SHAMEFUL TRACK RECORD OF UNION AVOIDANCE, OVERUSE OF AGENCY AND TEMPORARY WORKERS AND LACK OFN TRANSPARENCY REGARDING OTHER LABOUR ABUSES.
THE TWO GLOBAL LABOUR FEDERATIONS ARE URGING CUSTOMERS AND SHAREHOLDERS
TO HELP CLEAN UP DP-DHLS GLOBAL RECORD AND ENSURE THAT HIGH EMPLOYMENT
STANDARDS ARE GUARANTEED THROUGHOUT ITS WORLDWIDE OPERATIONS
.
Displeased with postal sector, Kapil Sibal calls for reforms
A review meeting of the entire Indian postal sector, chaired by Minister of Communications and IT Kapil Sibal, has found it lagging behind its peers in other parts of the world and called for immediate reforms.
Sibal was displeased with the unorganised nature of Indian postal sector in general, its low contribution to GDP and under-utilised potential to generate employment. According to ministry sources, Sibal on the basis of cross country data presented to him remarked that "Indian Postal Sector is unorganised and grossly undeveloped. In absence of a forward looking policy framework, the Postal Sector in
The meeting was held in connection with finalisation of the draft cabinet note for the first detailed National Postal Policy. The data presented in the meeting suggested that global postal services are likely to reach USD 331 billion by 201.
This, however, did not incorporate the current status or contribution of Indian postal sector due to non-availability of authentic data. The officials told Sibal that postal sector in some European countries' contributed between 0.6-0.9 per cent to their GDP but the contribution of estimated Rs 15,000 crore Indian Postal sector is much lower.
In terms of employment generation, postal sector of
As many as 27 postal service providers in European Union account for 0.5 per cent of the region's total employment whereas it stood at around 0.6 million people out of 1.2 billion population in India.
"Postal sector urgently requires legislative, institutional and governance reforms," Sibal said. He also asked the postal department to make provision for uniform quality standards of services and grievance redressal mechanism at par with global best practices in the policy.
| UNI | F N P O | INTUC | |
| Phone : 2381 8330 |
| Fax : 011-2332 1378 | |
| National Union of Postal Employees Postmen & Group-D central head quarters, delhi-110 054 | |||
| Ref. No.: | Dalvi Sadan | ||
|
| Khurshid Square | ||
| Dated : 07/06/2012 | Civil Lines, P & T Colony | ||
|
| Delhi - 110 054 | ||
To,
The Secretary (Posts), Department of Posts,
Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg,
New Delhi-110001
Kind Attention : Director (SR) & Legal
Subject : Submission of Agenda for periodical meeting - reg.
Ref.: DG Posts Ir No. 02/04/2012-SR dated 30th May, 2012
Respected Madam,
I am hereunder submitting agenda items for Periodical meeting with FNPO and its affiliates.
Shri Subeysingh, Deputy General Secretary of NUPE P-IV and Stg. Postman, KNHO PO, New Delhi-110051 will also attend the meeting alongwith the undersigned. Necessary arrangement may kindly be caused for the relief of concern Union Office Bearer of NUPE P-IV CHQ.
Thanking you,
Yours Sincerely
(T.N. Rahate)
General Secretary
CC for information and necessary action
1. Secretary General, FNPO, 2. Shri Subeysingh Dy. General Secretary, NUPE P-IV, CHQ
Agenda
Submission of Agenda for Periodical Meeting to
Secretary (P)
Item No. NU/P-IV/1/2012 : Modification in the Order DG P&T No. 31-38/79-PEI dated 22-5-1979 : The footwalk of the Postman from door to door should be taken in computing the relevant time factor or for accountable articles in multistorey building is provided with 1.80 time factor per article, likewise time factor should also be provided for unaccountable article.
Item No. NU/P-IV/2/2012 : In the metro cities and other Y-Z categories cities the revision statistics should invariably carried out with the presence of Union representatives.
1. If found surplus posts in reference to revised time factor, the surplus posts in the categories of Postman, Group ‘D’/MTS may be redeployed within Division Region or Circle
2. On finding number of surplus and additional justified posts the surplus posts should be redeployed only after calling full information and report from every Division/Region and Circle and surplus posts redeployed after giving due consideration to the preference given by the staff and additional justified post. The DOPT may be addressed and special permission should be taken to fill up the additional justified post or permission should be taken to redeploy 2/3 (skeleton) unfilled posts in various categories from the year 2005 to 2008. The relevant Ministry if necessary may also be addressed. Union will give full cooperation in this matter if requested.
In every Circle the total number of Departmental Stamp Vendor post should be examined and assessed. If it is found that the D.S.V. posts are from Postman cadre these posts if found surplus should be absorbed in suitable and needy offices with the consent of the Postal Board or DOPT.
