December 07, 2015
Kalaivaraikalai
Views
of NAPE,Group C on the recommendations of the VII CPC on
Postal Assistant Cadre
The 7th pay commission have now given
its recommendation detailing the modus opearndi as to how the same was
arrived at ., The general dictum claimed to have been adapted are not uniformly
applied in all cases and only some isolated cases have been benefitted
that too on extraneous reasons like court observations and parity among
recuritees from the one and the same examination regardless of
nature of the work and department to which they are appointed .
The job evaluation has been totally treated as an
non entity and the evidence tendered by the stake holders are meted with luke-
warm response. The observation of V and VI pay commission have been bluntly
cited to ignore the up gradation sought for and thereby failed to contemplate
the justification under lying the existing
work pattern and schedules in the changed scenario.
While the past pay commissions relied justifiably
on fair comparison among the work of homogenous nature , the 7 th pay
commission had decided to ward off such approach on the plea that historical
parity is longer a moot point under its consideration for the present. Most of
the up gradation sought for under this agenda has been turned down by the 7th
commissions on this reason ( right from pay of Postal Board members to that of
Postal asst.) ; Likewise equal pay for equal work is also prime victim of this
pay commission ( eg. Artisan in MMS ).
Even this logic and the resultant adjudication is
not consistently applied for. The conspicuous exemption to this is the one
level up gradation recommended to the inspectorial cadre of postal department
without extending the same treatment to the basic feeder cadre on functional
justification clubbed with hierarchical placement.
The pay commission had agreed to the pay hike of
inspectorial cadre from the present 4200/- to 4600/- with the cascading effect
to its further promotional post of ASP and Superintendent by one level
above the due replacing level corresponding to the existing grade pay.
The commission had substantiated that the inspector
of posts have a share of direct recruits to the tune 33.33% and recruited
through ‘combined graduate level exam’ conducted by Staff Selection commission.
Without any deliberation of the job evaluation in the respective , the
pay commission had simply consented to treat them on par with inspector of CBDT
& CBES who are recruited through the same exam and granted the Pay
band of 4600/- .
Thus the promotees to IP cadre from among the
PAs , (66% ) are destined to have the
benefit not because of any job evaluation or functional
homogeneity but by an extraneous consideration of direct recruit
component of the care is equated with the other recruits of the other
departments.
A new kind of approach is therefore
realized in the annals of pay commission where in the nature of
examination with the common educational qualification has been taken moot point
for consideration of pay hike. But the same commission rejected,
citing the historical parity cannot be the criterion, for upgradation Postal
board members pay on par with the member of CBDT and CBES even though the
ingress in the all India service remain one and the same .
While there can not be any objection to this up gradation
given to inspectorial cadre, for what so ever reason, its impact should not be
confined to the IP cadre alone but to extended to the Postal assistant also
because in the past the pay level of IP are determined with reference to the PA
cadre and this balance has to kept intact .
The IP cadre were treated
equal with the LSG of PA cadre to begin with and in the ascendancy the
ASP with that of HSG II prior to V pay commission .The status of PA
and its off shoot LSG, HSG II with that of IP and ASP can be elucidated
with the following tell -tale tabulation ;
Postal
assistant vis-Ć -vis Inspectors prior to V pay commission
CADRE
|
IV PAY COMM
|
V PAY
|
VI PAY
|
VII PAY
|
POSTAL ASST
|
975-25-1150-1330-1600 ( S—6)
|
4000-100-6000 (S-7)
|
5200-20200
GP 2400
|
LEVEL 4 = GP 2400
|
LSG
|
1400-40-1800-50-2300 ( s-8)
|
4500-125-7000 (S-8)
|
5200-20200
GP 2800
|
LEVEL 5 = GP 2800
|
INSPECTOR
|
1400-40-1800-50-2300 ( S-8)
|
5000-150-8000 (S-9)
|
9300-34800
GP 4200
|
LEVEL 7 = GP 4600
|
HSG II
|
1600-50-2300-60-2660 ( S-9)
|
5000-150-8000 (S-9)
|
9300-34800
GP 4200
|
LEVEL 6 = GP 4200
|
ASST SUPDT
|
1600-50-2300-60-2660 ( S-9)
|
5500-175-9000 (S-10)
|
9300-34800
GP 4600
|
LEVEL 8 = GP 4800
|
The
Postal Assistant remained the sole feeder cadre for both LSG and Inspector
cadre through promotion, with the same year of service ( i.e 5 year of
minimum service), for becoming eligible for promotion up to IV pay
commission .
