Thursday, 31 March 2016
Payment of Salary / Pension for the month of March-2016 on 01.04.2016 by cash
From: adaccts-odi <adaccts-odi@indiapost.gov.in>
Sent: Thu, 31 Mar 2016 15:56:48
Subject: Payment of Salary / Pension for the month of March-2016
Sir/Madam
Salary and Pension for the month of March-2016 will not be credited into POSB accounts on 01.04.2016 as there will not be any transaction on 01.04.2016 due to transaction holiday in Finacle for EOY activities. I am directed to convey the approval of the competent authority to effect payment of salary / pension on 01.04.2016 for the month of March-2016 by cash to the employees/pensioners in the Circle whose salary/pension are credited in to POSB accounts.
With regards,
(K.P. Parida)
Asst. Director Accounts,
For CPMG, Odisha Circle,
Bhubaneswar-751001
NFPE CIRCULAR
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF POSTAL EMPLOYEES
ALL INDIA POSTAL EMPLOYEES UNION GROUP-C
ALL INDIA POSTAL EMPLOYEES UNION POSTMEN & MTS
ALL INDIA RMS AND MMS EMPLOYEES UNION GROUP-C
ALL INDIA RMS AND MMS EMPLOYEES UNION MAIL GUARD & MTS
ALL INDIA POSTAL ADMINISTRTIVE OFFICES EMPLOYEES UNION
ALL INDIA POSTAL ACCOUNTS EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
ALL INDIA SBCO EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
ALL INDIA CIVIL WING EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
ALL INDIA POSTAL EMPLOYEES UNION GDS
Central Headquarters , New Delhi-110 001.
MOST IMPORTANT/URGENT
PF-01(e)/2016 CIRCULAR 31.03.2016
To
1.All Circle Secretaries/Divisional/Branch Secretaries.
2.All CHQ Office Bearers of NFPE and affiliated Unions/Associations.
GDS MEMBERSHIP VERIFICATION
OUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMMEDIATE TASK ELECT AND SELECT AIPEU-GDS AS THE ONLY ONE RECOGNISED GDS UNION
Dear Comrades,
As all of you are aware Department of Posts has commenced the process of verification of membership of Gramin Dak Sevaks for grant of recognition. The AIPEU-GDS was formed in the year 2012 and the Federal Council of NFPE held at Hyderabad in 2013, which is the highest decision and policy making body of NFPE, has decided to grant “Associate Membership” to the newly formed AIPEU-GDS. For the last four years, AIPEU-GDS is functioning without recognition and joined all the programmes of NFPE including strike. During this four year period it had conducted two All India Conferences and formed Branches in all the 22 Circles. After formation of AIPEU-GDS, it is the first membership verification taking place.
There is no doubt that the AIPEU-GDS will get recognition and shall become number one recognised GDS Union, with flying colours. But that is not enough - we should make the AIPEU-GDS as the only one recognised GDS Union in the Department of Posts. It is not impossible.
For fulfilling the above task, all Circle/Divisional Branches of NFPE affiliated Unions/Associations and also all CHQ office bearers are hereby requested to take immediate action to implement the following directions of NFPE.
1. It should be ensured that Circle/Divisional Unions of AIPEU-GDS is formed in all Circles/Divisions.
2. The name, designation and official address of the Circle/Divisional Secretaries should be intimated to “Com.P.Panduranga Rao, General Secretary, AIPEU-GDS, 1, Patel Road, Shadipur, Dada Ghosh Bhavan PO, New Delhi-110 008”. Email ID: aipeugdsnfpe@gmail.com Mob: 09849466595. Divisional Secretaries should inform the above particulars to Circle Secretaries also.
3. Still there are some divisions where the branches of AIPEU-GDS are not yet formed, inspite of repeated instructions from NFPE. All those Divisions where the branch of AIPEU-GDS is not yet formed should form the Branch Union or at least an Adhoc Committee at Divisional level with a Secretary or Convenor before 15th April 2016. The name, designation and official address with pin code and mobile number of the newly elected Secretary or Adhoc Committee Convenor should be intimated to the General Secretary and Circle Secretary. Wherever Circle Unions are not functioning immediate action should be taken to form a functioning Circle Union or Circle level Adhoc Committee of AIPEU-GDS.
