Organ of Federation of Medical And Sales Representatives’ Associations of India60-A Charu Avenue • Kolkata-700 033 • Phone : (033)24242862 • Fax : (033)24244943 • www.fmrai.org • E-mail : fmrainews@gmail.com

FMRAI NEWSRs.3

Vol. XVI No. 6 KOLKATA 1 MARCH, 2017

1

Cuttack General Council Meeting of FMRAI

Cuttack GeneralCouncil meeting of FMRAIpledged to widen thehorizon of theorganization and to plungeinto a consorted andaggressive movement toresist the newer form

attacks dismantlingexisting service andworking conditions of thesales promotionemployees today.

General Councilmeeting of FMRAI washeld at Cuttack, the

millennium city on thebank of the riverMahanadi, during 10-12February, 2017, at KalaVikash Kendra. At thesame venue, FMRAIconference was held,three and a half decade

ago, in 1982. The citywas named after formerGeneral Secretary ofFMRAI, Com. D.P.Dubeyand the auditorium wasnamed as Com. VishalJoshi Manch. TheGeneral Council meeting

commenced with hoistingof organization flag byFMRAI's President.Chairman, ReceptionCommittee, Mr.Jagannath Patnaik,CITU’s all India GeneralSecretary,Com. Tapan

Sen and all office bearersof FMRAI, leadership ofthe state units , fraternaltrade unions and massorganizations paid floraltribute to the martyrs'column.

Cultural programme at Cuttack GCMSantanu Chatterjee General Secretary FMRAI placing the report in Cuttack GCM

SPIL : big battle is onUnrelenting fight of

SPIL field workers entersinto the second year. Atthe of call of FMRAI twodays badge-wearing andcampaign programmeamong the doctors and

chemists by all section offield workers withorganised section of fieldworkers of the organisedcompanies in theforefront, against thecorrupt pharmaceutical

giant, has been organisedthroughout the country on27th and 28th March,2017. Demonstration hasbeen organised in front ofthe company'sestablishment including

the C&F of the company,has been organise acrossthe country.

Two-days ofprogrammes includingbadge-wearing and

Demonstaration against Sun Pharma at Ranchi Demonstaration against Sun Pharma inTelengana

Demonstaration against Sun Pharma at Chennai Demonstaration against Sun Pharma at Kolkata

See page-3

See page-3

Second successfulwage settlement wassigned between FMRAI`scommittee and AbbottHealthcare Pvt. Ltd.management on 2ndFebruary 2017. Effectivefor 3 years (October 2014to September 2017)thissettlement covers for 37PSRs of erstwhileSarabhai component(Aakar/ Annant). Benefitin the wage part is Rs.4,350 per month in wagesfrom October 2014, Inaddition, rate ofneutralization of VDA isenhanced from existingRs.3.90 to Rs.4.10 perpoint, Daily Allowancesincrease is to the tune ofRs.500per montheffective from December2016. Internet/Mobileallowanceof Rs.550 permonth. The SPEs wererepresented by TanmoyPaul, C.Venkat Rao,Subhajit Sengupta andAnil Jain.

Boehringer MannheimIndia EmployeesUnion(BMIEU)representing15Medical Representativesand Roche Anglo French

WWWWWaaaaaggggge settlemente settlemente settlemente settlemente settlementin Abbott group of companiesin Abbott group of companiesin Abbott group of companiesin Abbott group of companiesin Abbott group of companies

Employees Union(RAEU)representing 9 MedicalRepresentatives, signedwage settlement for 4years period endingFebruary 4, 2017, for thefirst time with AbbottHealthcare Pvt. Ltd.Benefit in the wage partis Rs.1300 per monthwith effect from July2013, in Daily allowancespart Rs.1400 per monthfrom November 2016 andI n t e r n e t / M o b i l eallowances Rs.550 permonth with effect fromMarch 2017. ExistingPay Scale, V D A, Leaveencashment, Gratuityscheme benefits arecontinued and theaccident insurancecoverage is enhanced toRs.6lakhs. BMIEU wasrepresented by KurienGeorge, K.Sunil Kumarand RAEU by K.Ambrose and SripadKulkarni.

