Dear Comrades,
Vote out Neo-Liberal Globalisation Policies.
Vote for Alternative Pro-People, Pro-Working Class
Policies
Once again our country is going
for a general election. India is the
biggest democratic country in the world and general election is an opportunity
to every citizen to express their opinion about the future Government and also
future of our country.
We, the Central Government
employees including Postal employees are well aware of the fact that future of
the Central Government Employees and various Central Government departments
depends upon the policy of the Central Government. As we are working directly under the Central
Government, the policies are first experimented on us. Upto 1991, the policy of the Government was
to strengthen and expand the Central services and Public sector. Based on this policy more and more offices
were opened and employees are recruited and appointed to fill up vacant posts
and also newly created posts. The total
number of Central Government employees went upto 40 lakhs.
From 1991 onwards, the policy of
the Government changed and started implementing the neo-liberal globalisation
policies. Ban on filling up of vacant
posts and creation of new posts was imposed.
The process of converting Government departments into corporation
started with the hidden agenda of ultimate privatization. Attack came on the Telecom department first,
and it is converted into three Corporations.
Expenditure reforms committee under the former Finance Secretary Geetha
Krishnan was constituted and it recommended sweeping changes in all Central
Government departments in tune with the liberalisation, privatisation and
globalisation (LPG) policies of the Government.
Government started large scale outsourcing of the Government functions
and many small departments were closed and many are in the verge of
closure. Downsizing has reached its peak
and thousands of posts are abolished.
Casual and Contract worker employment has become the order of the day
and in some departments the number of casual/contract workers exceeded the
number of regular employees.
When the NDA government came to
power defeating the Congress government, employees were under the impression
that the above policies of earlier government will be changed. But to their dismay, the new government also
persued the same policies. A separate
portfolio for disinvestment was created and a Cabinet Minister is appointed as
incharge of the Disinvestment Ministry.
Downsizing, outsourcing, contractorisation and privatisation continued
unabated. Attack on the Central
Government departments and employees continued.
Finally New Pension Scheme called Contributory Pension Scheme was also
introduced.
UPA Government led by Congress
which again came to power continued the same policy more vigourously. The Pension Privatisation bill called PFRDA
Bill was introduced in the Parliament with the help of main opposition party,
BJP and again when the bill was passed both the NDA and UPA voted in favour of
the bill. Only left parties opposed the
bill. Regarding the main demands of the
Central Government employees also the attitude of both the Governments was
negative. Only due to the continuous
struggle conducted by Confederation and NFPE some improvements could be
achieved. In Postal, entire employees
went on 14 days strike in 2000 but the then NDA Government constituted a
cabinet committee of group of ministers under the then Home Minister and
rejected all the demands. Now also the
UPA government rejected all our main demands.
Both the governments tried to
privatise postal sector by amending Indian Post Office Act for granting licence
to private courier services. The move to
close down 9797 post offices and 300 RMS offices were defeated only because of
the united resistance of the Postal employees.
The attitude of both the Government towards departmentalisation of
Gramin Dak Sevak was totally negative.
Even after the pronouncement of Supreme Court that GDS are Civil
Servants the government is not ready to grant Civil Servant status to GDS.
From the above we can understand that
future of the Central Government employees including Postal employees depends
upon the policies of the Government.
Without changing the policy, we cannot except any positive action from
Government. Hence the coming general
election is very crucial to us. From our
past experience we should recognise our friends and foes. We have to defeat the anti -people,
anti-worker neo liberal policies at any cost.
NFPE calls upon the entire Postal employees to vote out the Neo Liberal
Globalisation Policies and to vote for an alternative pro-people, pro-working
class policies.