4. It is reported from some circles that some P3 and P4 Divisional Unions of NFPE has not taken any positive action to form the Divisional Branches of AIPEU-GDS. Not only that in some limited divisions, the rival GDS Union, which is campaigning against NFPE and has formed separate unions for Group-C and Postmen/MTS in the name of “UNITED” to break our P3 and P4 Union and thereby to destabilise NFPE, is given all help and assistance by the some P3 and P4 Unions of NFPE and also holding joint meetings with the rival GDS Union which is no more an affiliate or Associate of NFPE. This is not permissile and is in violation of the directions and guidelines issued by NFPE. It is once again made clear that disciplinary action will be taken against those divisions which refuse to form the branches of AIPEU-GDS and which are still cooperating and extending all help to the rival GDS Union and conducting joint meetings. The recognition of all such Divisional Unions which refuse to carry out the directions of NFPE will be withdrawn without any further notice.
5. Last date for submission of application by GDS Unions for participating in the membership verification process is 31-03-2016. AIPEU-GDS has already submitted application to the Directorate on 18-03-2016. Please note that the name of our union is “AIPEU-GDS”. Department may issue orders fixing the last date for submission of authorisation forms to the Divisional heads, along with the model authorisation form with the signature of an officer of the Directorate. Immediately on publishing the authorisation form by the department all the affiliated unions of NFPE should jointly jump into action and collect maximum number of authorisation forms from GDS of each division. As GDS are working in remote villages, action plan should be chalked out now itself, for visiting each and every Branch Post Office by the NFPE leadership, for collecting authorisation forms signed by the GDS in favour of AIPEU-GDS.
6. AIPEU-GDS is the GDS Union of NFPE and it is the collective responsibility of all Circle/Divisional Unions of NFPE to make our GDS Union as the only one recognised union. Let us take it as a challenge and prove that it is possible.
7. A separate circular issued by AIPEU-GDS CHQ is also enclosed herewith.
Fraternally yours,
Wednesday, 30 March 2016
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Trade unions call nationwide strike on September 2 to protest againt amendments in labour laws
Central trade unions today said they will go on one-day nationwide strike on September 2 to protest against unilateral amendments in labour laws and the governments' indifference towards their 12-points charter of demands.
At the National Convention, they gave the call for all India general strike on September 2, 2016 under their joint declaration.
Leaders of the central trade unions including INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC,SEWA, AICCTU, UTUC and LPF participated in the convention and signed the joint declaration.
However, RSS backed Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh did not turn up for the convention and is not part of the declaration.
The unions have asked their members to organise a day- long mass Dharna/Satyagraha in state capitals and industrial centres on August 9 (Quit India Day) ahead of the Strike.
They have also decided to organise joint conventions and campaigns in June-July in states, districts and at industry level and take initiative to involve peasants, agriculture labour and mass of the people in the campaign.
According to declaration, totally ignoring the united opposition of the workers, the government has been moving fast to demolish existing labour laws thereby empowering the employers with unfettered rights to "hire and fire" and stripping the workers and trade unions of all their rights and protection provided in laws.
"As follow up to the PMO's written communication to the Chief Secretaries of States, states are bing directed to carry out Rajasthan type pro-management amendments in labour laws. The Labour Secretary has issued executive order on January 12, 2016 granting exemption to so called start-up Enterprises from inspection and application of 9 major labour laws, thereby legitimizing violations," it said.
Unions also expressed their reservations against proposed Small Factories Bill which provides that major 14 labour laws will not apply to factories employing up to 40 workers.
Similarly, they opposed that Labour Code on Wages Bill and Labour Code on Industrial Relations Bill saying that "under the cover of amalgamation, these bills seek to make registration of unions almost impossible, making retrenchment and closure almost free for the employers class."
"These bills have been put in public domain totally ignoring the trade unions thereby violating the provisions of ILO Convention 144 on tripartite consultation. All these amendments are meant to exclude 90 per cent of workforce from application of labour laws thereby allowing the employers to further squeeze and exploit the workers," it said.
