AAI employees embroiled in bitter legal battle over pension and PF dues

KOLKATA: Two sections of Airports Authority of India (AAI) employees, both serving and retired, are embroiled in a bitter legal battle against each other over the drawing of pension.While the Civil Aviation Employees' Guild (CAEG) has gone to court claiming that nearly 20,000 former AAI employees are drawing pensions between Rs 10,000 and Rs 30,000 per month despite the Employees' Pension Scheme 1995 not being applicable to them, the other side maintains they have got a court order in their favour. The CAEG claims that some unions along with a section of the management have misled the legal system by moving two courts - the high courts of Delhi and Andhra Pradesh - on the same issue and committing perjury.
"While some employees started drawing pension even before their retirement, nearly 2,000 people who are entitled to pension under the CCS Pension Rules 1972, but refused to be part of the conspiracy are denied their dues. Many people have passed away without receiving their dues and their widows are unable to fend for themselves today," the CAEG has submitted in the Delhi high court.
Trouble started after the Airports Authority of India (AAI) came into being on April 1, 1995. This constituted the National Airports Authority (NAA) and the International Airports Authority of India (IAAI). The government employees who were absorbed when IAAI and NAA came into being were governed by the CCS Pension Rules, 1972 while those recruited directly came under Contributory Provident Fund (CPF) schemes framed by the PSUs.After AAI was launched, the CPF trusts of IAAI and NAA (known as the International Airports Authority PF Trust and National Airports Authority PF Trust) functioned independently and income tax exemptions were claimed separately as per Section 18(6) of the AAI Act, 1994.
All AAI employees were then asked to enroll into an Employees' Provident Fund ((EPF) Scheme. Members of the CAEG contended that they were governed by CCS Pension Rules. Moreover, as government employees, they were not entitled to the EPF scheme. The management was not moved though. Finally, the establishment was rocked by a financial scandal with allegations that trust funds were invested in bogus firms. Even the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initiated a probe and some action was taken against the accused.
"The EPF commissioner allowed an EPF scheme for only direct appointees of AAI but in 2009, the management enforced this upon everybody. Members of our organization refused to get enrolled. Those who enrolled in the EPF scheme have drawn pension of full salary which is illegal. The present ceiling is Rs 15,000. Some started drawing pension from the age of 58 years while continuing in service till 60 years. The same set of employees moved the high courts of Delhi and Andhra Pradesh on this issue to mislead the judiciary.In the end, several hundred crores have been siphoned off and the poor have been deprived," the CAEG has submitted in court.