The pay scale of both the LSG and Inspector were,
therefore, remained the same i.e S-8 ( 1400-40-1800-50-2300) and
the next level of promotion as HSGII and ASP in the respective line
were placed in the next immediate higher scale namely S-9 (1600-50-2300-60-2660
). This parity was maintained from all along even prior to IV pay commission.
The operative hierarchy in postal were thus treated in tandem with the
inspectorial administrative functions.
But during V pay commission , headed by the
Hon.Justice Rathnavel Pandiyan have made thread bare analysis and
paid heed to the representation from various quarter about the job nature
of the postal assistants and postman . The meticulous job evaluation of the
basic cadre of the department have convinced the V pay commission to infer that
PAs are unique in the job profile and are performing multifarious
functions like mail , banking , insurance etc and therefore have
placed them one scale higher at S-7 (4000-100-6000) to the
due S-6 (3200-85-4900 ) the replacement scale for the
existing scale 975-25-1150-1330-1600 ( S—6).
At the same stretch and nuance of justice , the
V pay commission had accorded the same one scale jump for the
inspectorial cadres and placed them in S-9 (5000-150-8000)
instead of the due S-8 4500-125-7000( S-8) the replacement scale for the
existing scale (1400-40-1800-50-2300) S 8
It is needless to say that the pay hike to IP s
have become necessary and rendered possible for the simple fact that the V pay
commission felt that the one level jump given to PA cadre should be allowed to
the IP cadre also and thereby enabling the gap in remuneration to
represent establish the hierarchical identity and distinction .
The
replacement scale of S-8 meant for the LSG/ IP cadres was
allowed as such for LSG alone and confined to these cadre,
thereby the IP cadre ( admin) is distinguished from that of the PA
cadre (operative line )
It is this distinction borne out of the functional
compulsion and level of execution that made the VI pay
commission to contemplated and concur the same extent
of gap with one level jump and accordingly placed them (.PA
;2400, LSG ; 2800 ,IP 4200).
The
up gradation given to PA and IP cadre (with inert logic and justification) has
been broken once and for all with no valid and tenable reason by the VII pay commission.
The functional justification of Postal
Assistant with multifarious work of complex nature that warranted
a a special scale in v pay commission and its fall out
on the pay of IP cadre with the extent of hike have been
shattered in the VII pay commission .The gap is widened with no intra departmental
justification to do so,
It is further, an irony that the job
evaluation of PA cadre for present day work demand is entirely different from
that of those that existed at the inception of V Pay and VI pay
commission has been conveniently forgotten and the time
tested concepts have been ignored.
Instead the component of the
eligibility of direct recruitment in a cadre and their selection process
through the one and the same recruiting agency have been taken into
consideration as valid point to upgrade the pay. The Inspector have been
given another gradation to get equated with the inspectors of the other
departments for the one only reason that they have been recruited
through the same combined graduation level examination of staff selection
commission .
Thus an new concept of taking agency and
nomenclature of recruiting process has been adapted by the VII pay
commission (there by deviating from concepts of inclusiveness,
comprehensibility and the parameters of job evaluation , fair comparison,
equanimity among the cadres of basic level.)
The intrusion of the new concept may go a long way
to end in a clamor for all to get them equated with those drawing higher pay
with a similar the minimum educational qualification as the deciding factor. Even
the IAS/IPS officers are recruited among the candidates with minimum
qualification of graduation and through a recruiting agency of UPSC, the next
level entity SSC.