At the National Convention, they gave the call for all India general strike on September 2, 2016 under their joint declaration.
Leaders of the central trade unions including INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC,SEWA, AICCTU, UTUC and LPF participated in the convention and signed the joint declaration.
However, RSS backed Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh did not turn up for the convention and is not part of the declaration.
The unions have asked their members to organise a day- long mass Dharna/Satyagraha in state capitals and industrial centres on August 9 (Quit India Day) ahead of the Strike.
They have also decided to organise joint conventions and campaigns in June-July in states, districts and at industry level and take initiative to involve peasants, agriculture labour and mass of the people in the campaign.
According to declaration, totally ignoring the united opposition of the workers, the government has been moving fast to demolish existing labour laws thereby empowering the employers with unfettered rights to "hire and fire" and stripping the workers and trade unions of all their rights and protection provided in laws.
"As follow up to the PMO's written communication to the Chief Secretaries of States, states are bing directed to carry out Rajasthan type pro-management amendments in labour laws. The Labour Secretary has issued executive order on January 12, 2016 granting exemption to so called start-up Enterprises from inspection and application of 9 major labour laws, thereby legitimizing violations," it said.
Unions also expressed their reservations against proposed Small Factories Bill which provides that major 14 labour laws will not apply to factories employing up to 40 workers.
Similarly, they opposed that Labour Code on Wages Bill and Labour Code on Industrial Relations Bill saying that "under the cover of amalgamation, these bills seek to make registration of unions almost impossible, making retrenchment and closure almost free for the employers class."
"These bills have been put in public domain totally ignoring the trade unions thereby violating the provisions of ILO Convention 144 on tripartite consultation. All these amendments are meant to exclude 90 per cent of workforce from application of labour laws thereby allowing the employers to further squeeze and exploit the workers," it said.
Source:-The Economic Times
Monday, 28 March 2016
REVISION OF INTEREST RATES FOR SMALL SAVINGS SCHEMES
The following revised rates of interest on various Small Savings Schemes applicable for the first quarter of the financial year 2016-17.
GET READY FOR VERIFICATION OF MEMBERSHIP FOR RECOGNITION OF AIPEU-GDS AS NUMBER ONE
Comrades,
If we think of it, it is very surprising that four years of time has gone, how fast, as our AIPEU GDS (NFPE) formed in the month of April, 2012.
From the date of its formation, thousands of GDS comrades in hundreds of Divisions/Branches in 22 Circles still remained and continuing their militancy and courage with NFPE and its affiliates. None of the GDS went back or reel their membership or loyalty to the other GDS Unions.
With great sacrifice and commitment every member of our Union followed the foot-steps of united struggles of working class in general and postal in particular for the last four years. Not only exclusive GDS demands but also common cause of demands , number of struggles our union has participated during this period.
Even though many of our companion GDS members of other unions commented like anything about the RECOGNITION of our union, with bare-foot we walked with the support and cooperation of Departmental unions, Federations in postal, other working class organizations and all other Central Govt organizations including Railways & Defence.
In many divisions/branches/circles Biennial conferences are going on and two All India conferences were held, obviously, the formation of our AIPEU-GDS branches are continuing to fly our flag in all divisions & Circles.
We laid and build a pucca foundation to our Union with the recognition of large membership of GDS in almost all divisions/Circles, in which it extended to Departmental Unions, Federations, Postal JCA, Confederation of Central Govt Employees, National JCA and many other Trade Unions, what else, except to participate in the verification process to get RECOGNITION from the Dept & Government.
Even though our Union conducted individual struggles viz., Dharna programmes at all levels, Parliament March etc., we are not alone. We shouldered with NFPE, Postal JCA, Confederation, NJCA in many struggles for the cause of GDS besides all Central Govt Employees & working class of this nation.
Simultaneously, except our Union, with the cooperation of NFPE, started ‘Legal battle’ by filing a historic case in SUPREME COURT for getting Civil Servant Status to Gramin Dak Sevaks. Even though it may take some time, the Dept & Govt are bound enough to implement the privatization policies namely, franchising the BOs etc., in the rural net work that which caused the continuance of rural postal system in this country.
