Spiraling Unemployment :

 Reliable estimates of employment and unemployment are obtained through quinquennial labour force surveys conducted by National Sample Survey Office.  Last   such survey was conducted during 2009-10. As per results of these surveys, unemployment rates estimated on usual status basis during 1993-94 to 2009-10  are given below:

Unemployment Rates (as % of labour force)

Period	Rural			Urban
	Male	Female	Persons	Male	Female	Persons
1993-94	1.4	0.8	1.2	4.0	6.2	4.5
1999-00	1.7	1.0	1.5	4.5	5.7	4.7
2004-05	1.6	1.8	1.7	3.8	6.9	4.5
2009-10	1.6	1.6	1.6	2.8	5.7	3.4

                Government have taken several steps to reduce unemployment in the country.  The focus is on creation of productive employment at a faster pace in order to raise incomes of masses to bring about a general improvement in their living conditions. The job opportunities are created on account of growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), investment in infrastructure development, growth in exports, etc.  Government of India has also been implementing various employment generation programmes, such as, Swarana Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY); Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP); Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) besides entrepreneurial development programmes run by the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.

                The Minister of Labour and Employment Shri Mallikarjun Kharge  gave this information in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

Source : PIB Release, August 2, 2011

Scheme for engagement of GDS on compassionate grounds – Merit points and procedure for selection – revised provisions thereof :

No. 17-17/2010-GDS

Government of India

Ministry of Communications & IT

Department of Posts

(GDS Section)

Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg.

New Delhi-110116

Dated: 01 Aug 2011

                Chief Postmaster General

Postmaster General

General Manager (Finance)

Director of Account (Postal.)

Subject :                Scheme for engagement of GDS on compassionate grounds – Merit points and procedure for selection – revised provisions thereof  

                Attention of all concerned is invited to this Directorate letter of even number dated 14 Dec 2010 under which the scheme for engagement of GDS on compassionate grounds with merit points & procedure for selection was circulated and made effective for all the compassionate engagement cases to be considered on or after 01.01.2011

2.             The Scheme has recently been reviewed in this Directorate and in partial modification to the existing provisions contained in Para 7 of the Scheme, the following revised provisions may be substituted:-

(a)       The existing ceiling of 10% is removed. All requests for compassionate engagement would be considered by the Circle Relaxation Committee on application of the relative merit points prescribed in this Directorate letter dated 14.12. 2010 in hard and deserving cases only subject to availability of the vacancy for the purpose & fulfillment of the terms and conditions of the GDS post. The term "hard and deserving cases" would mean cases over and above 50 merit points.

(b)         All cases that are more than 5 years old or in which there is/are earning members(s) in the joint families hithertofare considered initially by the Circle Relaxation Committee and prescribed to be referred to this Directorate for approval would also be decided by the Circle Relaxation Committee concerned without further reference to this Directorate.

(c)          All other provisions contained in the Scheme dated 14.12. 2010 shall continue to apply as already prescribed and all compassionate engagement shall be approved within the ambit of the prescribed Scheme only.

3.             The revised provisions shall take effect from the date of application of the original Scheme. However, no past case decided in accordance with the original scheme prior to issue of this order shall be reopened. All cases lying undecided for whatever reasons may be decided only by the Circle Relaxation Committee without any further reference to this Directorate.

                                                                                                                                               

Sd/

(Surender Kumar)

Asst. Director General (GDS)

Black Money through Child Labour :

                 As per Census 2001 figures there were 1.26 crore working children in the country in the age group of 5-14. As per the Survey conducted by National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in 2004-05, the number of working children in the country were estimated as 90.75 lakh.

No such report has been received in the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India.

              The Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986, prohibits employment of children below the age of 14 years in 18 occupations and 65 processes. Any person who employs a child in any occupation or process where employment of children is prohibited under the Act, is liable for punishment with imprisonment for term which shall not be less than 3 months but which may extend to one year or with fine ranging from Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 20,000/-. For the rehabilitation of Child Labour, Government is implementing National Child Labour Project (NCLP) scheme in 266 districts in 20 States. Under the NCLP scheme children withdrawn from work are admitted into the special schools where they are provided with bridging education, vocational training, stipend, health care and mainstreamed to the regular education system.

