THE RISING FORCE OF POSTAL BANKING IN THE RETAIL BANKING MARKET
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The Minister for Communications & IT and Law and Justice Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that a group constituted by the Prime Minister consisting of the Secretary of the Postal department is looking into making of a financial institution for Postal savings. He was inaugurating the Postal Savings Banks Forum being organised by World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI), the National Savings Organisation of the Finance Ministry and the Department of Posts in New Delhi today. He said the present government wants to promote financial inclusion and the Jhan Dhan Yojana is a big effort in this direction. Another programme of the government of ‘Digital India’, which is steered by his ministry, also aims at digital inclusion and digital empowerment of rural poor.
Shri Prasad informed delegates from various countries that Post Office Savings Bank is one of the oldest and largest savings institution in the country and it also has the largest outreach in rural India, and more so, in backward and remote areas. The minister expressed happiness that the major asset of the postal institution, that is its connectivity on the ground is sought to be used for promoting e commerce in the country.
Secretary, Department of Posts Srimati Kavary Banerjee, in her key note address informed that the Department’s network of thousand post offices significantly out-numbers the combined number of branches of all commercial banks taken together. The post office savings schemes hold a total of 312 million accounts, which is more than the number of accounts held by any commercial bank. More importantly, the social sector disbursements done through the post offices have succeeded in bringing a total of about 80 million previously unbanked individuals into the fold of formal financial institutions in the last five years. All these have led to a change in the perception about the Post Office among the public as also within the organization. Consequently India Post is now perceived as a potential key facilitator of financial inclusion in the country, having a role in promoting the country’s socio-economic development, she added.
The theme of this year’s Postal Savings Banks Forum will be "The rising force of postal banking in the retail banking market".
EDITORIAL POSTAL CRUSADER NOVEMBER-2014
JCM STAFF SIDE UNITY SHOULD BE FOR STRUGGLE
History of Central Government Employees reveals that Government has taken undue advantage to deny the justified demands of the Central Government Employees, whenever there was disunity among the JCM staff side organizations. On the contrary, whenever staffside stood solidly united the Government was compelled to concede the legitimate rights of the employees to a great extent.
After Fifth Pay Commission recommendations, the JCM National council staffside submitted to Government a common charter of demands for modifications of the recommendations of the Pay Commission, which included upward revision of fitment formula and removal of certain glaring anomalies. When Government refused to concede it , notice for indefinite strike was given and finally the Government had to appoint a high-power Group of Ministers Committee under the chairmanship of then Home Minister Shri.Indrajith Gupta and negotiated with the staffside. In the negotiations also the staffside took a united uncompromising stand which ultimately resulted in Government accepting the demand for 40% fitment formula and some other important demands.
Unfortunately, when the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations were submitted to Government, the JCM National Council Staffside miserably failed to take such a firm and united stand and no serious agitational programme was conducted demanding modification of the retrograde recommendations. Instead the dominant leadership of JCM staffside took a compromising stand and depended only on negotiated settlement , without mobilizing the entire rank and file membership behind the demands. Ultimately Government took advantage of this weakness of the leadership and unilaterally announced the implementation of the 6th CPC recommendations, without conceding majority of the genuine demands raised by the staffside during negotiations. Faulty formula adopted for calculation of Need Based Minimum Wage , glaring disparity in fitment and fixation formula between lower level officials and Group- A officers, unscientific pay band and grade pay system and serious anomalies arising out of it , MACP anomalies everything remained as such which could not be settled even after seven years.
Again , when the Government announced the New Contributory Pension Scheme with effect from 01.01.2004 for the new entrants in Central Government Services without any consultation with the JCM National Council Staffside, the dominant leadership of the JCM staffside did not protest and kept silent. This has emboldened the Government to go ahead with the implementation of the neo-liberal pension reforms. Had the entire JCM Staffside including Railways, Defence and Confederation taken a united stand to oppose the New Pension Scheme and given call for serious agitational programmes including indefinite strike the Government would not have dared to implement the NPS. Of course , Confederation of Central Government Employees and workers opposed the New Pension Scheme and has gone to the extent of conducting one day strike. JCM leadership raised the demand for roll-back of NPS after a very long time and by that time Government succeeded in fully implementing the scheme.