GDS are in the toughest situation now. You are well aware of much news heard about 7th CPC recommendations. Our GDS Committee is also to be in touch with 7th CPC as referred in the Terms of Reference. Except UNITY with our postal working class, we cannot march forward.
Our Union has elevated to a higher level with its militancy and larger participation of membership in all the struggle programmes for the last four years.
Now the time has come to prove our strength and ability to get RECOGNITION as number ONE union among GDS cadre Unions.
Our sacrifice for the last four years has to become fruitful.
It has no other option except to franchise your declaration / authorization in favour of AIPEU-GDS.
A letter dated 04-03-2016 was addressed by the SR Section of the Directorate, Dak Bhawan, New Delhi to The General Secretary, AIPEU GDS (NFPE). Accordingly, AIPEU GDS (NFPE) CHQ submitted its application in the name* of AIPEU-GDS to participate in the ensuing verification process for RECOGNITION OF SERVICE ASSOCIATIONS under EDA (RA) Rules, 1995.
Soon after notification and publication of "Membership Form" Keep in pace with obtaining declaration / authorization from the GDS members with a bonafide form & signature.
MOBILIZE, UNITE, CONSOLIDATE & STRENGTHEN OUR AIPEU-GDS IN ALL DIVISIONS.
DECIDE TO FRANCHIZE YOUR CHOICE
IN FAVOUR OF
ALL INDIA POSTAL EMPLOYEES UNION – GRAMIN DAK SEVAKS
(AIPEU-GDS)
DECLARE THAT AIPEU-GDS IS THE NUMER ONE RECOGNIZED UNION AMONG GDS CADRE.
After the lapses of 18 years background of one Recognized GDS Union,
NOW SUPPORT
AIPEU-GDS
TO SERVE YOU MUCH BETTER
WITH
UNITY, COMMITMENT & DEDICATION
Monday, March 28, 2016
Today on dated 28.03.2016 a meeting of Secretary Generals of NFPE , FNPO and BPEF was held with the DDG(P) (Nodal Officer of Department with Pay Commission Implementation Cell) , DDG (Estt) and DDG(SR)at Dak Bhawan, New Delhi.
A detailed discussion took place on the demands mentioned in the Memorandum submitted to Secretary (Post) for modification. We emphasized that all demands should be achieved.
We demanded upgraded pay scales for PA, SA, Postman, Mail Guard, MTS, MMS (All categories), Admn, SBCO, Postal accounts and Civil Wing staff etc.
Next meeting with Empowered Committee under Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary will be held on 30.03.2016 at Cabinet Secretariat, Committee Room, Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi.
On behalf of NFPE Com. R.N. Parashar Secretary General NFPE & General Secretary P-III , Com. Giriraj Singh General Secretary R-III , Com. R. Seethalakshmi General Secretary P-IV will take part in the meeting
|
Sunday, 27 March 2016
Monday, March 28, 2016
MEMORANDUM SUBMITTED TO GDS COMMITTEE
Dear Comrades,
A letter (dated 04-03-2016) has been addressed to the General Secretary, AIPEU-GDS(NFPE), New Delhi by the office of the GDS Committee to submit suggestions/views & memorandum on the Terms of the Reference of the Committee.
We have taken in to consideration of various views, suggestions, comments, ideas, rule provisions from all quarters of our departmental unions, well-wishers, GDS members besides thoroughly discussed in CWC meetings.
Even though a detailed memorandum submitted & discussed in the meetings by our Union, NFPE & NJCA the Chairman of the 7th CPC made some adverse comments on GDS cadre.
We tried our level best to project almost all the issues pertaining to Gramin Dak Sevaks are placed before the GDS Committee through this Memorandum.
While submitting the memorandum also many points have been discussed with the Secretary, GDS Committee along with the Secretary General, NFPE.
We are confident and hopefully expecting that the future of Gramin Dak Sevaks would be kept in a respectful & beneficial manner followed by the recommendations of the GDS Committee.
