No.
NFPE/GENL/2013
Dated 07 -01-2013
To
Sri.
Kapil Sibal,
Hon’ble
Minister for Communications & IT,
Government
of India,
New Delhi
- 110 001.
Respected
Sir,
Sub:
Submission of memorandum - Request for grant of time for a meeting with Hon’ble Minister (C).
This memorandum is submitted with the most fervent
hope that your goodself will be condescend to intercede on our behalf to settle
the following problems of the Postal and RMS employees including Gramin Dak
Sevaks (GDS).
1.
(a) Grant of Civil Servant status to
the Gramin Dak Sevaks and extending all
benefits of the departmental employees to GDS.
(b)
Enhancement of Bonus ceiling to 3,500/-, Revision of cash handling norms, Full
protection of monthly wages (TRCA), Introduction of Health Scheme, Removal of
50 points condition for compassionate appointments, Filling up of GDS Mailman
posts.
2.
Stop abolition of about 17093 posts
for the year 2005 to 2008 ordered as per Department of Posts OM
No.25-12/2008-PE-1 dated 19-11-2012 and restoration of all abolished posts.
3.
Revision of wages of Casual,
Part-time and contingent employees with effect from 01-01-2006.
4.
Remove the restriction of 5% imposed
on compassionate appointments and grant of compassionate appointments in all
eligible cases as being done in Railways.
5.
Cadre restructuring of Group-C,
Postmen, Mailguard and MTS employees of Department of Posts.
6.
Revision of Overtime Allowance
rates.
7.
Abnormal delay in grant of HSG-I promotion to eligible officials. An
explanatory note on each issues mentioned above is also enclosed herewith as
Annexure-I.
We most humbly request the Hon’ble Minister to be
kind enough to grant us time for a meeting to present our views on the above
items before the
Hon’ble
Minister.
Awaiting
favourable response,
Yours faithfully,
M. Krishnan,
Secretary General, NFPE.
Annexure-I
EXPLANATORY NOTE ON ITEMS MENTIONED IN THE MEMORANDUM.
I. (a)
Grant of Civil Servant Status to Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) and extension of all
service benefits of departmental employees to GDS:
Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, in its landmark
judgement (Rajamma’s case AIR 1977 - SC 1677) has declared that the Extra Departmental
Agents (ED Agents - now called as Gramin Dak Sevaks) employed by the Postal
Department, though they are not employed on whole-time basis, are holders of
civil posts. The Court further ordered that they cannot be termed as “agents”
because of their relationship with the Government which is that of master and
servant. But the Department of Posts still describes them as agents/sevaks and
is not ready to confer “departmental status” on them and to extend all the
benefits of the departmental employees to them. The observation made by the
Fourth Central Pay Commission headed by Hon’ble Justice Singhal on this issue,
is reproduced below, to expose the illegal stand taken by the Postal Department
to deny the departmental status to the Gramin Dak Sevaks (formerly ED Agents).
OBSERVATIONS
MADE BY FOURTH CENTRAL PAY COMMISSION:
“A letter was received from the Ministry of
Communications (P&T Board) for exclusion of Extra Departmental Agents,
numbering about three lakhs, from the purview of our inquiry. It was stated
that the system of Extra-Departmental Agents was peculiar to the P&T
organisation and was designed to extend postal facilities in rural and backward
areas where opening of regular departmental Post Office was not justified due
to inadequate workload. The remuneration and the conditions of service of Extra
Departmental Agents were also different from those of regular employees. The
Third Pay Commission accepted the view that Extra Departmental Agents were not
holders of civil posts and decided to exclude them from its purview.
The matter is, however, beyond controversy after
the decision of Supreme Court in Gokulananda’s case where it has been declared
that an Extra Departmental Agents is not a casual worker but “holds a post
under the administrative control of the state” and that while such a post is
outside the regular civil services, there is no doubt that it is a post under
the “state”. In view of this pronouncement, we were unable to accept the
contention that Extra Departmental Employees were outside the purview of the
terms of our Commission. They, no doubt, have their own peculiar conditions of
service and, in that sense, their case is somewhat special. We therefore could
not exclude them from our consideration, but we accepted the Government’s
suggestion for
setting
up of a one-man committee to look into their conditions of service as was done
by the second and third Pay Commissions”. From the above observations, it is
crystal clear that the Fourth Pay Commission has concluded that the ED Agents
are Civil Servants even though they are kept outside the regular civil service.
