DEPARTMENTALIZATION OF GDS -
VIABLE
Com. P. Pandurangarao, General
Secretary, AIPEU GDS (NFPE) presented a Memorandum to Hon’ble Minster of Communications
Sri. Sachin Pilot, on 16.05.2012, demanding Departmentalization of GDS
The full contents of the memorandum is reproduced
hereunder for the consumption of all viewers.
MEMORANDUM
SUBMITTED TO HON’BLE STATE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS
With due respects and regards, We the All India Postal Employees Union –
GDS (NFPE) is submitting the following issues for your kind and sympathetic
consideration and favourable decision in mitigating the genuine demands the
downtrodden and poor GDS employees working in the Department of Posts.
1. DEPARTMENTALISATION OF RURAL POST OFFICES AND ALSO GRAMIN DAK SEVAKS:
The Supreme Court in its judgement delivered on 22.07.1977 held that the
ED employee is not an agent, not a casual labourer, and not a part time worker
but he is the holder of civil post outside the regular civil service and therefore
declared that Article 311(2) of the constitution of India is attracted.Except
conduct and service and application of disciplinary provisions, no other
benefits available to the Departmental employees are extended to the ED
employees. The question of departmentalisation of ED agents remains pending for
long and is denied continuously on one pretext or the other.
In the present set up of the social - economic structure of rural areas,
the daily wage for an agricultural labourer has been fixed much above the daily
rate of an ED agent. Resultantly, the ED employees are not able to meet the
family expenses and have one square meal a day.
The declaration of Justice Talwar that “95.70% joined the Postal
Department as ED agents hoping to get full time absorption and only 4.08% took
it as a side occupation is the real fact still prevailing and they are solely
depending upon their wages for their livelihood”. In rural areas, still many of
them are underpaid and lesser in the standard of living while comparing the
NREGS beneficiaries.
With the hope of departmentalization at one day, they are prolonging
their life with more expectation of their future. Their hopes can be considered
by introducing various new services in the rural areas with the cooperation's
of the Human resource ministry and other developmental activities.
The Post office alone has such a vast network and infrastructure and it
can be fully utilized by providing various new services to rural public through
post offices by its own saving bank scheme to distribute the Govt welfare
measures as if we are doing under the NREGIS Scheme.
We may attempt with the following to provide more services to public as
well as departmentalise all the existing BOs.
1. The works like pension
payment, sale of certificates, direct booking of money orders, SB operations
with maintenance of independent ledgers may be assigned to the departmentalized
branch office so that the existing branch postmasters will be with entrusted
more work.
2. If the proposal of
full computerization of BOs is materialised in the ensuing year as proposed,
there is every possibility for introducing all kinds of bill works like
acceptance of Electricity bills, land revenue, panchayat taxes etc., under the
business activities of the Postal department or tie up with such governmental
organizations.
3. Large scale expansion
of telecom can be explored through the branch offices and acceptance of all
telephone bills, mobile bills may be entrusted. The Department of Posts may
also consider in taking licences for running telecom services in rural areas
with subsidiary rates to cater the requirement of rural public as if in vogue
in many foreign countries.
4. Since all the BOs are
proposed to be provided with computers and decided to introduce various new
services, it is possible to maintain the following works also in the BOs very
efficiently with the manpower available in abundance.
a) Collection, maintenance and modifications of any of the work related
to census in rural areas.
b) Maintenance, Verification and preservation of records pertaining to
the Citizens identity card issued by the Govt of India directly by the Dept of
post.
c) Extension of MG NREGS work through post offices by providing work
norms for the work instead of incentive as at present extended.
d) Enhance the working hours for eight hours and introduce various new
works at village level with the cooperation of other Govt and public sector
organizations.
e) Ensuring that all various new schemes introduced by the Govt as
policies will be reached to the village level through our network spread over
the nation.
It is pertinent to mention that there are more than 10% of the existing
BOS having the work load for more than five hours. In accordance with Marathe
time test under para 93 (iv) and para 114 (i) if a single handed post office is
having 11 hours’ workload, the second PA can be augmented. On the similar
analogy such BOs having more than five hours workload can be straight away
departmentalized. Further whenever any vacancy arises in the GDS cadre, the
duties can be merged for making the office as a departmental office. The
recommendations of the Justice Talwar Committee to freeze the GDS system in
order to departmentalize all the existing GDS should be given a due
consideration.
In order to departmentalize the GDS, the department should consider for
fixing the norms for the following works immediately.
1. Work related to NREGIS payment.
2. Work related to verification of Electrol& Election work.
3. Work related to collecting statistics for census etc.
4. Work related to verification of mobile phone connections of BSNL
& others.
5. Work related to acceptance of Electricity bills, water bills &
telephone bills.
6. Work related to business activities, social security schemes
introduced in various circles.
If time factors for all the work performed by the GDS is formulated,
certainly it will pave way for the regularization of many GDS who are actually
working for more than six hours but not availed the benefits of
departmentalization. We don't want any incentives or perks denying our
regularization.
The Honble Minister of Communications & IT Sri Kapil Sibil has
sought the department about the feasibility of regularization of all the GDS
and to departmentalise all the BOs for which the department has furnished that
it will cost some exorbitant amount. We sincerely place our abundant thanks and
respects on record to the Minister's desire to departmentalize the GDS and his
initiatives but as usual the blocks were placed without really considering the
realities and the position existed at field level.
If all the GDS are departmentalized by scrapping the existing GDS system
with eight hours work and each official is assigned with various new works to
improve the functioning of rural post offices in order to make it more
remunerative, that will overcome the financial problem. This vast
infrastructure will really be an invaluable asset to the department in this era
of e-commerce and e-governance and not at all a liability. If post offices are
kept open for more hours by introducing more new items of work, there is every
possibility of increasing the workload.
We further express our sincere gratitude to the Hon’ble Minister for the
positive steps being initiated by the department with regard to (i) full
protection of TRCA (ii) revising the cash handling norms (iii) with drawl of
25% outside recruitment condition in Postman cadre (iv) relaxing the conditions
for compassionate appointment (v) parity in bonus ceiling. We hope that
positive orders will be issued in all the issues raised by us earlier.
It is humbly requested to kindly consider the above and cause action to
departmentalise the rural post offices and improve the rural postal network.
Dated – 16.05.2012
Place – New Delhi
(P.PANDURANGARAO)
GENERAL SECRETARY
Comrade Nani Banerjee Passes Away
COM. NANI
DA NO MORE
VERY SAD
NEWS
OUR
GREAT VETERAN LEADER OF P&T TRADE UNION MOVEMENT COM. NANI BANERJEE, AGED
82 YEARS , EX. TREASURER AND EX. DY. GENERAL SECRETARY AIPEU GROUP ‘C’
CHQ EXPIRED TODAY DATED 21ST MAY,
2012, MORNING AT KOLKATA AFTER PROLONG ILLNESS.
HE WAS
VERY DEVOTED AND COMMITTED LEADER OF WORKING CLASS MOVEMENT FOR FIVE DECADES.
THIS IS AN IRREPARABLE LOSS TO THE TRADE UNION MOVEMENT NFPE CONVEYS HEARTFELT
CONDOLENCES AND DIPS ITS BANNER IN HIS HONOUR AND MEMORY. RED SALUTES TO COM.
NANI DA.
