The Joint Action Committee of the Postal Federations, NFPE, FNPO and GDS have unanimously decided to go on agitation demanding that the VII CPC should include recommendations on Gramin Dak Seva (GDS) employees, new recruitment should take place etc.  The following programme of action has been decided:

PROGRAMME

1.      Observe protest day on 19^th August 2015 by  lunch hour demonstration in front of all Divisional, Regional and Circle offices.

2.   One Day Dharna on 26^th August 2015 at all Divisional, Regional and Circle Offices.

3.   One Day Dharna by All India Leaders of PJCA (NFPE+FNPO+AIPEU GDS (NFPE) + NUGDS) in front of Dak Bhawan (Postal Directorate) New Delhi on 22nd September-2015).

The struggle is fully justified. We should give full support to the struggle of the Postal workers.

The struggle by the Kerala BSNL comrades are continuing under the leadership of CCLU, BSNLEU and SNEA. The non-cooperation started on 12th August is continuing with full participation of the workers and employees.  The non-implementation of the agreement with regard to the interim relief of Rs. 100/ per day for the contract workers by the management has created the new situation and renewed struggle.

Com. V.A.N.Namboodiri, Patron BSNLEU and President, BSNLCCWF  spoke to Shri Anupam Shrivastava, CMD BSNL from UK and impressed upon him the urgency to approve the agreement on the interim additional wages and create an amicable situation.He informed that even now the wages of contract labour are far below the ordinary wages of workers in Kerala which are about Rs. 650/- per day. Though the demand was for an additional Rs. 200/, the interim relief agreed was Rs. 100/ only.CMD stated that he has already directed Shri N.K.Gupta, Director to go to Thiruvananthapuram next week and discuss with all concerned and settle the issues. He also assured that the issue will be settled early.

It seems that certain manias of government never end. It is now about Voluntary Retirement Scheme in BSNL and MTNL. While VRS was implemented thrice in MTNL, the staff unions in BSNL strongly opposed it and never allowed VRS to take place in the company. Every time, the government had to go back on the scheme due to the mighty opposition and struggles of the unions under the leadership of the Forum, the umbrella organisation.

Once again, the central government, now NDA is taking the old proposal from its store. The proposal as per press reports  target  about 70,000 – 1,00,000 employees in BSNL. We have told and proved with examples in other PSUs, that VRS always have been bad for the service and the PSU itself. But a government, which is pro-private and is not interested in the growth of PSU,  may again try to implement VRS, making it a CRS (Compulsory Retirement Scheme).

The government is to be told emphatically, that the BSNL employees and their unions will never allow any  VRS in BSNL which is against the interest of the workers, the service and the country itself.

Saddened and rather frustrated at the undue delay in announcing One Rank One Pension (OROP) despite assurance after assurances four former Service Chiefs have written to President of India requesting for an early order in the matter.  AIBDPA extends full support to the demand which is fully justified.

One of the major decisions of the strike agreement between the BSNL Circle Management and BSNLCCLU, BSNLEU and SNEA that the wages of the contract workers will be increased by Rs. one hundred per day is yet to be implemented, resulting in the continuation of the struggle. The agreement has been reached after detailed discussion as a result of the sustained struggles of the workers. Even by increasing the wages by Rs. 100, the wages of the contract workers will be far below that of the ordinary daily workers in Kerala.

We demand the management to implement the agreement without any delay so that the services are normalized for the betterment of all the concerned.

According to the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework Statement tabled in Parliament by the Government, the salary outgo of central government employees will go up by 9.56 per cent to Rs 1,00,619 crore in 2015- 16. It will increase further in the next year.

The Pension amount also is expected to increase, since a large number of employees are retiring every year.

The government seems to be finding out justification for its decisions on VII CPC in advance.

Aadhar card will be optional for availing various welfare schemes of the government, the Supreme Court today said and ordered that no personal information of the holders of such cards shall be shared by any authority.

A three-judge bench, which in the forenoon referred to a larger Constitution Bench a batch of petitions challenging the Aadhar scheme and the issue whether right to privacy is a fundamental right, recorded the statement of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi that “no personal information of Aadhar card shall be shared by any authority”.(Courtesy: PTI)