“THE MORNING SHALL SURELY
COME, THE DARKNESS WILL VANISH.
WHERE THE MIND IS WITHOUT
FEAR AND HEAD IS HELD HIGH ……
=Gitanjali,Rabindranath Tagore
CLASS ORIENTED MILITANT
STRUGGLE OF THREE LAKHS GRAMIN DAK SEVAKS
“CHANGE THE POLICY OR WE SHALL
CHANGE THE GOVERNMENT”
M.Krishnan
Secretary
General, Confederation
Ex-Secretary
General, NFPE
The unprecedented strike of three lakhs Gramin Dak Sevaks
of Postal department will enter the 14th day on Monday. Functioning
of rural postal services has come to a
grinding halt. Out of 1,55,000 Post offices, 1,29,500 rural Post offices are
completely shut down. GDS are not demanding to give them the “Moon” from the
sky. They are demanding their legitimate wage revision. If 32 lakhs departmental
employees wage revision can be implemented within eight months after submission
of Seventh CPC report, why the unjustified delay of eighteen months for
implementation of wage revision of only three lakhs low-paid GDS employees? Why
lamenting about the deficit of the department only when GDS wage revision comes?
Are GDS responsible for the deficit? No, not at all.
Postal “Gods” and Central Government are in deep slumber
for eighteen months, when poor GDs are waiting..waiting..and waiting. The strike
is a natural outburst of pentup discontentment and anger of the marginalized
section after desperately waiting for long. Then suddenly the sleeping ‘Gods’
wokeup. Appeal after appeal started pouring in all languages just like
distributing chocolates to lure children. But 96% of GDS stood united and
continued their struggle. They declared they will not surrender their
self-respect and prestige, evenif they and their families are made to starve or
die by prolonging the strike.
They know, many had lost their lives and many sacrificed
before our country got freedom. Mahatmaji had told the Britishers “you can kill me, but you can not make me
surrender”.
They know, many had lost their lives and many sacrificed
before the most dreaded “apartheid” system is legally banned and abolished in
South Africa. Nelson Mandela has taught them “never to give up or surrender”.
They know, many had lost their lives and many sacrificed
before the “slave system” is legally abolished in United States. Martin Luther
King had told them “I have a dream”
and his dream had come true later.
GDS system is a “beggar system”and nothing but slavery and
bonded labour. This heroic struggle of GDS will definitely mark the beginning
of the end of this slave system which is a “black mark in the face of Indian
democracy”. Those GDS and departmental employees (though in some states only)
who participated in this historic struggle for emancipation of the most down
trodden section of the society will be remembered for ever in the history and their
sacrifice will never go in vain.
Those Government’s supporters in the bureaucracy are
propagating that GDS unions have committed a great mistake and unpardonable
crime by going on an “untimely” indefinite strike, that too all the four Unions
together. We have only to remind them the old saying “when a beggar come to
your house, you need not give money to him if you don’t like, but please don’t
unleash your dogs to bite him”. Let the
GDS fight for their own destiny. Government may allow their right or not. This
struggle is not the end of history. As long as injustice and discrimination are
there, strikes and protests will emerge again and again like phoenix bird from the ashes.
Now the ball is in the court of the Government and Postal
Department. It is they to decide how to play. What is wrong in inviting the GDS
unions for negotiation and in reaching an honourable settlement, instead of
distributing pamphlet type appeals one after another? What is the mindset of
the top bureaucracy of the Postal Board? Are they thinking like olden days
feudal landlords and expecting the GDS Union leaders “to obey them and not to
question them”. Sorry, they are thoroughly mistaken and they should understand
the writings on the wall. Only mutual trust and goodwill can build confidence
in the mind of striking GDS and that can only lead to an amicable settlement.
We hope that good sense will prevail upon the powers-that-be.
We want to make it clear that any attempt to break or crush the strike by
attempting to victimization or any other coercive methods will only complicate
the situation and the entire Central Government Employees will be forced to
come out to defend and protect the striking GDS at any cost.