Existing system ofreporting on hard copyshall continue for all thethree components. Allthe three components

See page-4

FMRAI NEWSMARCH 2017

2

Editorial

Obituary

are forcing the medicalrepresentatives to undertakesuch illegal activities. Eventhe monthly targets of campsare given to them and anyshortfall results severehumiliation, threat ofdisciplinary action.

Reacting on the report ofBMJ, our minister of PetroChemicals, Mr.Ananth Kumarsaid "the Uniform Code forPharmaceutical MarketingPractices is voluntary, it is notadhered to properly" .

The question is in spite ofsevere persuasion from someorganizations includingFMRAI, why the government

has given free hand to thecorporate to play ducks anddrakes with the lives of thepoor people of this country?Why the code has been madevoluntary? Why there is noprovision of stringent punitiveaction for the erringcompanies?

FMRAI has raised thesequestions; central governmenthas to answer these properlyand has to take correctivemeasure or else one lakhFMRAI members will continueto agitate for the interest of thevast populace of the countryas well as to protect theirmembers.

From page-4

Pushing untested Drug

In West Bengal,WBMSRU and CITU-WestBengal Committee, in a jointprogramme, demanded of thecentral government to rollback of the union cabinet'sdecision of closure of IDPL &RDPL and strategic sell outof BCPL & HAL along with thesale of huge landedproperties of these PSUs .Around 300 members ofWBMSRU along with CITUand workers of BengalChemical attended a rally on11 January, afternoon,originated from SubodhMallick Square. The rally wasalso attended by the leadersof CITU including Generalsecretary Dipak Dasgupta,Treasurer, Anadi Sahoo ,Nepal Dev Bhattacharya,Rabin Deb. The ral lyculminated into a massmeeting before the registeredoffice of Bengal Chemical atKolkata. State CITU'sPresident, ShyamalChakraborty; GeneralSecretary Dipak Dasgupta;Treasurer and former LabourMinister of Left Frontgovernment, Anadi Sahoo ;FMRAI's General Secretary,Santanu Chatterjee, Vice-President SumahanChakraborty, WBMSRU-General Secretary Arnab Nagand General Secretary of theunion of the workers of BCPL,Mrinal Roychoudhuryaddressed the huge gathering.The speakers especiallyhighlighted that BengalChemical, being a heritageorganization established bythe great scientist AcharyaP.C. Roy in1902, with the spiritof nationalism during thecolonial rule, to fight theMNCs, received neither anymonetary allocation nor anypolicy support from the centralgovernment for modernizationduring last decade. Despitethat, due to the commitmentand contr ibut ion of theworkers and employees, ithas given profit in 2016-'17and planned to meet the entire

Against closure of PSU Pharma unitsCountry wide protest by state units

debt to the banks within 2020.The speakers also stated thatthe decision of thegovernment was to pave theway for the monopolies.Santanu Chatterjee,criticizing the government'spolicy, stated that, FMRAIwill fight and go all out to bendthe government to changetheir decisions to appease theMNCs. Dealing with themedicine related issues of thepeople, he also stated that,FMRAI is going for a Day'sstrike on 3rd February, 2017where one of the maindemands is to revitalize thePSU pharma units for theinterest of the country andcountrymen. The meeting waspresided over by NepaldevBhattacharya. Meeting withthe workers and employees ofBCPL decided a series ofprogrammes which are beingimplemented in West Bengal.

