TASK FORCE REPORT ON POSTAL ----AN EXERCISE
TOWARDS CORPORATISATION ------ THE WHOLE PROCESS IS MEANT TO MAKE ROOM FOR
PRIVATISATION AND BE OPPOSED WITH UNTIRING MOVEMENTS
Since long we were feeling that
the Govt. was initiating action for decentralization of PLI/RPLI, with a view
to pushing the Insurance business towards corporatization and privatization .
On and from 2003 various efforts were taken by us to stop this irrational
endeavor. Several correspondence and meetings in this regard were held by our
initiative. In spite of very strong arguments towards centralization of
PLI/RPLI in the event of technological
development, the decentralization policy has been undertaken for 54 Lakhs of
PLI AND 1.5 Crores of RPLI policies, whereas for 32 crores Savings Accounts CBS
system is going to be introduced, which is really surprising and anomalous.
All of our apprehensions have now
been turned into reality with greater dimension.
A) The whole functioning of the Department of Posts including PLI/RPLI have
now been divided into following six units:
i)
Banking and Financial
Services(Savings Bank)
ii)
Insurance(PLI/RPLI)
iii)
Distribution of third
party products (services on behalf of the private sector/private parties on
payment basis)
iv)
Management of Govt.
Services( all services requiring registration, certification or Government
oversight including Aadhar Card and Ration cards, bill collection and payment
on behalf of Govt. Department.)
v)
Parcel and packets (
delivery of Parcels and Packets, tie-ups
and agreements with E-Commerce players for delivery , return , bill collections
and payment for E-commerce articles and handling of E-commerce delivery operations of India Post
deal)
vi)
Communications
delivery(Delivering of subsidized letter mails etc)
B) First five units are designated as “ Strategic Business
Units(SBUs)” conceptualized as Profit centres and the sixth unit
“Communications delivery Unit” is not expected to make profits as it is a
service to be rendered at a subsidized rates.
C) Under the Department of Posts a Holding Company called “ India
Post(Financial and other services ) Corporation” will be formed and five
separate subsidiary companies under the main Holding Company will be
incorporated , converting the five strategic business units as subsidiary
companies. The Corporation shall have separate set of members of persons as
Director Board Members and the five subsidiary companies under the main Holding
Company will have separate Board of Directors to manage their business.
D) In course of time, the Govt. of India may disinvest part of its
holding or allow the Corporation to raise resources through issue of shares in
the market.
E) Five separate subsidiary companies will be expected to make
profits which will be utilized to meet the loss of Communications Delivery
Unit(sixth unit) and the surplus profits would be diverted to main Holding
Company.
F) India Post would continue to retain its fundamental character of
a Departmental organization. This organization at apex level will be managed by
three Board Members of the Department of Posts . All subsidiary companies will
be required to pay appropriately for the use of these services to the
Department of Posts.
G) Each subsidiary companies would be authorized to create their
infrastructure like, Banking professionals to man the Branches of Post Bank of
India and not the Post Office staff. In this instant case, the Postal staff
working in HO/SO/BOs would act as Agents
or make Banking correspondences on behalf of PBI.
H) Sixth Unit designated as “Communications Delivery Unit” not to be
corporatized for the time being and will continue to be administered by the
Department of Posts , but subsequently to be reorganized to facilitate running on commercial basis
without depending on the consolidated fund of India for financial support.
I) Further, the proposed new Post Office Act Amendment Bill is meant
to open up the Postal Sector to private couriers in a phased manner and the
recommendation of the Task Force to expedite this process. It also recommends
legislation of another Act “ India Post(Financial and other services)
Corporation Act” for re-organisation of the total work of the Postal Department
with the creation of new Corporate structure. However, the task force
emphasizes categorically that existing salaries and allowances of the employees
will not be affected adversely and no retrenchment is apprehended for such
restructuring.
Now the questions which will knock our mind.
Q(1) : Why the sixth unit designated as “ Communication Delivery
Unit” is not converted into a subsidiary
company ?
Ans : This Unit will always remain as loss-making unit due to
subsidized rates of letter mails etc and no Government will convert a loss
making unit into a company. For this purpose, the Task Force has developed a
short-cut method, which is to divide the entire Department of Posts into six
segments and allowing the profit making segments to convert into a corporate
sector. On completion of this process,
the Department of Posts will remain as a skeleton unit with flesh and blood
removed from it and the Govt. of India
will be fulfilling its promises to WTO and GATS.