The33.3 % of direct recruits of IP
cadre have become the reason for the pay hike for rest of 66% of IPs promoted
from PA cadre—the feeder cadre. The cascading effect of elevating the pay level
of the ASP, SP in the line of ascendancy is also considered by the Pay
commission.
No
sort of things in the intra departmental functional justification, as decided
in the previous pay commission, is considered for pay hike to IP cadre. It is
only the direct recruits who have decided the pay hike
ON
Other Hand
The job evaluation submitted in respect of PA cadre
to the VII pay commission by the Federation are self-speaking
and in volumes . The present state of affairs in the Post offices And RMs
demands only candidates of graduate level aptitude and skill. In reality
also almost the new recruits in the recent years are not only
graduates but are also ,considerably, the professional degree holders
like BE / B.tech etc. Therefore the need for enhancement of educational
qualification and equating them with their counter parts in recruiting ting
process is requested to be considered
Against the back drop of the seventh pay
commission’s intention to cite recommendations of V and VI pay
commission to discard the request of various demands before them , the
same intention may kindly be invoked to adhere to the spirit
of V and VI pay commission deliberations on PA vis-a vis IP
Accordingly
the pay of the PA should be raised to level 5 ( with GP 2800)
and there by remain just two levels below the IP level of pay and further
giving the intermediary level 6 ( GP 4200) to LSG and level 7 (GP 4600) to
HSG II in order to keep the extant of gap as ever
before that was inherited for the past 20 years ,the tenure of V and VI
pay commission dispensation .
It is a well known fact that the
nature of work of a Post Office is unique and incomparable with other
Government Departments. It has no constant working hours. A major
portion of employees is working in split hours. Unlike other Government
Departments, Postal employees are working for six days in a week. The services provided
by Postal staff are multifarious. They are trained to work on about 50
kinds of softwares. The number of branches in a Post Office is an open
evidence. In most of the Government Offices, preparation and submission
of returns is a monthly process. Whereas in PO it is a daily mandatory
work in every branch. Considering its uniqueness, the V-CPC
differentiated us by placing Postal Assistants at Rs.4000/- scale and Postman
at Rs.3200/- on par with LDC. But VII-CPC does not seem to have looked
into the just demands of Postal Unions and totally ignored us. It
has simply put all fishes into one pot.
In addition it has abolished 52
allowances heartlessly. The reason attributed for the abolition is still
wounding. Allowances are tools of management to encourage employees to put
forth their extra efforts & calibre which will definitely improve the
productivity. Abolition of all the allowances in the name of ‘uniformity’
will make them too indifferent. Denial of Handicapped
allowance is the most inhuman recommendation which nobody can tolerate and it
is against the policy of the Government. Similarly, when Treasury
allowance is sanctioned on the basis of the statistics of total amount of cash
handled, abolishing it by citing the reason that handling of cash has fallen
down due to electronic transfers is quite meaningless. Similarly when
Chennai, a State capital has become the worst victim of floods, abolition of
Flood advance is highly merciless. And denial of Scooter
advance/motor car advance, Festival advance etc. will deprive Government
servants of their chance to improve their standard of living and push them to
private financiers to evade complex formalities in PSU Bank. This will
rob off a sizeable portion of their income towards high rated interest.
Being the largest and model Employer, the Govt. holds the responsibility
of protecting the interest and welfare of its employees. The Commission should
have analysed the genuine reasons why these allowances and advances were
introduced earlier. I request you to use your good offices to see
that all allowances and advances are continued and increased
proportionately.