On 4 January, 2017, at callof FMRAI, TMSRU organizeddemonstration before IDPLFactory at Balanagar,Hyderabad protesting thecabinet decision of CentralGovernment to close down IDPL& RDPL and to sell out BCPL&HAL. Demonstration wasaddressed by T KameshwerRao, Secretary, FMRAI; K HariPrasad, Secretary, CITU,Telangana State Committee;Chandrashekar, Vice President,CITU- Medchal Committee;Mohan Rao, Former GeneralSecretary, IDPL KamagarEmployees Union (CITU) ; IRaju Bhat, GeneralSecretary,TMSRU and A.Nageswara Rao, VicePresident. A Press Statementwas released by TMSRU.

Delegation led by TKameshwer Rao visitedSecretariat to handover thememorandum to the HealthMinister of Telangana but dueto cancelation of visiting hoursfor the day, he could not bemet.

Memoranda were sent tothe Prime Minister by the stateand sub units on this issue.

Pijush Kanti Bhowmick, amember of Kolkata DistrictCommittee of WBMSRUbreathed his last on 13February in a hospital atKolkata due to a suddencardiac arrest. He was only 43years old. Com. Pijush hailedfrom a lower middle classfamily and was the mainsupport of the family. He wasworking in HygeiaPharmaceuticals since 1997 in

Kolkata He played the pivotalrole in organizing the fieldworkers of Hygeia in counciland also to establish theirbargaining rights in thecompany. He was alsoassociated with the leftdemocratic movement. He leftbehind his old mother. FMRAIcondoles the untimely demiseof Com. Pijush and expressesheartfelt condolences to hisbereaved family.

Two recent developmentsare worth noting.

The department ofpharmaceuticals underMinistry of Chemicals andFertilizers, is reportedlyprepared to issue anexecutive order soon by'making Uniform Code forPharmaceutical MarketingPractices (UCPMP)mandatory for the drugmanufacturing industry'(Times of India, Feb 26,2017). According to this newsitem, drug manufacturers willbe disallowed to offer itemsvalued over Rs 1,000 asgiveaways to doctors. Anyfreebees and favour beyondthis cap 'will attractpunishment and penalty'.

Another development isthe notification of the NationalPharmaceutical PricingAuthority (NPPA) dated 13thFeb., 2017, fixing andreducing ceiling prices for thetwo major categories ofcardiac stents.

What is noteworthy, thatstent prices have not beenreduced purely by the goodwill of the presentgovernment. Two years back,on February 25, 2015, DelhiHigh Court directed thegovernment to includecoronary stents in theNational List of EssentialMedicines (NLEM) andregulate their prices. In July2016 government has putcoronary stents in the NLEMand now ceilingprice has beennotified. However, ShreeNarendra Modi, whilecampaigning for assemblyelection in Uttar Pradesh,claimed credit for this in hislectures.

As regards to marketingcode the existing code is'voluntary' and it came in toeffective existence inJanuary, 2015. Withoutbeing'statutory' it is ineffective andtoothless. Drugmanufacturers are violating itwith great ease. Since longFMRAI is demanding'statutory' code, violation ofwhich will attract punishment.Scores of letters to this causeby FMRAI has been writtento the ministry. FMRAIreiterated the said demand inthe meeting convened by thedepartment ofpharmaceuticals in thismatter. Hundreds of streetprotests, meeting,convention, and seminar hasbeen organised by FMRAIand its state units. Thecountry-wide strike of fieldworkers on 3rd Feb, 2017

Together with people for reversal of repressiondemanded of stringentpunishment clause in the codeof pharmaceutical marketingand reduction of prices ofmedicines, stents andimplants. The Cuttack GCM inFeb., 2017, adopted similarresolution.

Now, the government atcentre is unable to ignore thethunderous voice of the people.Corruptions in healthcare andpredatory practices inmedicine, stent and implantbusiness are the burningissues and the commonplacediscussion in theneighbourhood. Accessiblehealthcare is the demand of thepeople that no audaciousgovernment can dare to ignore.

