EDITORIAL POSTAL
CRUSADER-JUNE-2013
GDS – CONFRONTATION
INEVITABLE
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 in the Department of Posts.
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 has chosen
the nomenclature as Grameen Daks Sevaks not as Karmachari and not accorded the
civil servant status for all purposes.
The GDS Rules were
subsequently amended in 2001 and 2011 and made the GDS as holder of Civil Post
"outside the civil service" categorically with the fixed definition
that they should not be equated with the regular Government servants and applied
only to the Disciplinary rules which is also not a statutory one. They have
been denied the prorate wages at par with the Departmental employees. The pay
has been termed as Time Related Continuity Allowance (TRCA). All the positive
recommendations of Justice Talwar Committee were buried and cemented after the
implementation of Natarajamuthy Committee. Even the pro rata to the minimum of
the Government scale has not been ensured to the existing GDS and there is a
heavy loss to all the GDS after the implementation of his report.
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.
