CIRCULAR No.27 dtd.14-03-12

GDS-COMPASSIONATE APPOINTMENTS-CLARIFICATION-DIRECTORATE ORDER

//COPY//

REGULARIZATION OF CASUAL LABOURERS - WINS A LEGAL BATTLE - CHENNAI NEWS

After waiting 30 years, 150 postal staff regularised

Chennai, Mar 9, 2012(TNN): After waiting for 30 years, close to 150 employees of the postal department will finally become regular employees, thanks to the intervention of the Central Administrative Tribunal ( CAT). A bench of G Shanthappa, judicial member and R Satapathy, administrative member, passed orders on the matter.

The applicants were appointed mazdoors with the department of posts in 1982. While joining, they were assured that their services would be regularised. Based on directions in a Supreme Court judgment, the department introduced a scheme in 1991 which stipulated that all casual labourers who worked for eight hours a day for 240 days every year as on November 29, 1989 would be conferred temporary status.

Those who were granted temporary status and had worked for three consecutive years would be conferred with ‘Group D’ status. These employees – who are now called multi-tasking staff – would be eligible for pension and other service benefits.

When they approached the tribunal in 2010, they were directed to make individual representations to authorities by listing out their grievances. But their claims were rejected mainly on two grounds – that they were overage and that they did not have the qualification.

When their fresh applications came up for hearing, M Ravindran, additional solicitor general who appeared for the Union government, said authorities did not have any objection to regularise their services.

The bench said there “cannot be any hindrance for the absorption of applicants” who have been working for so long. “It has also come to our notice that there are enough vacancies to accommodate the applicants before us,” the bench said.

Authorities were directed to consider regularising these applicants and give age relaxation and training for those who did not possess matriculation skills within three months.

source : extracted from other website

ఆల్ ఇండియా కాన్ఫరెన్స్ హాజరగుటకు బ్రాంచ్ / డివిజన్ డెలిగేట్స్ కు స్పెషల్ సి.ఎల్ మంజూరు కాబడిన ఉత్తరము కాపి --

POSTAL WORKERS ON THE ROAD - EGYPT - NEWS

Thousands of Egypt’s Postal workers are continuing a strike over economic and political demands against the government of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf for the second day in a row.

Postal workers in the governorates of Gharbiya, Qena, Ismailiya, Northern Sinai, Meniya, Sharqiya, Beni-Suwaif, El-Fayoum, Luxor and Aswan - which cover geographic districts from one end of the country to the other - have shut down 50% of Egypt's post offices since yesterday. Colleagues in the governorates of Alexandria and Kafr El-Sheikh are set to join the action tomorrow.

Workers are demanding that the government purge the publicly owned postal services of hundreds of that they consider corrupt managers as well as tens of highly paid consultants.

The workers are also demanding a 7% annual pay increase to keep up with inflation and a 200% bonus for meeting annual production goals.

The postal workers strike by was called last Friday by the newly formed Independent Union of Postal Workers.

Union delegates elected a strike committee composed of six rank-and-file representatives who cover various geographic districts in order to negotiate a settlement with government.

In the weeks after the fall of former dictator Mubarak, thousands of postal workers organized several strikes and protests to demand that the new government replace officials tied to the old regime. Workers also began a campaign to build new local and national unions to replace pro-Mubarak formations that they deemed pro-management.

The Egyptian government uses post offices not only to deliver regular mail services but also to distribute pension checks to millions of retirees.

source: extracted from other web pages

PIN Code Contest Turns out Surprises

Writing those magical six-digit numbers in your letters could help them reach the right destination even if the address is incomplete. Pin code, an abbreviation of postal index number code, that completes an address are often not given much significance.

A contest on usage of pin code recently conducted by the Tamil Nadu circle of the Department of Posts threw up many surprises. Of the 42,000 entries from across the State and Puducherry, only 3,560 had correct answers. Some of the winners chosen through a lucky draw here recently were primary school students from districts such as Tuticorin and Puducherry.

Though introduced to identify a particular location in a city and facilitate delivery of letters, specifying pincode in addresses have become mandatory to obtain several services.

Even after three decades since its launch on August 15, 1972, only 60 per cent of the people are aware of pin code. Officials of the Postal Department recalled instances when the mails traveled to different locations sharing the same name because they were devoid of pin code. Postmen played a pivotal role in delivering mails without proper address or pin code.

Right from how many digits does a pin code contain what they signify to their meaning, the contest had put forth interesting and informative questions to the participants.

Tamil Nadu and Kerala share the first digit of the pin code. While the first three digits indicate the district, the last three refer to the delivery post office. Starting from GPO (600001), Chennai has pin codes up to 600126 (Madambakkam).

Chief Post Master General (Tamil Nadu circle), Shanthi Nair, said the contest was open to school, college students and other customers to popularise the concept of using pin code. On an average, one or two pin codes are added in the State every year. When a delivery post office is merged, its pin code is later allotted to another. But, merging a post office with a separate pin code is a rare occurrence.

While three toppers get a laptop each, seven persons who share the second place won digital cameras, she said.

Since its launch in 1972 only 60 per cent of the people are aware of pin codes. The contest brought out interesting queries.

Source : the Hindu

courtesy : extracted from other web pages

source:other web pages

SOLAR LAMPS FOR SALE AT POs- NEWS

Now, Post Offices outside city retail Solar Lamps

CHENNAI: Looking for an eco-friendly solar lamp to tide over the power cuts? You might be able to pick up one at your neighbourhood post office. The Chennai circle of India Post is selling solar lamps through 19 post offices across Tamil Nadu to give a fillip to its retail post initiative.