3. Whenever, any post in Postman and Group ‘D’/MTS cadre are to be redeployed from one Division, Region and Circle in Postman and Group ‘D’/MTS category necessary permission and Authority may be delegated to the Circle, Regional and Divisional Heads.
Item No. NU/P-IV/3/2012 : The relevant staff eligible for Uniforms and kit items (umbrellas, chappals and JD Bags) are not given at the proper time and are not of good quality : The Uniform cloth supplied to the staff is of substandard quality which gets spoiled and worn out in short period of time. The relevant staff therefore should be supplied with better quality of cloth and also timely supply of kit items. It is suggested that the staff may be supplied with coupons for purchasing good quality cloth from the shops having franchise in all over India, and Chappels, umbrellas, woollen jackets for using in cold climates etc may be allowed to be purchased by cash payment in the nominated shops and franchises, by doing this the unnecessary paperworks and also avoidable expenditure in delay will be eliminated.
Item No. NU/P-IV/4/2012 : Fill up all over India the proportionate 10% quota of LR Postman and MTS Posts : All over India the proportionate 10% quota of LR is not filled up with positive view. Consequently, it is difficult to relieve regular staff on leave and carry on the work without problem as it is even the regular vacant posts are not filled up in time. The total effect of this is that there is dislocation in the disposal of work. It is therefore suggested the LR Postmen & MTS posts should be filled up with positive action.
Item No. NU/P-IV/5/2012 : It is resolved that due to shortage of funds : Due to shortage of funds under different heads the due bills regarding medical, OTA advances etc. are not paid in reasonable time. Due to this problem an employee is made to borrow friendly loans from relatives and others to meet the expenditure in medical emergent cases. The employee thus suffers mentally and physically affecting his routine work. Necessary steps should be taken in advance to convince the DOPT to make available sufficient funds to the concern Circles, so that all the bill payments will be made in time.
i) The employee should be made eligible to receive scooter, computer advance, motor advance etc. irrespective of payscales. A separate 20% quota may also be exclusively reserved for postman and MTS staff for this purpose.
ii) Due to shortage of staff the existing employees are made to perform OTA compulsory. But OTA payments are made after long period ranging from 3 to 6 months after performance of OTA. DOPT should be approached to fix specific time for payment of OT amount.
Item No. NU/P-IV/6/2012 : All Circle should be made to follow the instructions issued by the CPMG Andhra Pradesh Circle regarding delivery of Adhar Card (UIDAI) in the communication No. AP/UIDAI/Registrar/2011 dt. 6-9-2011 vide this communication. Some practical suggestions are made by the CPMG AP Circle : These suggestions are beneficial for both the staff and the Administration. The delivery staff will get incentive and the per day quantum of delivery of Adhar Cards is also conveniently numbered. The period of delivery of Adhar Cards is also suitably divided to same days from the date of receipt in the delivery office.
In this connection, the Secretary (P) and Postal Board Members has also agreed to spread up delivery period of Adhar Cards upto 15 days from the date of booking. But this information and instruction has not reached to the subordinate staff like PM/Sr. PM/Divisional Heads etc.
(T.N. Rahate)
General Secretary
30th JUN AND 1st JULLY TO 5thJULLY 2012 New Delhi.
No.11/2/2008-JCA
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, PG & Pensions
Department of Personnel & Training
North Block, New Delhi,
Dated, the 18th June, 2012
OFFICE MEMORANDUM
Meeting of the National Anomaly Committee – 17th July, 2012 at 3.00 PM
The undersigned is directed to refer to OM of even number dated 2nd December, 2011 regarding the 4th meeting of the National Anomaly Committee which was held on 5th January, 2012. All the Agenda Items placed before it could not be discussed and the meeting had to be adjourned. This meeting will now be held in Committee Room No.119, North Block, New Delhi on 17th July, 2012 at 3.00 PM.
It is requested that you may kindly make it convenient to attend this meeting and also kindly confirm your participation urgently. Agenda Notes for the meeting will remain the same as were circulated earlier vide this Ministry’s OM of even number dated 16th December, 2011.
sd/-
(Ashok Kumar)
Deputy Secretary to the Govt. of India
.
I have just returned from the G20 Mexico Summit and wanted to share some impressions with you prior to sending a further message, which will analyse the G20 declaration in more detail.
The positive signal coming out of the G20 is that the leaders have agreed a Growth and Jobs Action plan. They recognise the depth of the crisis and how the situation has further deteriorated since the last G20 meeting in Cannes in November last year. In the G20 final communiqué, there is explicit mention of how the global crisis continues to impact people’s lives and jobs. With almost 210 million people unemployed, this is self-evident. However, it is also a sign that the critique of “austerity only” and the union voice is being heard.
