Postal staff withdraw strike

The joint action council of postal employees has withdrawn their indefinite stir.

The strike, which entered the 10th day on Thursday, was withdrawn following an assurance from the Secretary, Department of Posts, that the demands of the striking employees will be considered within a month.

The strike had affected postal services across the State. The postal employees, both regular staff and Grameen Dak Sevaks, were demanding pay revision for Grameen Dak Sevaks (rural India Post staff). They had been seeking implementation of the recommendations of the Kamlesh Chandra Committee on the pay revision of the GDS.

The strike was nearly total in 23 postal divisions and three RMS divisions in the State.

Affected services

The strike had hit delivery of passports, advice memos by the Public Service Commission, and question paper setting in universities. Speed Post mails too were stuck. Even delivery of parcels from e-commerce sites had been hit, the staff said.

The council, comprising the National Federation of Postal Employees and the Federation of National Postal Organisation, had earlier this week decided to intensify the agitation, and submitted a memorandum to Governor P. Sathasivam urging the Union government to settle the strike. The Chief Minister too had sent a letter to the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister on the issue, they said.

No permanent solution

Grameen Dak Sevaks had been struggling for decades, they said. Each time they protested, some allowances would be made, but no permanent solution had been found for their grievances till date. “The Kamlesh Chandra Committee had submitted its report to the Union government in November 2016, but it was sitting on the recommendations,” they alleged. Even the Bharatiya Postal ED Union, affiliated to the BJP, was on strike, they had said.