RESOLUTION ADOPTED IN IST ALL INDIA CONVENTION AT TIRUPATHY
13TH & 14TH NOVEMBER 2011.
HISTORY OF CASUAL LABOUR SYSTEM IN DEPARTMENT OF POSTS OUR TASK.
The system of engaging casual labour is in existence in the dept since undivided P & T department. Due to many struggles by the then NFPTE organizationally and legally in the year 1987 Honorable Supreme Court intervened and gave a land mark judgment on how wages are to be paid and regularization has to be made. Basing on that department of personal & training issued orders. Even before the judgment DOPT issued orders vide OM no 49014/18/84-esstt (C) dated 7-5-85 for one time relaxation to absorb casual labour against regular group D vacancies even though they were not recruited through employment exchange and also made it clear that future engagement should be through employment exchange only. In spite of this engagement of new casual labours is continued with out adhering to the conditions laid down by the DOPT.
After the supreme court verdict department of posts issued an order vide no 65-24/88-spb I dated 17-5-89 declaring all mazdoors, casual labours, contingent paid staff daily wager, daily rated mazdoor and outsiders are to be treated as casual labours. It was clarified in the same order that those who work for not less than 8 hours a day are full time casual labours and those who work less than 8 hours are part time casual labours. These casual labours will have priority in absorption as group D after the non test category group D and extra dept agents. The eligibility criterion was fixed as 240 days engagement in a year for full time casual labours and 480 days engagement in 2 years for part time casual labours. In spite of this orders the regularization of full time and part time casual labors was not done in many divisions.
The issue of regularization of full time casual labours as group D was a demand fought by the P&T trade union movement i.e. NFPTE for a long time. The dept of posts again issued an order called as ''grant of temporary status and regularization scheme" in the year 2001. The scope was further increased vide orders dated 1-11-95 extending the eligibility date from 29-11-85 to 10-9-93. After granting temporary status and working for 3 years in that status they will be treated on par with temporary group D even though group 'D' posts are not in existence.
The Para 1 of the dept of posts orders dated 12-4-91 states that temporary status would be conferred on those who have rendered continuous service of at least one year with 240 days (206 days in administrative offices) is taken as one time measure by the authorities to deny other casual labors who complete this conditions as and when they could get 240 days of engagement in a year subsequent to issue of these orders. This interpretation is arbitrary and unjustified. Because of this interpretation thousands of full time /part time casual labors who have completed this condition in subsequent years are not allowed to be conferred the temporary status and the consequential benefits due to lack of vacancies even though temporary status was conferred they could not be regularized. As per the earlier orders of the dept of posts the part time casual labours who have rendered 480 days in 2 years are to be converted into full time casual labours. This benefit is taken away by the dept in the subsequent orders there by they were denied of temporary status and consequent benefits. But dept of telecommunications extended the scheme and implemented in 1997 but similar extension is not allowed in the dept of posts so far even though both are under the same ministry of communication and IT.
Subsequently Honorable CAT Hyderabad in OA no 389 delivered judgment to grant temporary status to all those FTCLs who completed 240 in a year and PTCLs who completed 480 days in 2 years. But dept approached Honorable Ap High Court and the High Court upheld the decision of the honorable CAT in its judgment on 8th September 2010 by dismissing their writ petition filed by the dept. but till date the same is not been implemented resulting in compulsion on the casual labors to file contempt of court suite. After filing contempt of court suit hurriedly department approached hon'ble supreme court and filed SLP WHICH WAS DISALLOWED by the apex court. After such hectic continued process only department granted temporary status to those employees who won the case. This clearly shows how department is adamant towards casual labor working in the department and dealing the issue of casual labours.
Wages : As per the directions of the honorable supreme court vide its verdict in 1987 the wages of part time/ full time casual labour are to be revised from 1-1-2006 i.e. from the date of effect of implementation of 6th pay commission report to regular employees. But orders were issued for revision of wages of casual labours that were conferred with temporary status but even though a long gap is there orders were not issued in respect of full / part time casual labours. in some circles even payment of DA to the contingent employees on pre revised wages which was paid regularly was stopped in the name of clarification from directorate. Payment of arrears file is tossing from one section to other on the plea of not receiving the information from circles.