Q(2) : The Task Force states that by forming five separate companies
profit of each company will increase and it will in turn help the Department of
Posts to wipe out its losses and make profit.
Ans : The existing set up of the Department of Posts was enough to
utilize the profit , no segregation of the Department was required. But it is
proposed to be implemented with a motive to corporatize and subsequently privatize
the profit-making segment of the Department. In this respect, the
corporatization process earlier adopted for TELECOM as BSNL, VSNL and MTNL
should be an eye-opener for us as these companies are now incurring loss and Govt. wants to privatize or close
down these units.
Q(3) : Why should the Federations/Unions oppose the corporatization,
when the task force has given solemn assurance that “ existing salaries and
allowances of the employee will not be affected adversely and there will be no
retrenchment during or as a result of the restructuring of the Department of
Posts? Further, it is recommended that the Pension liability of 4000 crores is
to be transferred to the consolidated fund of Government.
Ans: When the Telecom sector was bifurcated and corporatized, a similar assurance was given
that this process would not adversely affect the salary and other benefits
including pension of the employees. Initially, wages were hiked and higher
bonus was declared for its employees. Thereafter, the Govt. had broken its
promises by one after another measures curtailing the privileges . The BSNL
employees are not being paid bonus, LTC for the last five years, Medical
allowances. Sam Pitroda Committee recommended VRS for one lakh BSNL employees .
Now the new Govt. has declared that BSNL will either be closed or privatized.
MATTER TO PAUSE AND
PONDER OVER:
The order of closing down
9797 Post Offices and so many RMS sections could very recently be halted
through our struggle and united action .
In our field, we, the
Administrative Workers were feeling the
pinch since 2003. On 14.03.2008 the PLI Directorate stated that “
Decentralisation of Operational Procedure, Administrative / Financial power and
Modernisation is the world-wide phenomenon for reaching nearer to the customers
for better’ after-sales service’” .
But decentralization in
the light of world-wide context, like population, density of urban and rural
population as percentage of total population and number of Post Offices
etc.suggests that we require to serve 6,48,802 places in India for reaching
nearer to the Insurants’ residence location , whereas we are having only
1,57,102 Post Offices throughout the country and thus, the rest 4,91,700 places
are still unserved for the purpose Insurance Customers.
Naturally, the question
of providing service to the doorstep of
Insurants, is still an utopian
dream.
When this is the overall
scenario , until recently in the Department of Posts the authority was adopting
the policy of robbing Peter to pay Paul,
sometimes by transferring the RMS works to the Post Offices, DPLI works to the
Circle Offices, Circle Offices’ work to the Director of Accounts(P) and so on
and so forth. Latest move of decentralization of PLI /RPLI works to Head Post
Offices is another step to pay our brothers at Post Offices some areas of work
taking the work from their brothers of Administrative Offices, created a lot of
resentments amongst the workers of Administrative Offices. But Task Force
recommendation has given a clear indication that all cross-section of Postal
Workers irrespective of their wings will be effected by the concept of five
subsidiary companies and the traditional postal works designated as “
Communications Delivery Unit” , which is not expected to make profit, will
remain with us.
Now, the game of both the
Paul and Peter will be over as both the
Paul and Peter would be victimized. Postal workers in its entirety irrespective
of wings will be thrown in the midst of enormous odds with their existence
being threatened in the days to come.
All segments of workforce
in the Department of Posts- Postal , RMS, MMS , Adminstrative , Postal Accounts
, SBCO, Civil wing, GDS and casual , part-time contingent employees will have
to fight unitedly by forming an united forum of Postal Workers against the
Govt. onslaught of Corporatisation of the Postal functionings. The decision of
the Postal JCA (NFPE , FNPO, AIPEU-GDS(NFPE) and NUGDS) to go on an Indefinite strike from 6th
May,2015 with a clarion call of “ NO CORPORATISATION OF POSTAL SERVICES “
alongwith other demands , is the appropriate actions taken by the JCA and to
get it materialized should be our sole objective. During the
period of five months before the Indefinite strike to be launched , sustained
campaigning should be done right from now by our local leaders so that we can
unfurl the flag of victory ultimately.
Definitely, our path will
not be strewn with the flowers of popular applause . Through a strong and
belligerent struggle we can fight for job security and against the move of
corporatization and ultimately combat the attack unleashed by the Govt.
So, Comrades, let us be move with all determination
for this Historic struggle to save our century –old Postal Department .
P.Bhattacharjee
General
Secretary
AIPAOEU,NFPE
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