OBSERVATIONS
MADE BY JUSTICE CHARANJIT TALWAR COMMITTEE
In the year 1997, the one man committee appointed
by the Government, headed by Retired Justice Charanjit Talwar, to examine the
wages and service
conditions
of the Extra Departmental Agents, made the following recommendations in its
report submitted to the Government. 1. “Extra Departmental Agents have to be
included within the overall class of Civil Servants, being holders of civil
posts. They can be grouped as “Additional” to the departmental employees but
they cannot be classified as a class apart from the civil servants. At any rate
they cannot be classified with the sole object of not granting them benefits which
accrue to a departmental employee”.
2.
“The plea taken by the Department
before the Second and Third Pay Commission and also before various learned
Tribunals that ED Agents are a class apart is entirely misconceived. It is
violative of Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution”.
3.
“It is not the case of the
Department of Posts that in fact a contract of agency between the ED Agent and
the Government is executed. It is also not their case, as it cannot be because
of the Supreme Court Judgements, that the relationship between the Department
and the ED Agent is that of Principal and Agent...... The result of the above
discussion is that ED Agents have to be held to be Civil Servants not only for
the purpose of Article 311(2) but also as contemplated under Article 311(1).
Logically, therefore ED Agents come within the purview of Article 309 of the
Constitution”.
The repeated attempt to read Article 311(2) in
isolation is entirely misconceived and untenable. ED Agents who are being treated
as “outside the regular service” and not to be considered as Civil Servants
excepting for the purpose of disciplinary inquiry is unfortunate and is a
symbol of continuous exploitation.
We request the Hon’ble Minister that the injustice
done to the Gramin Dak Sevaks (formerly called as ED Agents) all along may
please be undone by:
(i)
Declaring the Gramin Dak sevaks as
holders of Civil Servant Status and
(ii)
to extend them all the benefits of the
departmental employees, such as Pay (now granted only Allowance), Leave (now
Earned Leave, Casual Leave, Half Pay leave not granted) Pension, Statutory
Gratuity, Advances, Medical Claim, Time bound Promotions, LTC etc. etc.
1. (b)(i)
Enhancement of Bonus ceiling - In the matter of enhancement of Bonus
Ceiling of Gramin Dak Sevaks, it was assured by Postal Board that another
attempt will be made to send the case for approval of the Finance Ministry. It
is learnt that Finance Ministry has not approved the proposal, instead sent the
file back directing the Department of Posts to reexamine the issue by another
committee. It is further learnt that even if the Department submits another
proposal after revised study by a Committee, it will be considered for the
Financial Year 2013 - 2014 only (ie. next financial year). Hon’ble Minister’s
intervention is requested to get justice to the Gramin Dak Sevaks in the Bonus
issue.
(ii) Revision
of Cash handling norms - On the issue of withdrawl of upward change in cash
handling norms, it was assured by the Postal Board that the issue will be
re-examined. Minister of Communications for State has also assured the staff
side that needful will be done in this case. A committee under the Chairmanship
of DDG (Estt.) was also constituted to re-examine the issues arising out of
enhancement of cash handling norms. It is requested that the cash handling
norms may be reduced to Rs.4,000/- per point instead of Rs.20,000/- per point.
(iii) Ensuring
no reduction of wages (TRCA) under any circumstances - It was assured by
Minister of Communications for State that positive orders will be issued
for full protection of wages (TRCA) of Gramin Dak Sevaks. A committee
under the Chairmanship of DDG (Estt) was also constituted to examine the
issue. Unfortunately the orders issued by the Department gives
protection of TRCA only for one year. Our request is that the
existing wages (TRCA) of Gramin Dak Sevaks shall not be reduced under
any circumstances. As per the existing orders whenever workload comes down the
wages (TRCA) will be protected only for one year and after that existing wages
will be reduced.
(iv)
Introduction of Health Scheme
It was assured by the Postal Board that the demand
for introduction of Health scheme for Gramin Dak Sevaks is accepted by
Government in principle. But till this date, the scheme is not implemented. As
a result Gramin Dak Sevaks are denied the benefit of Medical reimbursement.
(v)
Removal of minimum 50 points condition for compassionate appointment.
(vi)
Filling up of all vacant posts of GDS Mailman posts in RMS.
3. Stop
abolition of about 17093 posts for the year 2005 to 2008 and restore all the
posts abolished:
Department of Posts has recently issued an order
No.25-12/2008-PE-1 dated 19-11-2012 abolishing about 17093 posts in different
cadres for the year 2005 to 2008. Earlier the Department has assured that
efforts will be made to get the approval of the Finance Ministry for filling up
these posts, by exempting the Department of posts from the purview of
Government orders on the subject. Unlike other department, Department of Posts
is an operative department having day-to-day dealings with the general public
(customers) through counter services and also through delivery staff. Arbitrary
abolition of large scale operative posts will badly effect the day-to-day
functioning of the Post offices and will badly tell upon the efficiency of the
Postal Services. In most of the offices workload has increased manifold.