Particularly, the Commission has
humiliated the operative staff to the extent possible. Once upon a time, during
British reign the status of a Head Postmaster was comparable to the highest
Revenue authorities of a District. I request you to recall
the position of HSG-I cadre and Inspector-Posts cadre during pre IV-CPC
period. As you are aware HSG-I is the highest operative cadre
and IP is the lowest administrative cadre. By placing
both at Rs.4600/- grade pay level, the VII-CPC has equated the lowest
administrative cadre with the highest operative cadre. It shows the
colonial attitude of the Commission that even a Head Postmaster is not above an
Inspector at entry level. It is a great insult and injustice to operative side
Supervisors.
The Commission has merely
justified that IP cadre has to be placed on par with Inspectors recruited for
CBDT. But it has failed to consider that the duties performed daily and
responsibilities held by Selection Grade Supervisors and Postmasters. Though he
is in charge of Operative office, his work nature is quasi administrative.
In a PO, the Postmaster has to man, supervise and administer even about 70-80
employees. He is a Sub Appointing Authority. In the changed
scenario of CBS, his role and responsibilities are very vital in the Department.
He has to manage and solve many network and software related issues at his
level. Besides he handles crores of Rupees of cash every day. All the new
products of the Department are marketed through him and all new Schemes are
ultimately implemented through him. He is meeting the customers face
to face every day which is the most important work of the Department.
Post Forum meeting is conducted by the Head Postmaster himself. The Head
Postmaster is supervising the work of about 10 LSG/HSG-II Supervisors including
APM (A/cs). He is provided with independent Field Officers like PRI (P)
and Marketing Executives.
It is imperative to mention that on
migration to McCamish , the work of Postal Life Insurance has been drastically
decentralised to HPOs and the Head Postmaster is delegated with financial
powers to sanction huge amounts of claim. The works of perusal & acceptance
of proposals, sanctioning of loans & claims etc. are highly responsible and
indeed an additional work attached to the Postmaster.
Further the Commission has found no
justification to recommend separate pay scale to DSMs and MEs. It is
surprising that the Commission has justified an open exploitation in the name
of ‘willingness’. It is a wrong precedence which will lead to serious
consequences if applied mutatis mutandis in all cadres. This will
collapse the seniority system followed in transfers and postings and will cause
unfair practices. I suggest that the posts of DSM and ME may be placed at
Rs.4600/- level and filled through a LDCE.
The VII-CPC has reintroduced
compulsory retirement and EB crossing. It has ruled that failure
to get required benchmark for promotion within the first 20 years of service
will result in stoppage of increment. And such employees who have out lived
their ability, their services need not be continued and the continuance of such
persons in the service should be discouraged. This is a theorem of corporate
sector who use their employees like a chewing gum. It is like
pushing parents into orphanage at their dotage when they are in need of help
and support. And EB crossing is one of the lethal weapons applied against
employees. The Commission has failed to find out the reason for lifting
Efficiency Bar earlier by the Govt.
VIIth
CPC hasn’t addressed the grave anomalies brought to its notice through this
union which was illustrated below
¨ Postal Assistant is drawing the
following
Postal Assistant Service
|
Grade Pay
|
Pay Band
|
Initial entry
|
2400
|
5200-20200 – Pay Band I
|
10 yrs of service
|
2800
|
5200-20200 – Pay Band I
|
20 yrs of service
|
4200
|
9300-34800 – Pay Band II
|
30 yrs of service
|
4600
|
9300-34800 – Pay Band II
|
¨ Prior to implementation of the 6th CPC, BCR
Postman hither to in 5th CPC its equivalent in 6th CPC 30 yrs of Service
or MACP III Postman pay scale is the starting scale of the Postal
Assistant. Hence there is no anomaly in the pay and so the postman
could show interest for promotion to Postal Assistant.
¨ But with the
grade pay structure of the 6th CPC this parity was lost .
As a matter of policy of the UPA government it has upgraded the
Postman pay scale, this up-gradation has led to
the loss of parity between the Postman and Postal Assistant. Department
of Posts hasn’t taken any steps to redress this anomaly till date.
