POSTAL JCA CIRCULAR ON ITS PROGRAMME OF ACTION INCLUDING INDEFINITE STRIKE

POSTAL JOINT COUNCIL OF ACTION

National Federation of Postal Employees
Federation of National Postal Organisations
All India Postal Extra Departmental Employees Union
National Union of Gramin Dak Sewaks


Postal JCA/1/2010 Dated 15th May 2010

Nationwide Demonstration and Strike Notice Serving on 4th June
Postcard Campaign and Meet the Public Personalities from 8th to 15th June
Black Badge Wearing and Demands Highlight Day on 29th June
Non-cooperation from 5th to 9th July
Golden Jubilee of 1960 Strike on 12th July & Strike Rally on 12th July
Indefinite Strike from July 13th

Dear Comrades / Colleagues,

The All India Postal Joint Council of Action consisting of NFPE and FNPO Federations and their Affiliated Unions and Associations and the All India Postal Extra Departmental Employees Union & the National Union of Gramin Dak Sewaks met on 14th May, 2010 in New Delhi.

The opening up of new attacks on the Postal Services and Staff and the highest order of unilateralism in taking various decisions against the interest of Postal Employees and the Postal Services as well as the gross violation of its own agreements by the Administration were the major points of deliberation in the JCA Meeting. Various other staff problems that are not receiving any real attention for long time also engaged the attention of the Postal JCA.

The Mckinsey Multinational Consultant has been appointed by the Department for effecting Structural Reorganisation! No interaction with the Staff Side has taken place nor is the Staff Side provided with any materials related to the terms and reference of the said MNC Consultant. It is widely believed that in the name of 'McKinsey' serious attacks on the RMS and Postal Structure are in the offing. Already the Department has unilaterally pushing ahead with its retrograde move of abolition of 'C' Class Post Offices in the urban areas all over India. It has also ordered down gradation of all GDS SOs into GDS BOs and closure of GDS BOs in the name of merger/upgradation. The direction of the Department is for the total destruction of 'RMS' wing and merger of the entire RMS with the Post Offices is already visible and the McKinsey is expected to nail the coffin soon. Some Circle Administrations are so impatient that even before the McKinsey report; they want to commence the attack on the RMS in violation of the agreement reached on 30th November 2009. Outsourcing of several Postal Operations like Mail Conveyance, Processing of Speed Post Articles, Data Entry Operations of several works have been accentuated.

On the other hand the Department is not coming forward to convene the meetings of Departmental Council JCM and Periodical Meeting with the Federations at the National level. Unilateral decisions like piecemeal cadre restructuring of Postmasters Cadre is being resorted to ignoring the comprehensive cadre restructuring of Group 'C' as like Railways and other Departments. Under the Project Arrow the employees are squeezed and exploited in violation of Rules and in the name of 100% delivery performance. Shortage of staff continues to haunt the services in spite of the removal of Screening Committee. The attack on the Postal Staff continues in the name of decentralization of PLI/RPLI work and no additional staff was granted to any Divisional Office anywhere for the additional work. Due to application of conditions in a mechanical way, the MACP is being denied to hundreds of Postal Employees. On one side the discrimination between the Drivers of Parliament Secretariat and MMS Drivers is created by the Government and on the other side no posts of Drivers are recruited and the existing Drivers are forced to work beyond human limits in MMS by the Department of Posts. The System Administrators are also forced beyond human endurance and they are treated as the middle ages slaves by the administration. Unilateral tightening of work norms and non-creation of work norms for several works performed by GDS is causing reduction of wages to GDS. The GDS are discriminated against on several issues despite many judgments of Court of Law and the justice continues to be denied to all types of Casual Labourers. We live in an environment of total suffocation and the Staff Side is fully side lined and ignored and the voice of the Staff Side is not heard at the higher level of Administration!