Instead of issuing orders for revision of wages all of a sudden one order were issued to all cpm'sg to out source these cadres. This is nothing but violation of fundamental rights given by the constitution of India and naked violation of honorable apex court full bench judgment. Against this immediately NFPE responded and gave a programme of call attention day on 10-2-2011 and chelo cpmg office on 03-03-2011. Directorate issued modification order restricting this to only administrative offices. On the immediate intervention of NFPE only this was stopped.
Daily rated mazdoors: a new section of casual employment called as daily rated mazdoors came into existence in the department of posts. They are employed in mail business centers i.e. almost in every mail offices and for clearing the arrears of data entry. They are attending to the duties of Pas and SAs i.e. sorting of letters, booking of speed post articles and data entry. No uniform procedure is being followed through out the country in respect of their wages. A uniform rate has to be fixed through out the country.
Keeping in view the above situation the FOLLOWING DEMANDS are to be highlighted for early settlement along with the issue of implementation of revised wages from 1-1-2006
DEMANDS
1] REGULARISE ALL PART TIME,FULL TIME CASUAL LABOURERS AND GRANT ALL benefits INCLUDING PENSION AND ENSURE JOB SECURITY TO ALL EXISTING CASUAL, CONTINGENT & CONTRACT WORKERS.
2] Revision of wages of all full time / part time casual labours and payment of arrears from 1-1-2006.
3] The condition of 1-9-93 in respect of FTCL / PTCL for absorption against the vacancies of MTS has to be removed keeping in view the AP HIGH COURT judgment which stated clearly that all PART TIME CASUAL LABOURS WHO WORKED FOR 480 DAYS IN TWO YEARS SHOULD BE TREATED AS TEMPORARY STATUS CASUAL LABOUR FOR THE PURPOSE OF ABSORPTION WITH OUT ANY CONDITIONS THOSE WORKING UPTO 2010.
4] Fixing of uniform rates to daily rated mazdoors who are attending to the duties of PA /SA on the minimum of their pay.
5] Ftcl/ptcls are to be given priority against gds vacancies before giving open notification honoring the assurance given by the department at the time of discussions on strike charter.
6] All the posts of PT CONTINGENT be converted as GDS and the present employees working in those posts may be absorbed as one time measure to settle the issue permanently.
7] No new casual labor be engaged further and no out sourcing in the department.
8] ISSUE OF IDENTITY CORDS TO ALL THE CASUAL LABOURS
9] REVISION OF HOURLY RATE OF SHORT DUTY STAFF ON PAR WITH 6TH PAY COMMISSION WAGES
The number of casual workers is increasing day by day due to the policy of privatization in every sector including central govt organizations. It is the duty of the organized working class to organize these sections and bring them into the working class movement. Confederation of central govt employees and NFPE took a decision to form casual labours union. Still many circles are lagging behind in forming state level organizations. Till now in west Bengal Andhra Pradesh Kerala and UTTARANCHAL circles state level units were formed. In some circles like Tamilnadu efforts are going on. Nfpe federal executive decided to conduct ALL INDIA CONVENTION at TIRUPATHY to form ALL INDIA UNION. Accordingly all India union was formed today in this convention with the name as "ALL INDIA POSTAL CASUAL, PART TIME, CONTINGENT & CONTRACT WORKERS FEDERATION" so that the process of forming state level committees will be speeded up and the most down trodden will be brought under the banner of NFPE. Unless circle unions of nfpe took steps effectively the task will not be completed. Hence all the circle co ordination committees of the circles are requested to take it as a serous task and circle unions may be formed and brought under the banner of THIS FEDERATION to strngthen the working class movement in DEPARTMENT OF POSTS.
Without fulfilling this task we cannot achieve the objective of united strength in postal wing which is the only way for settlement of demands of entire postal workers.
Casual Labor Union Zindabad
Nfpe Zindabad
Workers Unity Zindabad
--
M.Krishnan
Secretary General