Confederation of Central Government Employees and workers has always stood for unity among the Central Government Employees .When confederation submitted a 15 point charter to the UPA Government in 2011 demanding appointment of 7 th CPC , 5 year wage revision , Merger of 50% DA, Inclusion of Gramin Dak Sevaks under 7th CPC etc, the other major organizations in the JCM were not ready to raise the demands in 2011. Finally confederation was forced to go it alone and conducted series of agitational programmes including Parliament March, one day strike and two days strike. Of course, the lonely struggle conducted by confederation represented the mood of the entirety of Central Government Employees and ultimately the Government was compelled to announce constitution of 7th CPC in the month of September 2013.
Now NDA Government which came to power after General Election has rejected all the main demands of the Central Government Employees which includes merger of DA , Interim Relief , Date of effect from 01.01.2014 , inclusion of GDS in the terms of reference of 7th CPC ,scrapping of New Pension Scheme etc. Further Government declared 100% FDI in Railways and Defence. Public Private Partnership in Railways was also announced in Railway budget. More than five lakhs posts are lying vacant in various Departments out of which about 2.5 lakhs vacancies are in Railways alone. The UPA Government has unilaterally announced the terms of reference of the 7th CPC rejecting the draft proposal submitted by JCM staffside. The memorandum submitted by JCM staffside to the NDA Government for grant of merger of DA and Interim Relief also was totally neglected. The JCM Staffside leadership could not do anything and the employees are suffering. In fact the JCM staffside has become a laughing stock among the employees and its credibility in the eyes of the employees has eroded like anything.
It is in this background , eventhough belatedly , the JCM National Council Staffside has decided to organize a National Convention at New Delhi on 11th December 2014 , to discuss and finalise its strategy to combat the above humiliation meted out by the Government . Better late than never. The decision is well received by the entire Central Government Employees and they are eagerly waiting for the outcome of the convention.
NFPE firmly believes that if the present unity among the JCM staffside organizations is not channelized for building up united struggle including indefinite strike of entire Central Government Employees the National Convention will become a futile exercise and an eye-wash to cool down the growing discontentment among the employees. This shall not happen. We firmly believe in the slogan raised by our late legendary leader Com K.G.Bose- i.e “UNITY FOR STRUGGLE AND STRUGGLE FOR UNITY”. Such a stand alone can restore the lost glory of the fighting potential of the Central Government Employees and also shall regain the lost faith of employees in the JCM staffside leadership. We cannot be a party to any compromise on the genuine and justified demands of the workers. Let us hope that the JCM staffside leadership shall rise up to the occasion.
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF POSTAL EMPLOYEES
1st Floor North Avenue Post Office Building, New Delhi-110 001
PF-o1(C)/NFPE Dated: 30th October, 2014
NOTICE
It is hereby notified that the Federal Secretariat Meeting of NFPE will be held at NFPE Office, 1st Floor North Avenue Post Office Building, New Delhi-110 001 on 10th November, 2014 at 3PM.
All General Secretaries of NFPE & NFPE Office Bearers available at HQ are requested to attend the meeting in time:
The following will be the agenda:
AGENDA
1. Postal JCA Charter of demands – Agitational programme- Review and further course of action.
2. Dec-4th -2014- PJCA –Parliament March –Review,
3. Any other item with the permission of Chair,
(R.N. Parashar)
Secretary General
Copy to: All General Secretaries of NFPE Unions and available NFPE Office Bearers at New Delhi.
POSTAL JOINT COUNCIL OF ACTION
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF POSTAL EMPLOYEES
1st Floor North Avenue Post Office Building New Delhi-110001
FEDERATION OF NATIONAL POSTAL ORGANISATIONS
T-24, Atul Grove Road, New Delhi-110001
No.PF-PJCA/2014 Dated : 30th October,2014
NOTICE
It is hereby notified that the meeting of Postal JCA consisting NFPE and FNPO will be held on 11thNovember, 2014 at 2PM at NFPE Office, 1st Floor North Avenue Post Office Building, New Delhi-110 001.
All General Secretaries of NFPE, FNPO and GDS Unions are requested to attend the meeting in time.
The following will be the agenda:
AGENDA
1. Postal JCA Charter of demands – Agitational programme- Review and further course of action.
2. Dec-4th -2014- PJCA –Parliament March –Review,
3. Any other item with the permission of Chair,
(D. Theagarajan) (R.N. Parashar)
Secretary General Secretary General
FNPO NFPE
Copy to : All General Secretaries of NFPE/FNPO & GDS Unions.
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