Tuesday, April 12, 2011

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF POSTAL EMPLOYEE

1st Floor, North Avenue Post Office, New Delhi – 110001



No. PF-01(e)5/2011                                                     Dated : 06th April,2011

To

            All General Secretaries/Circle Secretaries/
            Divisional Secretariesof affiliated Unions/
            Associations, NFPE

Dear Comrades,

1.      Hope that all of you might have received the copy of the Central JCA Circular dated 31.03.2011 regarding the Indefinite All India Strike from 5th July 2011. Preperations for the strike should start right from now onwards. Don't wait up to the last minute. Conduct the following campaign and agitational programmes in a most effective manner.
(i)     Submission of memorandum containing Charter of demands on 20.04.2011. Copy of the memorandum will be exhibited in the website before 18.04.2011. Download the memorandum and charter of Demands (already exhibited in the website) and submit it to the CPMGs/Regional PMGs/Divisional heads. Mass demonstrations should be organized in front of all Chief PMGs, Regional PMGs and Divisional offices on 20.04.2011.

2.      Circle level and Divisional level JCA should meet immediately and chalk out joint programmes. NFPE should take initiative for convening the JCA meeting.

3.      Maximum participation of employees should be ensured in the Mass Dharna on 25.05.2011. Organize dharna programme in front of all Chief PMG/PMG/Divisional offices in an effective manner.

4.      In the month of June, Circle level joint convention of all Circle Secretaries, Divisional Secretaries and Circle Union office bearers of NFPE, FNPO and GDS Unions shall be organized at the Circle Head quarters. Central JCA leaders of NFPE, FNPO & GDs Unions shall address the joint conventions. The dates of the joint conventions at Circle level will be finalized by the Central JCA meeting on 20.04.2011.

5.      Next meeting of the Central JCA will be held at New Delhi on 20.04.2011 after submission of joint memorandum and charter of demands to Secretary, Department of Posts.

6.      Divisional/Branch level General body meetings, conventions, group meetings, office to office campaign, publishing notices and posters etc may be conducted to educate the employees on the charter of demands.

7.      The managing bodies of all Unions/Associations at Circle/Divisional level may be held and planned action programme may be charted in a most democratic manner.





OBSERVE
CONFEDERATION DEMANDS DAY ON 20.04.2011

            The first phase of the campaign and agitational programmes decided by the National Council of Confederation of Central Government Employees and workers will be organized throughout the country on 20.04.2011. Demonstration are to be conducted in front of all offices and the charter of demands may be explained to the employees. A memorandum enlisting the charter of demands will be submitted to the Government (Cabinet Secretary) by Confederation National Leadership on 20.04.2011. Copy of the Memorandum will be submitted to all Head of the Departments also on the same day. All General Secretaries/Circle/Divisional Secretaries are requested to make the Demands day a grand success. Confederation Charter of demands is reproduced below.

Charter of Demands
1.      Stop price rise, Strengthen Public Distribution system
2.      Stop downsizing, outsourcing, contractorisation, corporatisation and privatization of Government functions
3.      Fill up all vacant posts and create new posts on functional requirements.
4.      Revise wages of Central Government Employees with effect from 01.01.2011 and every five years thereafter.
5.      Scrap New Pension Scheme and extend the statutory defined benefited pension to all Central Government Employees irrespective of the date of recruitment.
6.      Regularise the Gramin Dak Sevak, Daily rated workers, contingent and casual workers by bringing about a definite scheme of regularization.
7.      Remove restriction imposed on compassionate appointments. End the discrimination on compassionate appointment between the Railway workers and other Central Government employees.
8.      Stop the move to introduce the productivity linked wage system - performance Related pay (PRP). Introduce productivity linked Bonus in all Departments, remove the ceiling of emoluments for bonus computation.
9.      Settle all items of anomalies (including the MACP related anomalies) raised in the National and Departmental Anomaly committees within a fixed time frame of two months. Set up the anomaly committees in those departments where it has not been set up till date with the standing committee members of National council; convene the meeting of the Departmental Council in all Ministries/Departments once in three months as envisaged in the JCM Scheme
10.  Make the Right to strike a legal right and stop curtailment of Trade Union rights
11.  Implementation of all arbitration awards.
12.  Raise the interest rate for GPF. Revise the OTA and Night Duty Allowance and Stitching and clothing rates of uniforms.
13.  Merge 50% DA with pay for all purposes including pension with effect from 01.01.2011.
14.  Vacate all Trade Union victimizations.

Intensive campaign among the employees shall be conducted during the month of May and June 2011, to popularize the demands, by convening state level and district level conventions and office wise group meetings etc.

Confederation National Secretariat will meet in the month of June 2011 to finalise future course of agitational programmes. 
                                                                    Fraternally yours,
(M. Krishnan)
Secretary General, NFPE




A FAVOURABLE VERDICT OF SUPREME COURT ON CASUAL LABOURERS

            The Supreme Court has deprecated the Union of India engaging casual workers and keeping them in temporary service for long without making them permanent employees, thereby denying the benefits due to them.

            Expressing its displeasure and anguish at the manner in which the Borders Roads Organisation treated its casual workers, a Bench of Justices D. K. Jain and H. L. Dattu said engaging casual workers for less than six months and giving them artificial breaks so that they would not become eligible for permanent status ill behaved the Union of India and its instrumentalities, "which are supposed to be model employers."

            Justice Jain, writing the judgment, quoted an earlier ruling said; "It is a fact that a large number of casual labourers have worked with Porject Vartak for a number of years but their period of engagement at no stage is more than six months and they are recruited afresh and they do not get the status of permanent employee. As per the regulations, casual personnel are not eligible for any other privileges for continued employment under the government."

            In the instant case, the Union of India appealed against a Gauhati High Court judgment directing the government to regularize the services of members of Vartak Labour Union, some of whom had been working with the BRO for 30 years. Formulation of any scheme for regularization being a matter of policy, it was not within the High Court's domain to direct regularization of the services of temporary appointees, the Centre said. The Bench agreed with its contention and said the union's claim for regularisation of its members merely because they had been working for BRO for a considerable period could not be granted in the light of several decisions of this court. The Bench, quoting these judgments, said: "Casual employment terminates when the same is discontinued and merely because a temporary or casual worker has been engaged beyond the period of his employment, he would not be entitled to be absorbed in regular service or made permanent, if the original appointment was not in terms of the process envisaged by the relevant rules.

            However, in the facts and circumstances of the case, where the union members had been employed in term of the regulations and had been consistently engaged for the last 30 to 40 years, of course with short breaks, "We feel the Union of India would consider enacting and appropriate regulation/scheme for absorption and regularization of the services of casual worker engaged by the BRO for execution of its on-going projects," the Bench said.

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