"The demand has been on the rise so we will make the lamps available in other post offices too," says M S Ramanujan, postmaster general. The department started selling solar lamps in Chengalpet from September 2011. In February, post offices in Vellore and Kanchipuram started selling the lamps to cover areas such as Madurantakam, Tiruporur, Uttiramerur, Sriperumbudur, Tiruvallur, Tiruttani, and Sathuvacheri.

"In the last month nearly 1,000 lamps were sold by the new centres," says an official. The demand is probably driven by the daily power cuts across the state.

The department sells three kinds of lamps with LED lights and integrated solar panels that can be charged in the sun. The prices range from Rs 399 to Rs 1,699, and come with high and low settings or a facility to charge mobile phones, depending on the model. "Once the lamps are fully charged they can be used for four to eight hours," says Ramanujan.

The department decided to sell solar lamps after successfully retailing gold coins and university application forms, and opening counters to accept utility bills. "We were forced to look at various options after the internet and other forms of communication eroded our traditional mail base," he says.

After a solar lamp manufacturer approached the department, it decided to start selling the lamps in rural areas. "Our biggest advantage is our network, especially in rural areas. The demand has gone up with power cuts and the beginning of the exam season," says Ramanujan.

To cater to the demand, the department has placed orders with a few more companies. However, supply is not sufficient to meet the rising demand. "Every household needs at least two lamps and that is tough to meet," he says.

extracted from other web pages

AWARDS FOR BEST PERFORMERS IN PROCURING PLI/RPLI BUSINESS - A.P CIRCLE

Awards for PLI / RPLI Best performers in AP Circle

As a part of celebration of February 2012 as Postal Life Insurance month, a valedictory function is being organized on 29.02.2012 at 17.00 hrs at Asman Mahal Community hall, P& T Officers Quarters, Khairatabad to felicitate the best PLI/RPLI performers in Andhra Pradesh Postal Circle. The awards are being presented in the following categories for procuring highest business in PLI/RPLI during the year 2010-2011.

Sl. No		Category		Best performer in PLI		Best Performer RPLI
1.		Best Region		Vijayawada		Vijayawada
2.		Best division		Visakhapatnam		Khammam
3.		Best Development Officer (PLI)		K Ramakrishnaiah O/o SSPOs, Secunderabad dn.		-
4.		Best Departmental Employee		Y Madhava Rao, PA Guntur division of Vijayawada Region.		M Sreenivas, IP Tadepalligudem sub dn of Vijayawada Region
5.		Best Direct Agent		Md Osman Basha V.V.Reddy Nagar, Proddatur, Kurnool Region		G Venkata Rao, Tadepalli BO, Vijayawada Region.
6		Best Field Officer		M. Sreeramulu Hyderabad City Region		-
7.		Best Gramin Dak Sewak		-		S.Muralidhar BPM, Satyanarana puram BO,Tirupathi division Kurnool Region.

Ms Rachel Chatterjee,, Chair Person, APPSC, has consented to be the Chief Guest and give away the awards to the best performers. Ms.Karuna Pillai, Chief Postmaster General, Andhra Pradesh Circle will preside over the function.

//COPY//

courtesy : IPASPANDHRA.

ABOUT 28-02-12 STRIKE - NEWS

The world’s biggest ever strike, India, 28th February 2012

New Delhi, Feb28, 2012: Over 100,000,000 Indian workers come out on strike today. Workers from many unions and sectors are trying to gain improvements in areas such as, pay, pensions, and employment rights.

The strike has been called because workers have said ‘enough is enough’, after two years of the government refusing to negotiate with unions on any issue. Indian’s are sick of the rich getting richer, record economic growth, whilst 400 million people have not got a pot to piss in.

The General Strike called by all national trade union centres today.

An estimated one hundred million Indian workers walk out of work for twenty four hours in what is likely to be the biggest strike in world history.

Over a dozen of India’s largest trade unions have called for and signed up to the strike. The strike will affect many sectors, including public sector banks, ports and docks, railways, insurance, road transport, energy workers, miners, and aviation workers.

“Recent months have seen a mounting wave of militant worker struggles in India, strikes for union recognition in India’s expanding auto sector, including a two-day occupation of a Hyundai plant, a wildcat strike by Air India personnel, and walkouts by telecom workers and coal miners against the central government’s privatization plans.”

The different unions have a variety of different demands, they include gaining the same rights and protection for temporary and contract workers that permanent workers have, raising and extending the minimum wage, resisting the attacks on trade unions, stopping price rises, the creation of a national social security fund, increase in pensions, and combatting corruption.

Despite seeing growth of around 9% each year, more than four hundred million Indians live in absolute poverty. Only a handful of countries enjoy similar growth, yet Indian workers have not even been flicked so much as a crumb from the bosses table. Working and living conditions are equal to, and actually worse than some African countries that are not experiencing the same economic growth.

Indian workers are starting to switch on to the fact that they ‘system’ only serves the wealthy and the bosses.

The last few year has seen a dramatic rise in the number off millionaires and billionaires, yet jobs are lost, wages cut, and unions rights pushed back. India’s richest fifty five people have 1/6th of all the country’s wealth.

Solidarity with the Indian workers on the 28th February

extracted from other web pages.