It is in this background,, the Postal JCA has come to the unanimous conclusion to undertake an All India Strike Campaign Tour during the months of June and July and unleash a series of Programmes to effect full mobilisation of Postal Employees for embarking upon a nationwide Non-cooperation Programme culminating in an Indefinite Strike from 13th July 2010. The Programme of Action and the Indefinite Strike will be for realisation of the following Charter of Demands:

CHARTER OF DEMANDS

1. Drop the move to outsource any function of the DoP including on the recommendations of McKinsey – Cancel the decision to close down 'C' Class Post Offices – Cancel the orders for down gradation of EDSOs into ED BOs and closure of EDBOs - Roll back steps of privatisation of speed post processing and mail conveyance and data entry work.
2. Stop violations in the Agreements on Status Quo of RMS & MMS as well as the merger of RMS with less than 10,000 mails – Create scientific norms for the work in CRC, Speed Post, Logistics and EPP – Cancel the orders for replacing the General Line HSG-I by ASPOs in Mail Offices.
3. Holding of JCM Departmental Council meetings; Periodical Meetings with Federations; Sending of the issue of discrimination of pay scales between the Telecom TBOP/BCR and Postal TBOP/BCR w.e.f. 1.1.1996 to Board of Arbitration; and Holding of GDS Committee Meetings periodically with GDS Unions.
4. Stop harassment of staff under Project Arrow – No extraction of work against Rules – No extraction of work beyond 8 Hours – No drafting of staff on duty and for Training etc on Sundays and Holidays – No harassment in the name of 100% Delivery – Withdrawal of all Punishments awarded to Postmen for minor non-delivery of articles.
5. Fill up all vacant posts: [a] Undertake reassessment of vacancies in PA/SA cadre to rectify mistaken calculation of vacancies in all circles; [b] Fill up all vacant posts in all cadres in Department of Posts [Postal, RMS, MMS, Admn, Postal Accounts, SBCO, Civil Wing etc] as on 31.12.2009; [c] Allow local recruitment as one time measure in Postal Accounts similar to 1997 at Sundernagar.
6. Comprehensive Cadre Restructuring of Group 'C' employees in PA/SA Cadre; [b] Withdrawal of unilateral orders on piecemeal cadre restructuring of Postmasters' cadre until comprehensive Cadre Restructuring of PA/SA cadre is completed; [c] Comprehensive Cadre Restructuring of LDC, Sorters & DEOs in Postal Accounts by amalgamation into a single Accounts Assistants cadre in the pay of Pb-1 with 2400 GP; [d] Comprehensive cadre Restructuring of PA/SA cadre in SBCO; and [e] Comprehensive cadre restructuring of Postmen/Mailguard/Multi Task Staff.
7. Grant of Pension, Departmental status to GDS extending the all benefits such as HRA/CCA, ACP etc, including Trade Union rights and welfare measurers – Remove discrimination on Bonus ceiling – Modify the 20,000 unilateral imposition of cash handling work points for GDS BPMs – Withdraw orders denying revised TRCA w.e.f. 1.1.2006 in respect of BPMs – Compute work norms to all types of work performed including NREGS, PLI,RPLI, Pension Payments etc to GDS – Implement enhanced Social Security to GDS like Ex-Gratia Gratuity and Severance Amount w.e.f. 1.1.2006.
8. Grant of Parity in Pay Scale [PB-1 with GP 2400/-] for MMS Drivers on par with Drivers of Parliament Secretariat – Recruitment of adequate number of Drivers – Sanction of OSA for the long distance logistics van drivers of MMS – Technology training to Work Shop staff and grant of Data Entry Operators scale of pay to Work Shop Staff.
9. Implement Supreme Court Orders for revision of wages from 1.1.2006 [6th CPC wages] to all RRR Candidates, Casual Labourers, Contingent staff, GDS Substitutes etc – Grant Temporary Status to eligible Full Time Status Casual labourers; Convert Part Time into Full Time; Absorb Full Time, Part Time, contingent in vacant GDS Posts.
10. Fill up all vacancies of Postmen and Mailguards - Roll back the unscientific scheme of Single Postman Beat System – Modify certain unscientific work norms of Postmen / MTS finalised by Work Study Unit - Enhance the Postman Double Duty Allowance as per the recommendations of 6th CPC.
11. Remove all local anomalies in MACP Scheme like application of benchmark for the period prior to introduction of MACP Scheme; Grant MACP on 'Average' benchmark like Department of Railways; Denial of MACP for acts of denial of regular promotion earlier to introduction of MACP; Denial to grant PB-2 while upgradation to Grade Pay 4200 and above to Group 'C' Officials etc.
12. Creation of System Administrators Cadre with higher pay scales and absorption of all System Administrators in the new cadre during initial composition – Uniform Norms for System Administrators including work hours, number of systems, distance factor – Financial compensation for special and extra work performed by System Administrators.
13. Early finalisation of Recruitment Rules for upgraded Group 'C' in PB-1 with 1800 GP – Ensure present system of absorption of GDS and TS CLS in Group 'D' posts into the new RR without insisting for the educational qualification – Filling up all the posts of Multi Tasking Staff without any delay.
14. Amalgamation of Group 'C' Accounts Cadres of DoP and DoT.
15. Roll back of the Decentralisation of PLI/RPLI work – Augment required staff strength in PLI branch of CO/RO/DPLI –Maintain centralized accounting system through the Office of DPLI Kolkata – Fill up the vacant posts of COs/ROs/DPLI Kolkata to manage huge shortage;
16. Parity of scale of pay of Ministerial Cadre in Postal Civil Wing on par with the Postal Assistants and upgradation of posts of Works Clerk Grade –II/Grade-I/Head Clerk – Filling up of all vacant posts of technical as well as ministerial posts – Creation of one Civil Wing Circle for each Postal Circle.
17. Regularise the HSG-I, HSG-II, LSG arrangements and grant Officiating Pay & Allowances to all Officials holding the posts.