Development in the realm ofstent prices and marketingcode is an outcome ofcontinuous struggle. It is noless an achievement of thepeople's movement, in thefrontline of which FMRAIstands with unfailingcommitment, along with otherlike-minded organisations andindividuals.

Since an ailing personchooses medicine not to his orher taste but the way onerequires it, therefore so onbehalf of him or hers o m e o n e p r o f e s s i o n a l l yqualifiedchooses this. Thisperson is influenced by thepharmaceutical industry with allits inducements, percussionsand high-velocity campaign. Ina twisted reality a doctor ismade to pump up more andmore profit for the corporations.

Therefore, it is no wanderthat the corruption inpharmaceutical business inIndia has earned internationaldisrepute. An Australian doctor,David Berger, who served as avolunteer physician in acharitable hospital in northernIndia, not only complained of'widespread corruption in thepharmaceutical industry'in India('Corruption ruins the doctor-patient relationship in India',BMJ, May 08, 2014,)but alsodescribed a more sordid andappalling story of vice. Hebrought to light the pain andagony of a pharmaceuticalemployee who was treatedmost dishonorably in anextreme case of bribing andwas forced to execute a dirtywork, which, however, theperson refused to comply withand finally ended up by losinghis job. The article in a reputedmedical journal showed thewound rudely and revealed theplight of the pharmaceuticalemployees in India in thisconnection.

Linking field workers jobwith 'sales performance' andconnecting them, albeitcompulsively, with theunethical marketing practices,make their job retrograde anddishonorable and cause injuryto the interest of the people.The Cuttack GCM of FMRAIresolves once again to agitatevigorously for reversal of thisrepressive situation.

Once again it is demandedthat tripartite industrialcommittee be called andstatutory working rules beframed forthwith. Any dilly-dally on the part of thegovernment will attract thewrath of the angry mass offield workers. Vigorous fightagainst policy change willcontinue, till the demands aremet.

Thousands of field workersfrom across the country willMarch to Mumbai in Novemberthis year. The prosperoussanctuary of pharmaceuticalindustry will be overrun by theworkers who are denied,deprived, exploited andhaunted by thepharmaceutical giants sincelong. Breakneck war formarket access oft h e p h a r m a c e u t i c a lcompanies has long beenhosted on the arched back ofthe field workers. Large wealthhas been amassed not onlyat the cost of the tear and toilof them but also by means ofplunder of the people.

There must be an end toall the atrocities. Themountain of load, under whichan innocent field workersuffers every day, cannotremain perpetually. Privateworking rules that eat in to thebones must bedisbanded.Universal healthcare is neither a mercy nor afavour but a duty andresponsibility of agovernment. But, the rulingparty and its' governmentisoblivious of the distress ofthe common people. They areovertly attentive tocorporations both Indian andmultinational.

Strong movement of thepeople only can make thisgovernment act. Theproposed punishment clausein the uniform code andreduction of stent prices areevidences to this fact.Massive mobilisation only canmake this government work ina becoming manner and thismobilisation alone can askthis government to go, asneed be, if it continues withits deliberate mischief.

3

FMRAI NEWS MARCH 2017

The inaugural sessioncommenced with amultilingual inauguralsong, sung by the culturalteam of OSRU, inMarathi, Odiya, Hindi,Tamil, Kashmiri andBengali language, whichwas highly appreciated byall General Councilmembers from across thecountry.

Following placementof the CondolenceResolution, Sri JagannathPatnaik, Chairman,Reception Committee,welcomed the membersattending this Meetingfrom the length andbreadth of the country.Beside the general councilmembers, the opensession was alsoattended by the membersof OSRU and otherfraternal trade unions andmass organizations.Tapan Sen, GeneralSecretary CITU in hisinaugural address,greeted all the participantsand wishing success ofthe General CouncilMeeting, stated that, thestruggle of FMRAI againstthe onslaught of neo-liberalism and the fierceattack of themultinationals & theirIndian counterparts insales promotion Industryis worth mentioning. Heappreciated the series ofmovements conducted byFMRAI, number of strikeactions in pursuance ofrights and against the antilabour policiesof thecentral government ,movements in pursuanceof people's demands onhealth and medicinerelated issues andobviously, against theemployers' class inpharmaceutical industry.He narrated thedevelopments takingplace internationally andhow these are influencingthe working classmovements in differentcountries. He added that,in the backdrop of worstever crisis of capitalismsince 1930, the financecapital driven neoliberalism is pursued bythe imperialiststhroughout the world and

