Gramin Dak Sevaks on an Indefinite Strike Till NDA Government Meet Their Demands

In an unprecedented show of courage and unity, nearly three lakh Gramin Dak Sevak (GDS) employees of the Postal Department went on an indefinite strike on May 22.

Their grievances - long pending demands of the Gramin Dak Sevaks for regularization as government employees and the ill-implementation of the recommendations of Kamalesh Chandra Committee Report on the service conditions of the GDS.

The historic strike challenges the apathetic attitude of the NDA government in addressing the issues and has gained support from all the postal employees’ unions. As a result, almost 1,29,500 Branch Post offices have been reported as closed on May 22.

Gramin Dak Sevaks are extra-departmental agents other than regular postal department employees who are recruited by the Central Government’s Department of Posts to serve in the rural area. Presently, more than 60% of the employees of the Postal Department are GDS and more than 80% of the Post Offices are GDS Branch Post Offices.

While the major revenue of the department comes from GDS, the sevaks had to go through the bitter struggles of demanding a pay and facilities at par with the regular postal employees.

A one-man Kamalesh Chandra Committee was constituted by the government to study the wage structures and the working conditions of the GDS. In November 2016, the committee submitted its report recommending the minimum wage of GDS to be Rs 10,000 and a maximum of Rs 35,480, the abolition of the 50 years age limit, an annual hike of 3 percent an a children’s education allowance of Rs 6,000 per annum, among others.

However, even after the length of two and a half years, the Kamalesh Chandra report has not been implemented by the Department of Posts and Government of India. Disrupted by the indifferent attitude of the Government of India and the postal department, rural postal service personnel working in all post offices of the country, are sitting on an indefinite strike.

Expressing its solidarity with the striking employees, Centre of Indian Trade Unions said in a press statement, “The NDA government must immediately settle the issue by agreeing to the just demands of these grass root level workers who deliver valuable service to the common people.”

Responding to the demonstration, Regional Labour Commissioners called for a conciliatory meeting which was attended by all the unions. The department failed in providing a written assurance regarding the date of implementation of Kamalesh Chandra Committee, leaving the future of the most subjugated section of workers as a question with no answer.