It was a raucous meeting that Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed on Saturday evening in Chikkadpally where she came to interact with hundreds of Gramin Dak Sewaks drawn from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
“You have been carrying out a struggle against the low wages and low increments. The union Cabinet has agreed to your main demands and the salaries are increased substantially,” said Ms. Sitharaman as the audience kept up a noisy sideshow. Gramin Dak Sewaks are temporary staffers who carry out postal duties in rural areas. GDSs represent the Central Government in the villages and towns they work, said Ms. Sitharaman.
On June 6, the Union Cabinet took the step of acceding to a set of demands by the GDSs including reduction in salary slabs, maternity leave, and a host of other steps. “In Chennai where I addressed a meeting yesterday, your colleagues were asking for pension. I am going to lay your demand before the Prime Minister,” said the Defence Minister.
Among the slogans raised by the GDSs in Hyderabad were demand for regularisation as well as pension.
Currently there are about 2.6 lakh GDSs across the country and 10,030 in Telangana.
EOM/