             The Minister of Labour and Employment Shri Mallikarjun Kharge gave this information in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

Source : PIB Release, August 2, 2011

All India Services (Death-Cum-Retirement Benefits) Amendment Rules, 2011.

To see the complete Gazette Notification dated 28th July, 2011 issued by DoP&T, please click on :http://persmin.gov.in/WriteReadData/CircularPortal/D2/D02ser/24012_10_2010-AIS-II-28072011.pdf

Lift of Circle Office not functioning for last 6 months - No result in spite of discussion with the Staff Side :

Source: The Dharitri, July 30, 2011

Procurement of 4 nos of Symantee 5 User Server Pack anti virus for use in 20 POs in Bhubaneswar Division :

Department of Posts, India

O/o the Sr. Supdt of Post Offices

Bhubaneswar Division, Bhubaneswar-751009

No. Comp/101-1/11                                                                                               Dated at Bhubaneswar-9 the 29.7.2011

To               

                M/S Excel Computer and Services

N 1/286, IRC Village,Near Eyzytech

Nayapalli,Bhubaneswar-751015

Sub:        Procurement of 4 nos of Symantee 5 User Server Pack anti virus .

Ref:         Your quotation no. Nil dtd 12.5.2011 and this office supply order dated 10.6.2011

Sir,

                Please install the above anti virus in the computers of the following offices by 10.8.2011 and submit the installation report of the post offices for further course of action at this end.

Sl No	Name of the Office	Manner
1	Bhubaneswar -2 MDG	Managed
2	Utkal University MDG	Managed
3	Ashok Nagar MDG	Managed
4	Saheed Nagar MDG	Managed
5	Nimapada MDG	Un-Managed
6	Baramunda Colony	Managed
7	Budheswari	Managed
8	Rasulgarh	Managed
9	CRP Line	Managed
10	Nayapally	Managed
11	IRC Village	Managed
12	Baragada Brit Colony	Managed
13	Aerodrum Area	Managed
14	Bhoi Nagar	Managed
15	S.E.Rly Colony	Managed
16	Pipili	Un-Managed
17	Kakatpur	Managed
18	Konark	Managed
19	Nayahat	Managed
20	Surya Nagar	Managed

Thanking you.

                                                                                                                                 Yours faithfully,

                                                                                                                       (A.K.Nayak)

Sr. Supdt. of Post Offices

Bhubaneswar Division

Bhubaneswar-751009

Copy to:

1. the Post Masters/SPMs of above offices for information. They are requested to co-operate the firm in installing the anti virus in the computers. They are also requested to give a certificate that the anti virus has been uploaded successfully in the computers.

2.Sri B.P.Panda for information with reference to his letter dated 25.7.2011.He is requested to Co operate and guide  the firm in installing the antivirus.

Sr. Supdt. of Post Offices

Bhubaneswar Division

Bhubaneswar-751009

NATIONAL SECRETARIAT OF CONFEDERATION HELD IN CHENNAI :

NATIONAL SECRETARIAT OF CONFEDERATION HELD TO TAKE IMPORTANT DECISIONS

NATIONAL WOMEN SUB COMMITTEE OF CONFEDERATION ALSO HELD IN CHENNAI

Dear Comrades!

 Confederation's National Secretariat Meeting was  held in Chennai City [Tamilnadu] on 29th July, 2011. Tamilnadu State Committee of Confederation had made excellent arrangements for the conduct of the Secretariat Meeting. Along with the Secretariat, the National Women Sub Committee of Confederation also had its session. The Circular containing the details of the Secretariat Meeting and the Women Committee meeting is  placed hereunder for the information of all Affiliates - SG Confederation.

 Conf/15/2011                                                                                        Dated: 31^st July, 2011.

 Dear Comrades,

National Secretariat  meeting and its decisions.

                The meeting of the National Secretariat of Confederation was held at Chennai on 30^th July, 2011. Comrade S.K.Vyas President was in Chair. The following decisions were taken.