Department has earlier abolished about 20000 posts for the year from 2001 to 2005.
Again 17093 posts are being abolished for the year 2005-2008. We request the
Hon’ble Minister to stop abolition of 17093 posts now ordered for abolition and
also restore the posts already abolished.
3. Revision
of wages of casual, part-time and contingent employees.
Hon’ble Supreme Court has already ordered
regulating the wages of the casual workers at the rate of 1/30th of the pay at
the minimum of the relevant pay scale plus dearness allowance for the work of
eight hours per day. Accordingly after implementation of the 5th CPC
recommendations, the Department of Posts has issued orders for payment of
pro-rata wages to casual, part-time, contingent employees with effect from
01-01-1996, duly approved by the Department of Personnel & Training vide
Order No.1-3/97-PAP dated 03-11-1998. But similar orders are not issued after
the implementation of sixth CPC recommendations. The sixth CPC recommendations
are implemented with effect from 01-01-2006 and orders were issued in the year
2008. Now four years are over, but still the wages of the casual labourers are
not revised at par with sixth CPC pay scales. We request the Hon’ble Minister
to issue necessary directions to the Secretary, Department of Posts, in this
regard.
4. Remove
the restriction of 5% condition imposed on compassionate appointments:
On the plea of Supreme Court directive, the
Government introduced a 5% ceiling on the compassionate appointments. When the
matter was taken up by the staff side in the National Council JCM the
Government was unable to produce any such directive from the Supreme Court.
Despite that the official side refused to withdraw the said instructions
limiting the compassionate appointments to 5% of the available vacancies. It is
pertinent to mention in this connection that the compassionate appointments in
the Railways which is also a Central Government Department continue to be
operated without any such 5% restrictions. The standing committee on with
effect from Department of Personnel in one of their report has termed the
scheme of compassionate appointment as a sacred assurance to a fresh entrant
that if he dies in harness his family shall not be left in lurch. Such an
assurance is being breached by the provisions of limiting such appointments to
5% of Direct Recruitment vacancies. It has to be done away with. We therefore
urge the Hon’ble Minister that direction may be issued to do away with this
stipulation and compassionate appointments be given to all deserving
candidates.
5. Cadre
Restructuring of Group-C, Postmen, Mailguard and MTS in various
arms of Department of Posts:
After marathon discussions on all the problems put
forth by the staff side in a strike charter of demands, the Secretary,
Department of Posts in the written minutes of the discussion held on 10-1-2012
& 12-1-2012 interalia stated as follows:
“As recorded in the minutes of the meeting
held on 27-12-2011, the proposal is under consideration of a committee under
the chairpersonship of DDG(P). The staff side expressed their concern about
undue delay in finalisation of the proposal on which the Chairperson desired
finalisation of this process by 31st March 2012. It was assured that the
timelines would be adhered to”. Again in minutes of the discussions held by the
staff side on 21-05-2012, Secretary, Posts further assured as follows”
“It was decided to formulate a proposal by 30th
June 2012 for further examination in consultation with the nodal ministries.”
In spite of the above mentioned repeated assurances the cadre restructuring
proposal is not yet finalised. The undue and unwarranted delay is causing a
concern and strong resentment among the employees. We request the Hon’ble
Minister to take action for speedy finalisation of the cadre restructuring
proposal.
6. Revision
of overtime allowance (OTA) rates
Overtime allowance is granted when employees are
ordered to do work
beyond
their duty hours with certain stipulated conditions. The overtime allowance is
last revised in the year 1987. Thereafter no revision took place. The Board of
Arbitration appointed under the JCM scheme having found the unreasonable
position taken by the Government gave out the award in favour of the employees
and directed the Government to revise the OTA whereby OTA will be linked to the
actual pay of the Government employees. The Government has not implemented this
award till date. We request the Hon’ble Minister take necessary action to get
the OTA rates revised.
7. Abnormal
delay in grant of HSG-I promotions to eligible officials
HSG-I promotion is not being granted to eligible
officials for the last four
years.
The reason stated by the Department of Posts is that the new HSGI Recruitment
rules are under issue and hence the holding of DPC for HSG-I promotions are
kept in abeyance. This reply is being repeated for the last three years. Our
request to grant HSG-I promotions as per the existing Recruitment rules and fil
up all the vacancies has not yet been considered favourably. The revised
recruitment rules can be applied prospectively from the date of issue of the
Revised Recruitment Rules (RRR) and the existing vacancies can be filled up by
holding DPC as per the existing Recruitment rules. We request the Hon’ble
Minister to issue necessary directions to the Department of Posts in this
regard, as many senior officials are retiring every month without getting their
due promotions and consequent increase in pension, for no fault of them.
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