Cuttack G.C.M.From page-1

Resolutions adopted in the GCM1) Against management of Astra Zeneca2) Against Alembic management3) Against management of Geno4) AgainstSvizera management.5) To organize the sales promotion employeesof other Industries and to resist the attacks bythe employers.6) Against Communalism7) Against amendment of labour laws and impacton the workers8) Condemning the closure and strategic sale ofpremier pharma PSUs9) Against the anti-labour policies of Sun Pharma10) On uniform code of pharmaceuticalsmarketing practices (UCPMP)

Credential ReportTotal GCMs attended : 337, Invitees: 06,Women:08From 18 state units viz. CRU, BSSRU, OSRU,WBMSRU, UPMSRA, RMSRU, DSMRO, PCMSRU,HPMRA, MPMSRU, MSMRA, GOAMRA, GSMRA,TMSRU, APMSRU, KMSRA, KSM & SRA,TNMSRAAge wise : below 30 yrs-1, 31-40 yrs-85, 41-50yrs-142, 51-60 yrs-106 ; above 60 yrs-6 Yearsin profession : below 5 yrs-11, 6- 10 yrs-19, 11-15 yrs-35, 16-20 yrs-73, 21-25 yrs-76, 26-30yrs-64 above 30 yrs-65

the classic form ofimperialism is no more inexistence. The characterof neo liberalism,dominated by financecapital is much morefierce and tyrannical. Innational arena, there isaggressive attempt totranslate the policies ofneo liberalism by Modigovernment at the cost ofthe lives and livelihood ofthe people. Commentingon the demonetizationissue, he stated that thehidden agenda ofdemonetization by Modi,was to give opportunity tothe business class towhiten their black moneyignoring the adversities ofthe common people. Theintention of thegovernment behind thechange of labour laws inthe name of reforms is togive benefits to theemployers' class. Hecriticized the union budgetexplaining variousaspects and opined thatthe policies are imposinghuge burdens on theworkers and the commonpeople, giving relief to thebusinessmen and richpeople. The working andliving conditions of thecommon people aredeteriorating sharply. Thegrief and anger of thetoiling people of thecountry are being inflated.The unrest of the peoplewas witnessed in thesuccessful united strikeprogrammes, once in2015 and again in 2016.To weaken the unity ofthe toiling people of thecountry, the ruling class,its mentor RSS and itsoutfits have alreadystarted playing the card ofcommunalism. Hewarned about the dangerof the agenda of thecommunal polarizationdesigned by the HindutvaVadis ; which is incitingthe minorityfundamentalists , dividingthe people in the name ofreligion, caste and creedto weaken the unity andstrength of the workingclass. This is completelysubservient to the interestof the corporate and theemployers' class. There isan extreme right wing

shift which must be foughtby the united workingclass. He called upon themembers of FMRAI torise to the occasion at thiscritical juncture andstrengthen the workingclass movement andheighten the industry wisemovement. He alsostated that , traditionally,FMRAI has always takenup the issues of thecommon people besidestheir own issues and infuture too, he believes ,FMRAI will be exerting itsfull strength in the streetsfor the defense of rightsof the workers and also for