 1.     The campaign for popularising the charter of demands adopted at the National Council meeting held at Mumbai on 1^st December, 2010 could not be undertaken in an effective manner as the major affiliate NFPE had to be busy with the preparation of the indefinite strike action.

 2.     The meeting decided that prior to any action programme; an intensive campaign is a pre requisite.  Accordingly the following programmes were chalked out.

(a)  Every affiliate will circulate the charter of demands along with the explanatory note amongst the employees. Meetings will be organised in front of all offices to explain the demands to the members.  Report of such meetings will be sent to the Confederation CHQ directly. These meetings are to be organised between 5^th and 10^th September, 2011.

(b) Between 10^th and 20^th September, 2011 the State Committees of the Confederation will ensure that district level conventions are held and one of the State Committee member deployed to attend such convention in each district. The Sate Committees will send the report of these conventions to the CHQ.

(c)  On 28^th September, 2011 a massive Dharna programme will be organised in all State Capitals, district and divisional offices.  At the State Capitals, a minimum number of 100 comrades will sit in Dharna.  Lunch recess demonstrations will also be organised on the same date at the Dharna venue. One of the National Secretariat Members will attend the Dharna programme in each State Capital.

(d) All affiliates will organise a department level convention eliciting participation of the State level Executive on a date convenient to them but before 10^th October, 2011.  One of the National Secretariat members will make it convenient to attend such conventions.

(e)  Rally and demonstration will be held in front of the office of the Chairman, Welfare Co-ordination Committee or any other central located place jointly by all the CGEs in all state capitals on 20^th October, 2011.

(f)   Immediate steps will be taken by all affiliate to circulate the petition to the Prime Minister on PFRDA bill.  Copy of the petition will be handed over to each member to obtain his signature as also his family members and friends. The State Committee will hold a review meeting on 10^th October, 2011 to monitor the progress and take necessary steps to expedite the campaign.

(g)  The National Secretariat will meet at Bangalore on 22^nd October, 2011 to review the implementation of the programme of action including the signature campaign and take necessary action to remove deficiencies if any noticed.

(h) The Confederation will mobilise 10000 employees to participate in the ensuing march to Parliament (date will be finalised by the Steering Committee by end of August, 2011).

(i)    To organise a day's strike jointly by all the organisations which participated in the 22^nd July convention.  The date for the strike will be finalised by the steering committee.

 The declaration adopted at the convention, the draft letter to the Prime Minister demanding withdrawal of the PFRDA Bill, campaign leaflet on PFRDA Bill are sent herewith. (Copies of the same are also placed on our website).

National Women Committee of Confederation met at Chennai.

                The Women committee constituted by the National Women Convention held at Kolkata met at Chennai on 30^th July, 2011.  The Committee took the following decision. The meeting was presided over by the Chairperson, Com. Geeta Ghoshal and the proceedings were initiated for discussion by Com. C.P. Shobhana, Convenor.

 1.     To organise the International women's day on 8^th March, 2012 at all State Capitals by organising a seminar on the subject "impact of the neo-liberal economic policies on women and women workers in particular"

2.     To organise a State level Convention of women employees of the Central Government during September/October, 2011.  The State Committees of the Confederation will take necessary steps to hold the convention.

3.     To hold a demonstration in a prominent Central Government office by women workers in all State Capitals against the unabated price rise of essential commodities.  The date will be finalised and intimated later. Steps will be taken to have massive participation of all women employees of Central Government in this programme by the State Committees.

 With greetings,

Yours fraternally,

 K.K.N. Kutty

Secretary General

Courtesy : confederationhq.blogspot.com

Sibal to convert 1.5 lakh POs into banks; to seek RBI nod :

The humble post office is all set to undergo a radical change with a proposal to convert over 1.5 lakh post offices across the nation into full fledged banks on the anvil.

Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal wants to reach out to the masses in the rural areas with modern banking facilities through the post offices.

"We want to commercialise the department. We will seek a licence from the RBI to convert all our post offices into banks," Sibal told PTI.

The lack of modern banking facilities in rural areas and dependence of villagers on informal sector for their credit requirements has prompted the government to work on financial inclusion by way of setting up 'postal banks'.

