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
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
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question papers has been withdrawn and now tightened with the pattern of CBSE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.
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