PROGRAMME OF ACTION

Dear Comrades / Colleagues,

The patience of Postal Employees is grossly misunderstood by the Postal Administration as our weakness and a licence to impose whatever retrograde policies they could think of. Time has come to unite as one man and raise our strong voice against all kinds of humiliation. Let us mentally get prepared for a sustained struggle by accepting all sacrifices. No advancement was achieved without sacrifices and no advancement is possible without further sacrifices. We have presented a united platform of struggle and it is now the responsibility of the rank and file to get organised with all their ideological and other differences left aside in the common interest of all of us. We call upon you to undertake all measures unitedly by forgetting all local differences and stand as one Man with full determination. Our each and every programme decided by the Postal JCA has to be taken to the last employee of the department. Every programme has to be converted into a total success.

· On 4th June when the CHQ issues Notice of Indefinite Strike to Department, all levels of our Organisations shall serve the copy of Strike Notice to respective Administration by organising massive demonstrations.
· All India Strike Campaign Tour by CHQ leaders [Details soon to be circulated]
· The Postcard Campaign and Meet the Public Representatives like M.Ps/M.L.As shall be a tremendous success to put pressure on the Department. [Text of Postcard Campaign enclosed as Annexure.]The Honourable Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies may be submitted a copy of this JCA Letter seeking their kind intervention to write to Shri.A.Raja Honourable MOC&IT for settlement of our justified demands.
· Black Badge wearing and Demands Highlights Day on 29th June, 2010 to draw the attention of the Government about our determination to go on strike. [Text of Badge is supplied in the Annexure]
· The Non-cooperation Programme from July 5-9 shall show to the Government / Department that without our cooperation it will not be possible for the Department to run the show anywhere including Project Arrow Offices and Speed Post Centres etc. The Non-cooperation programme should clearly prove that if we work according to Rules then the functions and operations will come to a standstill. This Programme should be a prelude to the success of the Indefinite Strike from 13th July.
· Indefinite Strike from 06.00 Hrs on 13th July 2010.

United we win! Divided we fall! Unite to win!!

With Struggle Greetings,


K.RAGAVENDRAN D.THEAGARAJAN
SECRETARY GENERAL NFPE SECRETARY GENERAL FNPO


K.V.SRIDHARAN D.KISHANRAO
GENERAL SECRETARY P3[NFPE] GENERAL SECRETARY P3 [FNPO]


ISHWAR SINGH DABAS T.N.RAHATE
GENERAL SECRETARY P4 [NFPE] GENERAL SECRETARY P4 [FNPO]


GIRI RAJ SINGH D.THEAGARAJAN
GENERAL SECRETARY R3 [NFPE] GENERAL SECRETARY R3 [FNPO]


P.SURESH A. SIDDIQUE
GENERAL SECRETARY R4 [NFPE] GENERAL SECRETARY R4 [FNPO]


PRANAB BHATTACHARJEE O.P.KANNA
GENERAL SECRETARY ADMN [NFPE] GENERAL SECRETARY ADMN [FNPO]


P.RAJANAYAGAM P.U. MURALIDHARAN
GENERAL SECRETARY AIPAEA [NFPE] GENERAL SECRETARY NUGDS


S.S.MAHADEVAIAH
GENERAL SECRETARY AIPEDEU