"The State Bank of India can't build branches all over India, but there are post offices across India. The branches are already there, so infrastructure expenditure is not required. So you can actually give banking facilities at relatively lower costs, which would be extremely beneficial to people," he said.

The post offices currently offer financial services like savings bank, postal life insurance, pension payments and money transfer services. Its total corpus stood at Rs 5,82,832.9 crore as on March 31, 2011.

DoP's revenues grew 11 per cent to Rs 6,954.09 crore in 2010-2011 from Rs 6,266.70 crore in the previous fiscal.

However, negative growth rate in some circles has pushed the Department's deficit to Rs 6,625 crore in FY'11, almost equal to the annual revenue of the Department.

"I want to make the (postal) system commercialised. By corporatising over 1.5 lakh post offices across the country, the ministry is expecting to improve the quality of services, increase profitability and reduce prices," Sibal said.

Out of the 22 DoP circles, some circles like Chhattisgarh have reported a negative growth of 19 per cent, Jharkhand 18 per cent and North East 15.9 per cent, whereas Assam (23.7 per cent), Haryana (19.5 per cent), Karnataka (13.5 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (13.9 per cent), recorded positive growth.

Among other steps, the Minister has asked members of Postal Services Board (PSB) to ensure 20 per cent revenue growth on sustainable basis.

Each member of the PSB has been asked to identify, commercialise and operationalise five major schemes of the Indian government, and partner with 5 PSUs and 10 corporate houses for commercial tie-ups with India Post with revenue potential of at least Rs 50 crore each.

DoP is also believed to be working towards setting up ATMs and offer debit cards for its customers.

"My vision is that post offices must become banks, so that an ordinary man can with Rs 10 open an account. We can set-up ATM machines for the e-banking...we can do e-retail," Sibal said.

According to officials, work for setting up 1,000 India Post ATMs is at an advanced stage and DoP has already held parleys with vendors on this front.

The Department is also working on providing skill development courses to its over 4.75 lakh employees with the Human Resources Development Ministry.

"The postman should also learn e-banking so that he can actually help the consumer on the ground. So, we are developing specialised skill development courses with the HRD Ministry," Sibal said.

Source: Deccan Chronicle, July 31, 2011

Clarification regarding giving option for alteration/withdrawal or inclusion of new membership of service associations/unions in the month of April each year to be made effective from the month 01 July of that year :

Government of India

Ministry of Communications & IT

Department of Posts

(S R Section)

 Dak Bhawan. Sansad Marg,

 New Delhi- 110 001.

 No 18/031201 1-SR,                                         Dated the28th July, 2011

 To
Heads of all Circles

 Subject: Clarification regarding giving option for alteration/withdrawal or inclusion of new membership of service associations/unions in the month of April each year to be made effective from the month 01 July of that year.

Sir/Madam.

I am directed to refer to the Department’s letter no. 13-1/93.SR dated 25.02.1994 circulating Department of Personnel & Training’s OM No. 2/10/80-JCA dated 31.01.1994 regarding procedure for verification of membership of associations for the purpose of recognition under CCS(RSA) Rules, 1993. In accordance with instructions contained in said OM, option, if any, for alteration, withdrawal or inclusion of  new members is to be given in the month of April each year to DDO or any other designated authority.

2. The Department, vide letter No. 13/01/2010-SR dated 18.02.2010, modified ‘lettter of authorization’ prescribed by the DOPT specifically in order to comply with the directions of the Hon’ble Court of Madras given in Writ Petitions No. 4704 - 4707 of 1999 and Contempt Petition No. 950/09. The modified ‘letter of authorization’ was endorsed with signature of Director(SR & Legal) with an objective to rule out the possibility of using the old forms bearing the signatures of the employees, as some of the associations had complained about it. The signature of Director(SR & Legal) has no relevance in regard to letters of authorization which may be used for change of option or for seeking new membership in the month of April every year.

 
3. All the ‘letter of authorization’ whether bearing Director (SR & legal)’s signature or not, applied during the month of April may be considered as per the standing instructions and in view of the clarification in the preceding paragraph.

Sd/-
(Subhash Chander)

Director(SR & legal)

Copy to All Unions / Associations.