Please click the link below:
The Phenomenon of Negative Interest Rates
ONE is witnessing the emergence of a strange and unprecedented phenomenon in the advanced capitalist world, namely the charging of negative interest rates. The European Central Bank reduced its deposit rate to -0.1 percent in June 2014, and since then it has reduced this rate further, to-0.2 percent in September 2014, -0.3 percent in December 2015, and to -0.4 percent in March 2016. And apart from the ECB, four other national central banks, those of Switzerland, Japan, Denmark, and Sweden, have also reduced interest rates on certain parts of their deposits to negative levels. In addition, the ECB has also announced that if banks borrow from it to increase the amount of loans they give by more than 2.5 percent of the prevailing level, then it would charge -0.4 interest rate on all such borrowings at the margin. (In any case the interest rate it charges on its loans to banks is zero at present).
This phenomenon, it should be noted, is still confined only to transactions between the central bank and its constituent banks, and does not affect transactions between the “public” and the banks. But even this shift to negative interest rates has already had one visible effect: if banks can get loans at negative interest rates then they will also be willing to hold assets which give negative interest rates, provided the latter rates are even marginally higher, and provided these latter assets are otherwise attractive in the sense of being risk-free. Government bonds are generally considered risk-free, and we find that government bond rates in Germany and Japan have also entered into the negative territory.
WORLD RECESSION
To understand why interest rates have entered the negative region, we must look at the context provided by the world recession. A recession entails low investment, which basically means that wealth-holders are not very keen to hold reproducible physical capital assets; what they are interested in holding instead is money. A recession therefore entails an increase in what economists call “liquidity preference”, namely a greater desire on the part of wealth-holders to hold their wealth in the form of money rather than in the form of capital goods (or claims on capital goods, such as bonds and equity).
One way of nullifying the effects of this increased “liquidity preference” on the part of private wealth-holders, is to get banks to show the opposite preference, for capital goods (or claims on capital goods) instead of money, ie, to get them to run down excess cash reserves, or even to borrow money from the central bank, to buy equity and bonds which would then indirectly raise the demand for goods in general. It would do so by making investment more attractive (because finance for it has become cheaper) and by raising consumption through the “wealth effect” (since the holders of bonds and equity feel wealthier when the prices of these assets go up because of banks’ demand).
This is what monetary policy has been trying to do ever since the beginning of the world recession in 2008. The Federal Reserve Board of the USA, and the ECB, had brought down the interest rate at which they make funds available to banks to virtually zero. Even so however banks were unwilling to lend to corporations and households, because of their bitter experience with being saddled with “toxic assets” earlier. In other words it is not just the “public” but even the banks, which had been afflicted with “excessive liquidity preference” in the current crisis. Everybody, whether banks or the “public”, simply wanted to hold money and nobody wanted to lend, which is why the recession persisted.
This situation could be overcome, if instead of all this rigmarole of making the banks give larger loans to the private sector so that this sector’s demand for goods could increase (which is what monetary policy tries to do), the government just directly bought more goods. The government could simply borrow from the banking system (which is what an increase in the fiscal deficit amounts to) to finance its larger demand for goods, and the recession would be ameliorated. But a larger fiscal deficit is unacceptable to finance capital, which always insists on “sound finance”. (Earlier such “sound finance” had meant balancing the budget, while these days it means a cap on the ratio of the fiscal deficit to GDP, usually at 3 percent; but in either case the fiscal deficit route for overcoming a recession is avoided). But if the fiscal route for overcoming the recession is avoided, then all that the system has, by way of policy instruments at its command, is monetary policy. And if monetary policy is unsuccessful in causing a revival, even when the interest rate has been pushed down to zero, then the system is forced to push the interest rate even lower, ie, to the negative region.
CAPITALISM IN A DEEP STRUCTURAL CRISIS
The pushing of certain interest rates to the negative region therefore indicates a number of things: first, that the crisis of the capitalist world, whose end, we are repeatedly told, is imminent, continues to persist; second, that the worry over this persistence is so serious that capitalist countries are desperate to use whatever instrument they can to end it, even to the point of having negative interest rates which are unprecedented in the history of capitalism. There have of course been negative real interest rates (when the rate of inflation exceeds the nominal interest rate), but not negative nominal interest rates.