There was a worry that, as in Cannes, the Greek election and Eurozone crisis would push issues of jobs and financial regulation to one side. The impatience of the world with the inability to sort out the Eurozone crisis was evident and dominated media attention and the G20 corridors. Our aim was to keep pressure on the anti-austerity and jobs agenda, while underlining that the eurozone bailout conditions are strangling the economies of the countries concerned.
We took this message to the G20 and, while there, met with leaders from the IMF, the World Bank, WTO, the OECD and ILO and a significant number of heads of state. We gave it to them straight: unless there’s a change in direction in terms of economic thinking, the economy and demand will not recover, purchasing power will not recover and jobs will not recover. This is also the message we took to the world’s press gathered at Los Cabos.
The members of the L20 (Labour Leaders Group) had a rapid round of meetings with the G20 leaders so the union message was fresh in the leaders’ mind before the G20 plenary itself kicked off. The recognition of the L20 is a major achievement – we have won a seat at the table; it is a form of global agreement at the geo-political level. We stand shoulder to shoulder with the other global unions in this effort. It is also important to note that the ILO plays an increasingly important role in the conduct of the G20, and it will be former union leader, Guy Ryder, who will head the ILO from October, to build on the groundwork of his predecessor, Juan Somavia.
As part of the G20 arrangements, the L20 meets with the B20 – which represents the business sector. This year we presented a joint letter to the G20 on youth unemployment. There was also a social dialogue summit with the B20, attended by the newly elected French Labour Minister and the Mexican Labour Minister. The union push has contributed to elevating the role of the labour ministers in the G20 process. The labour ministers now have their own summit. The labour ministers’ declaration was presented to the G20 summit and adopted. This year Adriana Rosenzvaig, the Regional Secretary of UNI Americas, attended the summit in Guadalajara.
We prepare well in advance of the summit. The TUAC economic working party has the first stab at elaborating our position, which is worked into a statement. Once that’s finalised, we then develop a media strategy to deliver our message on jobs, workers’ rights, social protection and social dialogue to the G20 leaders. We are not just postmen; it is about dialogue at the top. We take the opportunity to get face to face with the global leaders. The ITUC national centre members are instrumental in making this happen. We met, for example, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel the day after the Greek election. I asked for her assessment. She said she was not sure what the result would mean, having seen the financial markets fall once again after an early surge. I spoke to her about the EU’s plan for a so called ‘banking union’ and demanded that UNI Europa’s voice be heard.
I challenged Chancellor Merkel on how she could support collective bargaining at home and permit the troika to dismantle the same in Greece, Portugal, Italy, and Ireland. Chancellor Merkel promised to investigate the work of the troika in this regard. Such encounters do not bring immediate resolutions but encourage a re-assessment and questioning of positions taken. When I accused the head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, of undermining collective bargaining, her reaction was to state that sector-wide agreements penalise small and medium-sized enterprises. The IMF and the rest of the Troika neither understand nor pretend to understand collective bargaining's role as a fundamental building block to the recovery. Again I will follow up, challenging the IMF position on collective bargaining.
We use several channels to get the message out. We recognise that new media is now equally important as, if not overtaking, traditional media as a tool to reach our audience. I sent around 40 tweets, sometimes directly from the meetings, and prior to the meeting we sent out video news releases and press statements. An interview for the Huffington Post Canada shows how we can get a global message out with a national angle. (See the full interview below). We drove home our message that austerity is not working; that it was supposed to deliver private sector investment, jobs and fiscal consolidation but has not; that women and young people are taking the brunt of the crisis and a new approach is needed.
At the G20 there was a sense of political weakness in the face of tidal changes in financial markets. Policy is aimed to placate them, with little regard to the social consequences. The palliative to financial markets is the harmless term ‘structural reform.’ This is the new way of talking about reforming labour markets. Structural reform is a new euphemism for labour market flexibility and means cuts in minimum wages; weaker, unfair dismissal laws and other thinly disguised attacks on workers. There is a lack of appreciation of the role and status of collective bargaining. Structural reform in this context means ‘master and servant’. Our conversation with Chancellor Merkel concluded with her reiterating that Germany is a social market economy where success has been built on collective bargaining. Our response is that the world could emerge from the crisis much quicker by recognising the key roles that collective bargaining and unions play; labour institutions need to be strengthened, not weakened. We keep working to have this view reflected in G20 declarations.
Some key quotes from G20 Leaders Declaration:
“We are united in our resolve to promote growth and jobs.”
“Quality employment is at the heart of our macroeconomic policies.”
“Jobs with labour rights, social security coverage and decent income contribute to more stable growth, enhance social inclusion and reduce poverty.”
Best regards,
Philip J. Jennings
General Secretary
UNI Global Union
philip.jennings@uniglobalunion.org
http://twitter.com/#!/PJenningsUNI
Read Philip Jennings’ article in the Huffington Post here: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/06/19/philip-jennings-uni-global-union-stephen-harper_n_1610713.html