General Secretary,FMRAI, SantanuChatterjee, duringplacement of his report ,dealt with theo r g a n i z a t i o n a ldevelopments during thejourney from Kochi toCuttack and alsohighlighted the newerforms of attacks in salespromotion industry alongwith other areas. ParthaRakshit, Treasurer placedthe treasurer's report. Inthe plenary session, 32members from 18 stateunits took part indiscussion on both thereports. Two approach

leadership at variouslevels .The new area ofdiscussion was on newerforms of attacks. All fourgroups discussed on thesubject of newer forms ofattacks as an impact ofneo-liberal policies, in thesphere of working andservice conditions withchanged systems of thesales promotion ;reversal of existingconventions andprocedure of disciplinaryactions on the basis of thechanged system, denialof law of the land. Afterdiscussion on to-day'sburning problem of e-reporting, it was notedthat, the development oftechnology is being usedby the employers as atool of exploitation andvictimization. In thissubject, the issue ofsurveillance and cyberlaw violation in tabdetailing, unfairmarketing, unethicaltrading and salesclosings, deprivation ofannual increment,increased and irrationalworkloads and CME andCamps were the mainfocus for discussion.Members suggested theline of action to befollowed to combat theseattacks. Finally, therecommendations of thegroups, on both thepapers, were placed.

Resolutions againstthe amendment of labourlaws, againstcommunalism, againstthe onslaught in OtherIndustries, for revival ofPSU pharma units andagainst the anti workerpolicies of Sun Pharma,Geno, Svizera andAlembic managementwere adoptedunanimously.GeneralSecretary, SantanuChatterjee in his replydealt with variouscompany wisedevelopments anddeclared that 2017 will bemarked as the movementon policy level issues andseries of movements willbe conducted throughoutthe year and finally themembers of FMRAI willMarch to Mumbai, thecitadel of pharmaceutical

industry in November,2017.

Following the reply ofGeneral Secretary andTreasurer, with someminor incorporation, boththe reports were adoptedunanimously withunstinted support to theMumbai Chaloprogramme. 337 generalcouncil members and 6invitees attended theGCM including 8 womenfield workers and 5members fromOtherIndustries. Thestates and the sub unitsrecording more than onethousand membership atthe sub unit level weregreeted and handed acertificate of appreciationby FMRAI leadership.Thegeneral council greetedthe members of OSRU fortheir excellent hospitalityand their untiring effort formaking the GCM a newland mark in history ofFMRAI. The three days'meeting was conductedby the president and vice-presidents of FMRAI.

Cuttack GCM ofFMRAI has concludedthat, in the midst of all outattack, during this oneyear, FMRAI has beenfurther consolidated; hasfurther sharpened itscounterattacks againstthe employers and thegovernment; has furtherwidened its horizon ; but,still a quite good numberof sales promotionemployees remainedunreached, reversal of thesystem is yet to be done.Finally, the meeting gavethe concluding call togenerate more force infuture movements againstthe tyranny of new system,expanding the horizon ofthe organization.

The events of thegeneral council meetingwere covered by manylocal daily and also byelectronic media.

The following All Indiacouncilsmade donation tothe Special fund ofFMRAI:Franco GRL,Abbott (former Sarabhaicomponent), Dey'sMedical, Albert David,Win Medicare, BiochemLupin, Johnson&Johnson.

the interest Indianpopulace.

Leaders from othertrade unions like AIIEU,Central Government Co-ordination Committee andState Government Co-ordination committee alsogreeted the generalcouncil and wishedsuccess of the meeting.

In the businesssession, in the presidentialaddress, FMRAI'sPresident, R.Viswanathan dealt theinternational and nationalsituation elaborately as abackdrop of themovements and taskbefore the working class.

papers on organizationand on newer forms ofattacks were introducedfor discussion. All generalcouncil members, dividedin four groups, discussedboth the papersseparately in details, inaccordance with thedirection of the approachpaper. On Organization,details discussion tookplace on membership, onresponsibilities of thegeneral council members,on functioning of stateunits and sub units, oncouncil networking, onfunctioning of councilsubcommittees andresponsibilities of council

demonstrations, withvigour and enthusiasm,were organised, inRajasthan (RMSRU),Tamilnadu (TNMSRA),Seven North EasternStates (CRU), MadhyaPradesh and Chhattisgarh(MPM SRU), WestBengal(WBMSRU), Biharand Jharkhand (BSSRU),Odisha (OSRU),

Maharashtra (MSMRA),K e r a l a ( K M S R A ) ,Telengana (TMSRU)andP u n j a b ( P C M S R U ) .Further and detailedreports from many otherplaces are awaited.

