AIPEU-GDS(NFPE) RESOLUTION ON GDS ISSUES - PROPOSED & ADOPTED IN 24th ALL INDIA CONFERENCE OF CCGEW

The following Resolution has been proposed and adopted unanimously in the 24th National Conference of Central Govt. Employees & Workers held from 4th to 6th May 2013 in Kolkata. 

RESOLUTION ON DEPARTMENTALISATION OF GRAMEEN DAK SEWAKS AND OTHER ISSUES.

             This 24^th National Conference of the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers looks with shame that even after 65 years of independence, “ED System”, one of the legacies of the British Raj, is continued, carried forward, and entrenched as a system of cheap labour and exploitation by the Government of India in the Department of Posts. 

              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 up dated. 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 important products of Postal Life Insurance and Rural Postal Life Insurance are getting introduced to the general public through these erstwhile ED Employees, now renamed as “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 segment 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 All India Conference notes that Justice Talwar Committee constituted by the Government at the time of 5^th CPC had 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 but the recommendation was summarily rejected by the Government due to its traditional bias against the ED Employees. 

          This All India Conference of Confederation of CG Employees and Workers resolves to urge 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.

           This 24^th National Conference also notes with concern that the stand taken by the Postal bureaucracy in the aftermath of formation of 6^th CPC to deny stoutly either to remit the consideration of pay revision of three lakhs of GDS to the  6^th 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 prorate wages on par with comparable departmental cadres as well as the parity in bonus ceiling quantum etc. 

            This All India Conference therefore resolves to urge upon the Government that as observed by the 4^th 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 7^th CPC on its formation.

           Pending such a revision of wages for the GDS through the 7^th CPC, this All India Conference of Confederation 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.

             This National Conference of Confederation of CG Employees also resolves to 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 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.

              This National Conference of Confederation of CG Employees & Workers also resolves to launch a powerful movement and consistent struggle along with 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 these section of employees within a justified time frame.

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