ஏழாவது ஊதியக்குழு , 50 சதவீத பஞ்சப்படி இணைப்பு உள்ளிட்ட 14 அம்சக் கோரிக்கைகளுடன் 15 வது கோரிக்கையாக 5கட்ட பதவி உயர்வும் சேர்க்கப் பட்டது !
போராட்டத்தை தீவிரப்படுத்துவோம்
வேலை நிறுத்த களம் நோக்கி ஊழியரை திரட்டுவோம் !
5 PROMOTIONS
{ EDITORIAL POSTAL LIFE – AUGUST - 2012}
In 1978, while
entering in its Silver Jubilee Year, the NFPTE had organised its P&T
Convention at Patna. The demand of “3 Promotions at 10, 20 and 25 years” for
P&T employees was coined in that National Convention. This demand was
necessitated by the fact that most of the P&T employees were retiring
without even getting a single promotion in their long career in those days. The
Clerical employees retired without even becoming LSG and the Postmen were
retiring without even promoted as Sorting Postman or Head Postman / Mail
Overseer Postman, the only hierarchical promotion available at that time. After
much negotiations and struggles, ultimately the Government agreed two
promotions and introduced TBOP and BCR Promotions on completion of 16 and 26
years. All P&T employees were thereafter ensured of at least two
promotions. But the movement had paid some price including major punishments to
cadres to win the demand of two promotions.
The introduction of
TBOP and BCR promotions caused the hierarchical promotion of Sorting Postman /
Mail Overseer Postman etc irrelevant as most of the Postmen staff attained TBOP
and BCR promotion before getting the only regular promotion available. The
Department also discontinued constituting the DPC to promote Postmen staff.
Similar was the case with the Group ‘D’ staff also, in whose case the promotion
to Jamedar Group ‘D’ was discontinued. Even though the Department had
subsequently declared unilaterally that the TBOP/BCR is not a promotion but
only a scheme of financial upgradation like ACP Scheme, the regular
hierarchical promotional ladder was not restored or updated to ensure
regular promotion to Postman and Group ‘D’ cadres. However, the TBOP, BCR
ensured two automatic upgradations financially.
Discriminatingly
during the same time, the Officialdom did not satisfy itself with the available
two or three promotions in its career but went ahead with repeated cadre
restructuring schemes to ensure at least five promotions for the cadre of
Officers! We see that an IPS Officer entering as SSPOs [Junior Time Scale
Officer] in the Postal Department is ensured of five promotions at least in his
career as Senior Time Scale, DPS, PMG, Chief PMG, Board Member and Director
General. In Departments like Income Tax a Class I officer who enters as
Assistant Commissioner as an IRS Officer goes ahead with the promotions like
Deputy Commissioner, Joint Commissioner, Additional Commissioner, Commissioner
of Income Tax, Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Board Member in CBDT and
Chairman of CBDT. This is the case with all departments. The Government never
cared for the promotional avenues of Group C and D employees while going on
improving the career advancement of top officers.
The 6th Pay Commission
also not cared much for ending the discrimination between the employees and
officers in the central services. It simply recommended for only improving the
periodicity of ACP financial upgradation from 12 and 24 years into 10 and 20
years through MACP. After much discussion in the JCM Standing Committee, the
Government made only a marginal improvement by granting the third upgradation
on completion of 30 years but created a lot of anomalies including taking away
the benefit of parity with hierarchical promotions. The increase in number of
up gradations to three necessitated us to switch over from TBOP/BCR system to
MACP Scheme though we knew that under MACP the Promotees will not be granted
equal number of up gradations like a direct recruitment. We however embraced
the MACP for its benefits with the idea to focus the discrimination and set
right it through our organisational efforts. Now, with the historic judgment of
Jodhpur CAT, we have brighter chances of set righting the anomaly. But even
that will not bring parity with the Officers, who are ensured of at least five
promotions.
It is in this
background that the NFPE raised it in the National Secretariat of the
Confederation of CG Employees and the Confederation expanded its Charter of
Demands into 15 Points by including the demand of Grant of 5 Promotions to all
employees in their career on par with the Officers. This is a very important
demand with far reaching implications in advancing the status of the Group C employees
including the Postman and MTS. The demand attains much more importance in
the background of our cadre restructuring issue stagnating without any
noticeable progress and at the initial level of discussions only. Proper
popularisation of this new demand of 5 Promotions among all our membership is
absolutely essential to create necessary tempo as we know very well that only
when a new idea grips the minds of the employees it becomes a material force.
We broke the stalemate in 1980s by strongly agitating for 2 Promotions. Let us
now embrace the new demand of 5 Promotions and make it a reality soon. But
everything depends on the rank and file organisation, which alone can succeed
not only in popularising the new demand but also rousing the employees to agitate
for the 15 Points charter of Confederation that focuses on 7th CPC, 50% merger
of DA and grant of 5 Promotions etc. Time has come to end the discrimination
between top officers and the bottom employees on number of promotions to
advance the career prospects.