For restoration ofillegally-ripped bilateralismand in retrieving thecollective bargaining right,for revocation of 54vindict ively-executed

transfers, againstconversion of salespromotion employees tosales executives inflagrant violation of law ,against unlawful changein service conditions,against non-revision ofVDA and non-payment ofLTA, against stoppage ofsalary and expenses,against false show cause,charge sheet and enquiry,field workers of SPIL arefighting tooth and nail

shoulder to shoulder withall section field workersorganised in all Indiacouncils .

In the meantime, TheSun Pharma sufferedanother major setback inthe legal front. FMRAIchallenged the illegal"Leave without Pay" in theIndustrial Court of Mumbaiand prayed for an interimorder. The Hon,bleIndustrial Court directedthe management to

deposit the deductedwages in the Court and willexamine the matter later

Prepared to make newhistory SPIL field workerswill go on strike for threedays in the month of April2017 and SPIL fieldworkers will March toMumbai and holddemonstration before theirhead office in July 2017.

The presentGovernment that vainlyboasts of curbing

corruption must act tostop the corrupt activitiesand anti-people policies ofthe Sun Pharma.However, field workersmovement will not takerest till this infamouspharma major iscompletely exposed.Union bashing and union-busting is a day-dream ofSun pharmamanagement; with duereciprocation it must bedefeated forthwith.

Big battle is onFrom page-1

FMRAI NEWS

Printed by Santanu Chattopadhyay, Published by Santanu Chattopadhyay on behalf of Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives’ Associations of India andprinted at Satyajug Employees Co-operative Industrial Society Ltd. 13 Prafulla Sarkar Street, Kolkata-700 072 and published at 60-A, Charu Avenue Kolkata-700 033

Editor : Santanu Chattopadhyay

Registration No. WBENG/2001/06430 Postal Registration No. KOL RMS/106/2016-2018

4

MARCH 2017

have agreed to undergo trainingon code of business conductthat shall not affect the serviceand working conditions. But whatis significant that, the settlementhas been arrived at withoutincorporation of the clause of

Wage settlementWage settlementWage settlementWage settlementWage settlementfrom page-1

'conflict of interest' whichmanagement insisted upon butunion declined. In all threesettlements management wasrepresented by Mr. R. Sridhar,Associate Director, Mr. T. K.Ramakrishnan, National SalesManager and Mr.VidyanandJoshi, Senior Manager H. R.

The 7th state councilconferences and conventionsof the councils of NewInitiative Group of companiesand that of other group ofcompanies having All IndiaCouncils were successfullyconducted in January andFebruary 2017 at Thrissur andErnakulam. Large number ofmembersattendedprogramme oneach day withgreatenthusiasmand spirit.Totalparticipation infour days was1682.

The jointsession ofBilateral groupof companieson January 22,was presidedover by K. V.Shaju,Secretary,KMSRA and was inauguratedby P. N. Subramanian,Secretary, FMRAI. Mohan. C.Nair, General Secretary,KMSRA and All IndiaConvener of Alkem, greetedthe gathering. T. G. Ajayan,Convener, State CouncilSubcommittee, madewelcome address. Vote ofthanks was delivered byThomas Mathew, Secretary,KMSRA.