A slight digression is in order here. Bourgeois theory holds that investment entails a sacrifice of consumption. It entails that some goods which could have been consumed today are set aside from today’s consumption but are added to capital stock so that society becomes more productive tomorrow, and an even greater amount of consumption goods than what is sacrificed today is obtained tomorrow because of this addition to capital stock. All capital stock, which is simply the cumulative total of such investments, is thus based on “sacrifice”; and profit (or surplus) as a category of income constitutes a “reward for sacrifice”.
A necessary condition for the validity of this view is that the economy should always be operating at full employment, ie, that all resources are always fully utilised. But this has never been the case under capitalism, which instead has always had unutilised resources (except during wars, but these do not reflect the “normal” functioning of the system). It follows therefore that an increase in investment, instead of requiring a fall in consumption, actually leads to a concurrent increase in consumption. This is always the case (except during wars); but it becomes particularly visible in situations like the present.
Now, if profits and, by inference interest rates, were a reward for sacrifice, then negative interest rates could never arise. They would simply be impossible to explain. The fact that the system has to have such negative rates points yet again to the vacuity of bourgeois theory.
Even with negative interests rates however there is unlikely to be any significant recovery from the crisis. If investment was not getting stimulated at zero interest rates, it is unlikely that a slightly lower (ie, negative) interest rate will change the situation all that much. It is not as if a whole stock of investment projects have been waiting in the wings, which would suddenly become worthwhile because of the slight fall in interest rate; on the contrary such desperate measures, which underscore the gloomy economic scenario, will take away whatever euphoria the capitalists may have acquired of late, make them more “edgy”, and hence further dampen their “animal spirits”. Negative interest rates could mean at best a substitution of high-cost debt of firms by lower-cost debt within their existing portfolio, but not an expansion in the overall capital stock, or even much enlarged consumption.
A fall in the interest rate no doubt can weaken the currency of the country, and hence work in the direction of snatching demand away from other countries even within a generally stagnant world market. But even this route to recovery is unlikely to be of much help in a situation such as now, where all countries are lowering their exchange rates vis-à-vis the US dollar, ie, all countries other than the US. The US itself however is increasingly resorting to protectionism as is evident from firms being penalised for outsourcing services to countries like India.
Even if perchance there is some recovery caused by the negative interest rates through the creation of a new “bubble”, since the continuation of the “bubble” would require that the negative interest rates should be allowed to persist, when such a “bubble” does collapse, the rates would have to be pushed into a further negative region for bringing about a recovery from that situation.
Negative interest rates in other words, even assuming that they do work to stimulate a revival, ie, in the most optimistic scenario for capitalism, are likely to end up being analogous to providing drugs to a drug-addict whose need for the stuff keeps increasing over time.
The reason why such measures, notwithstanding their unconventionality, are both unlikely to work and push the system towards greater dysfunctionality even in the event of their working is because capitalism today is caught within a deep structural crisis.
For a very long period, right until the First World War, the system had the prop of a colonial arrangement which ensured that recessions were brief and were ensconced within an overall long boom. In the post-Second World War period, State intervention in demand management played a similar role and came to the rescue of the system, even after the prop of the colonial arrangement had ceased to be effective as a stimulus (which is not the same as saying that imperialism had become irrelevant). Capitalism today however has no such props: the colonial arrangement not only cannot be revived but would also be inadequate as a stimulus for a long boom (because of the limited relative size of the colonial markets in the present context); at the same time, State intervention in demand management cannot work as a stimulus because of finance capital’s insistence upon “fiscal responsibility”.
Measures like monetary policy, which really amount to tweaking the system here and there, work only if there is some basic underlying prop that keeps the system going. But in the absence of such a prop, as is the case now, such tweaking, even if it takes unconventional forms like negative interest rates, is unlikely to work.
Courtesy : The People's Democracy, Vol. XL No. 13
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