EDITORIAL POSTAL CRUSADER-JUNE-2013
Even
after 65 years of independence, “ED System”, one of the legacies of the
British Raj, with three lakhs work force is being continued, carried
forward, and entrenched as the system of cheap labour and exploitation
by the Government of India in the Department of Posts.
The
Extraneous Departmental Agents which was the nomenclature of the GDS
during the British regime and equated with the Government employees
became the "extras" of the Department after independence. Justice Talwar
declared that they are holders of Civil Posts as per the Supreme Court
Judgment and should be called as Grameen Dak Karmachari with
departmental status. But the Government of India has
chosen the nomenclature as Grameen Daks Sevaks not as Karmachari and
not accorded the civil servant status for all purposes.
The
GDS Rules were subsequently amended in 2001 and 2011 and made the GDS
as holder of Civil Post "outside the civil service" categorically with
the fixed definition that they should not be equated with the regular
Government servants and applied only to the Disciplinary rules which is
also not a statutory one. They have been denied the prorate wages at par
with the Departmental employees. The pay has been termed as Time
Related Continuity Allowance (TRCA). All the positive recommendations of
Justice Talwar Committee were buried and cemented after the
implementation of Natarajamuthy Committee. Even the pro rata to the
minimum of the Government scale has not been ensured to the existing GDS
and there is a heavy loss to all the GDS after the implementation of
his report.
The
GDS is now equated with the part time workers like Anganwadi workers.
Their status has been lowered. The rules were modified to deny
everything to this exploited category further. The protection of TRCA
which was in existence since 1970s was taken back. The recruitment rules
for postmen and MTS were amended deleting the provisions of seniority
selection among GDS and introduction of open market recruitment. The
combination of duty is the order of the day. The conditions put forth
for filling up the vacant GDS posts will never allow to fill up the
posts regularly. The medical benefits have not been implemented.
The
Bonus which was granted at par with Departmental employees was snatched
away and files were constructed in such way to deny all the benefits to
GDS permanently. There is a
clear discrimination between the regular and GDS officials and they lost
many things. Protection of pay granted in 1986 was frozen. Now after
one year there is no protection and the reduction will take place. Bonus
ceiling reduced to Rs.2500 from Rs.3500. The GDS workload norms were
tightened. The vacant GDS posts have not been filled up. The
indiscriminate combination of duties is the order of the day and there
is no pro-rata wages to GDS as per the Sixth CPC. The 100% promotional
avenues enshrined for the GDS in MTS and Postmen recruitment rules were
modified and open market recruitment is resorted to. The relaxation of
standard in the question papers has been withdrawn and now tightened
with the pattern of CBSE Xth standard resulting many vacancies were not
filled up and will go to the open market, thus the GDS will be deprived
of fair chances.
The economic development during the six decades as a whole in the
nation in general and in the villages in particular has brought several
modern changes in the livelihood of the common man in the country. His
needs and wants have been upgraded. The Department of Posts is
considered as the most useful vehicle to reach out to all those common
men in the country for delivering the packages of different Ministries,
departments of Government and for State Governments.
The most important products of Postal Life Insurance and Rural Postal
Life Insurance are getting introduced to the general public through
these Grameen Dak Sewaks and these sections of the Postal Workers are
the mainstay in the business development of these products in the
present competitive insurance sector. There are multifarious products
and works that are being carried out by these Grameen Dak Sewaks and it
is beyond doubt that the scope of business among the crores of rural
population wholly dependent on these segments of Postal Workers. Such a
vital section of Postal Employees is being treated as non-regular
Government Employees by the Government is nothing but naked exploitation
for the purpose of denying legitimate dues to them.
This
NFPE appeals the Government to implement the Justice Talwar Committee
recommendations at least on civil servant status to the GDS as it is
categorical in its recommendations that ED Employees are to be treated
as Civil Servants for all purposes and that all perks, privileges and
benefits are to be extended as like the other regular Government
Employees.
The
NFPE calls upon the Government of India to change its mind-set on the
system of ED employees or Grameen Dak Sewaks from that of non-regular
exploitative cheap labour system into the system of regular departmental
employees and that a methodology should be construed to departmentalize
all the existing GDS within a time frame.
The
NFPE also notes with concern that the stand taken by the Postal
bureaucracy in the aftermath of formation of 6th CPC to deny stoutly
either to remit the consideration of pay revision of three lakhs of GDS
to the 6th CPC or to constitute a Pay Body headed by a Justice as like
Justice Talwar had led to the formation of a retired officer headed
committee called the Nataraja Murthy Committee that loaded its
recommendations with a lot of anti-GDS character to snatch away several
existing benefits like pro-rata wages on par with comparable
departmental cadres as well as the parity in bonus ceiling quantum etc.
This
NFPE urge upon the Government that as observed by the 4th CPC it is the
prerogative of the Pay Commissions to go into the issues of GDS also
instead of forming any separate committees for these category of
employees in the Department of Posts and hence the pay revision issue of
three lakhs of GDS shall be remitted to the 7th CPC on its formation.
Notwithstanding
such a revision of wages for the GDS through the 7th CPC, NFPE resolves
to urge upon the Government to modify its retrograde stand of rejecting
parity on bonus ceiling to GDS with all other sections of workers and
employees under the Bonus Act and reducing the bonus ceiling from 3500/-
to 2500/- in an arbitrary way based on the reactionary recommendation
of the Nataraja Murthy Committee and come forward to remove this
discrimination immediately.
NFPE
urge upon the Government to direct the Authorities of Department of
Posts to have a thorough discussion with the Federations and GDS Unions
on all other issues of GDS and in particular the 32 charter of demands
formulated by the AIPEU GDS (NFPE), the associated member of the NFPE
including the time factor, the changing of Recruitment Rules of Postman
and MTS that contains clauses against the interests of GDS as well as
modifying the Conduct and Disciplinary Rules on par with the regular
employees in every respect.
National
Federation of Postal Employees also resolves to launch a powerful
movement and consistent struggle along with the affiliated unions of the
National Federation of Postal Employees for the settlement of all
justified demands of three lakhs of GDS if the Department of Posts and
the Government of India fail to redress the basic issues of this section
of employees within a justified time frame.
NFPE
Further like to make clear that in case the Government continuous its
negative attitude towards GDS and refuse to include GDS under the
purview of the 7th CPC
the entirety of the Postal and RMS employees including GDS shall go on
indefinite strike till the realization of the demands. NFPE calls upon
the postal and RMS employees including GDS to be ready for such an
action if situation warrants.
SOURCE: http://aipeup3tn.blogspot.in/
THANKS
nfpe gpo