¨ 6th CPC
has clearly mentioned that Grade Pay reflects the cadre in a scale. But
after implementation of 6th CPC the scenario is different. Due to
overlapping of the grade pays, even though a Postman gets promoted to
PA his grade pay will be from 2400 even though in Postman cadre he
may be drawing 2800 as Grade pay.
¨ Another example is the Grade Pay of LSG supervisor i.e
APM(Mails)/APM(SB)/APM(Accounts) is 2800, who were supervisory
staff to Postman staff. Where as a Postman after 30 years of
Service most Postman will be drawing a grade pay of Rs.4200/- which is a
glaring indication of supervisor drawing less pay than his subordinate postman.
¨ An HSG-II
Postmaster who is the overall head of a Post Office will be drawing
Rs.4200/- as Grade Pay and a postman working under him
draw with 30 years of service also draws the same Rs.4200/- as
Grade pay.
Concluding
Remarks:
Why a Postal Asst needs a better pay package is
illustrated in the earlier pages, but a birds view is as under.
VIIth CPC has paid a blind eye to the working hours
being meted out by a Postal Assistant. A Postal Assistant works for 2280 Hours
in a year where as an administrative Central Govt Employee works
for only 1980.5 hours in year. The net difference is
299.5 Hours i.e approx 300(37 days) extra hours is being
performed by Postal assistant without any extra pay for the work
performed but all Pay commissions except Vth CPC have just equated their
pays basing on educational qualifications.
The Department of Posts is being used as financial
distribution agency for all the central govt welfare schemes. Even the
present Government is very pro-active for this idea and a proof for this
is department is implementing Core Banking solutions, Payment Bank,
and actively considering for Post Bank of India. For handling the forth coming
multifarious works along with the present works being done by a Postal Assistant
requires higher caliber and a change in his minimum educational qualifications
from 10+2 to Bachelors Degree is inevitable. In the coming years many
employees will be retiring and a new generation of employees needs to be
recruited. It is the right time for Government to consider this aspect in
view of bright future and better prospects for the department.
After the implementation of the VIth CPC
recommendatios under MACP scheme many of the promotees from Group-D and Postman
cadre have lost their due benefits by getting promoted to Postal Assistant
through Departmental examination. He would have drawn benefits of GP 4200
if he has continued in the same Postman cadre. Examples are cited above.
This
union has brought to the notice of the VIIth cpc Chairman the hardships,
anamolies and nature of work a Postal Assistant is doing and hoped CPC
will justify their hardwork. Till now the employees are peforming
more than their basic qualifications/yard sticks, but these recommendations may
derange from this work culture which may have severe repercussions in future.
Thus
the Postal Assistant does deserve the Pay Band of PB-2 – 9300 – 34800 with
Grade Pay of 4200/-
All through out the 6th CPC period this
union has urged the government for enhancing the OTA but none were
answered. As 7th CPC is favourable where ever it is
justified, we hope the department even now to respond on par with other
department like Railways .
Thus,
the Postal Assistant Cadre is degraded further creating a recurring anomaly to
the retirees as a retired postal assistant draws less pension than a retired
postman. Further on perusal of 7th pay commission in fixation of
pension to a postal assistant who retires on 31-12-2015 gets more pension (pre
revised pay) than the postal assistant who retires after 01-01-2016, actually
draws 15% less pension after revision of pay. While perusing the table
given by 7th pay commission it is noticed that the annual increment
which is stated to be 3% is not exactly 3% but it is between 2.7% to 2.8%
this anomaly arose due to rounding off fraction of amount to the nearest 100
for example 18000 x 3%=18540 but the next stage is 18500 therefore the anomaly
should be rectified by rounding off to the next 100 in the above case to 18600.
ALL ALLOWANCES RATIONALISED OR ABOLISHED BY THE 7TH
PAY COMMISSION SHOULD BE RESTORED
(D.KISHANRAO)
GENERAL SECRETARY,
NAPE
GROUPC
.bmp)
0 comments:
Post a Comment