Similar programme wasorganised on January 29, withthe councils of OSG Targetedand Set Back group ofcompanies. This session waspresided over by K. V. Shajuand inaugurated by P.Krishnanand, Joint General

7th council conference in KMSRARecord turnout

Secretary, KMSRA.Mohan.C.Nairgreeted thegathering and T.G.Ajayanmade deliberation to welcomethe gathering. Vote of thankswas delivered by Siva Kumar,State Council Core Committeemember.

In the session withcouncils of Fight for Right

group ofcompanies onFebruary 19,K. M.Surendran,President,KMSRA andVicePresident,FMRAIpresided over.RameshSundar,Secretary,FMRAI,inaugurated,Mohan. C. Nairgreeted and T.G. Ajayanwelcomed the

gathering while vote of thankswas delivered by Aneesh. P.Varghese, State Council CoreCommittee member.

The council conference ofNew Initiative group ofcouncils on February 26, thesession was presided overbyRama Varma Raja, ZonalSecretary, KMSRA and wasinaugurated by M.M.Haneefa,Joint General Secretary,KMSRA. Mohan. C. Nair,greeted the gathering and T.G. Ajayan briefed thegathering in his welcomeaddress. Vote of thanks wasdelivered by Biju StateCommittee member, KMSRA.

Council conference in Fight for right group of companies : KMSRA

R Viswanathan : Presidential address

Tapan Sen General Secretary CITU addressing

CUTTACK G.C.M.

Cuttack GCM : Commission in Session

General Council Members in the G.C.M.

FMRAI had beendemanding of the centralgovernment to check therobbery of the stent marketingcompanies by capping i tsprice based on manufacturingcost. In the coronary stentmarket, there are five /sixplayers who have the totalcontrol. They used to sell theirproducts at a price set bythem as per their wi l l .Literally, it was some sort ofextortion from a person introuble. FMRAI took up theissue with the centralgovernment, made severaldeputations to the ministry,organised protest andultimately on 3rd February,2017, resorted to a day'sstrike on the issue of cappingof price of medicine andmedical devices like stentsand pacemakers. Ultimately,the NPPA has been forced toregulate the price of coronarystents, bringing i t underDPCO vide an order dated13th February, 2017. It is notthe good wishes of Modiji, asbeing claimed in theadvertisement in the newspapers. It is victory of FMRAIbecause the struggle ofFMRAI has given relief to thepatients of coronary arteryblock.FMRAI greets al lmembers for their support inthe movement, carried out forcapping of stent price.

It is reported that as afallout of regulator's move tocap prices of coronary stents,M/S Abbott , big player in thismarket has withdrawn all bio-resorbable and drug elutingstents from the market inMumbai, for the reason bestknown to them, which resultedall angioplasties in Mumbaion hold. Hundreds of patientsare in queue for angioplasty,family members are runningfrom one hospital to another.Let us see what action ourgovernment takes againstAbbott, a giant MNC, forplaying with the lives of ourcountrymen.

GovernmentSubmits

to PopularDemand :

stent pricereduced

In a report submitted byBritish Medical Journal, thatmultinational company, AbbottIndia has been accused forpushing its untested drugSurbex Star to the patientsthrough organizing medicalcamps.

The report also said, thecompany's sales persons ormedical representativesscreened and tested thepatients who came to thecamps.

Pushing of untested drugs

Abbott India accused for pushing untested Drugto the patients is a criminaloffence. In a country like India,where the government isceremoniously welcoming theMNCs in Indian Pharmamarket to plunder the country,who is going to punish thecriminals? The MNCs and theirIndian associates are bendinglaw of the land openly and thegovernment is turning away itsface from that. Manycompanies are conductingcamps in the doctors'chamber. The poor medical

representatives are forced toconduct the tests like BloodSugar, Hemoglobin,respiratory tests and manyothers without having any legalcertificate and the companiesare giving them the target ofprescriptions to be procuredfrom these camps. Theseactivities are not under salespromotion and are not the dutyof a sales promotionemployee; still under threatand duress the managements

See page-2