprises
Having joined from a Maharatna company, I already had PSU pay scale. There was no need to merge my pre revised Basic Pay with other components to generate a Personal Pay of Rs.1144/- and then remove it under the pretext of following DPE guidelines.
As DA neutralisation, allowances and incentives including retirement benefits are linked to Basic Pay, a reduction of Rs.12229/- in my Basic Pay reduced all my benefits like Rs.6615- was the loss of allowances, Rs.3669/- was the loss in retirement benefits, similar loss in DA and a huge loss in incentives.
MRPL gave Pay Protection and additional increments to Shri B Ramesh Kumar, recruited as DGM, granted ten increments to Shri Selvakumaran, recruited from Reliance Petroleum and ten increments each to two Senior Managers (Grade E5) recruited as General Managers from HPCL. After the departure of Manjusha Bhatnagar, the company gave pay protection and some additional increments to Shri S Bandyopadhyay, Ex GGM (Fin) in 2018-29 as also to Smt. Lekshmi M Kumaran, Ex CGM (Mktg). Thus, discrimination is a way of life for MRPL Management.
I worked in MRPL for 7 years, 4 months and ten days and was not considered worthy of a promotion, though the Public Enterprises Selection Board picked me up as a Director. My financial loss is huge, since the lowered Basic Pay became the basis of my Revised Pay Fixation as a Director, adversely impacting my PF, Pension and Gratuity too.
Having learnt about the relief given to Shri Bandyopadhyay and Smt. Kumaran by MRPL, I had written to the MD MRPL as well as the Grievance Committe. I kept receiving assurances from MD MRPL till Nov’ 2019 that my case was referred to the said committee but evidently they were hollow assurances. The Grievance Committee did not even examine my case.
As a last resort, I filed a case with CAT to seek relief. They were also misled, stating that my case was time barred, though the correspondence with MD MRPL was placed before them which showed that till Nov’ 2019, the company had corresponded with me, perhaps only to buy more time and frustrate me.
Loss of Almost RS.76 Lakhs has been suffered by me due to the deliberate reduction of my Basic Pay. Even MOP & NG Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was misled by MRPL. Kind Attention: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji”