Memorandum submitted to Department by the
both Federations regarding GDS dated 08.12.2015
Departmental council meeting was held on 8th Dec 2015 under the Chair of Secretary (P). 7th CPC related issues are discussed. Both Federations submitted joint Memorandum given as under. The meeting discussed all the matters cadre wise. Secretary responded favorably for our demands. Let us hope for the best.
Gramin
Dak Sevaks (GDS)
Eventhough the Government repeatedly refused to include the
Gramin Dak Sevaks under the purview of 7th CPC, the 7th
CPC suo-moto reviewed the case of Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) and made the
following most damaging and retrograde recommendations regarding Gramin Dak
Sevaks.
Para 11.8.50 -
Government of India has so far held that the GDS is outside the civil services
of the Union and shall not claim to be at par with the Central Government
employees. The Supreme Court Judgment also states that GDS are only holders of
civil posts but not civilian employees. The Commission endorses this view and
therefore has no recommnedations with regard to GDS.
We strongly disagree with the above observations of the 7th
CPC. In Chapter XXXVIII of our memorandum submitted to 7th CPC, we
have explained all the legal points regarding grant of Civil Servant status to
GDS.
We furnish below, the observation made in the fourth CPC Report
by Hon’ble Justice (Retd.) Supreme Court, Shri. P. N. Singhal, who was the
Chairman of the fourth Central Pay Commission, regarding the status of GDS:
“A letter was received from the Ministry of Communications (P&T
Board) for exclusion of the Extra Departmental Employees (Now called GDS),
numbering about three lakhs, from the purview of our inquiry. It was stated
that the system of Extra-Departmental Agents was peculiar to the P&T
organsation and was designed to extend postal facilities in rural and backward areas
where opening of regular departmental post offices was not justified due to
inadequate workload. The remuneration and conditions of service of Extra
Departmental Agents were also different from those of regular employees. The
third pay commission accepted the view that the Extra-Departmental agents were
not holders of civil posts and decided to exclude them from its
purview. The matter is, however, beyond controversy after the decision of the
Supreme Court in Gokulnandas’ casewhere it has been declared that
the Extra Departmental Agents is
not a casual workers, but “holds” a post under the administrative control of
the state” and that while such a post is outside the regular civil services,
there is no doubt that it a post under the “state”. In view of this
pronouncement, we are unable to accept the contention that Extra- Departmental
employees were outside the purview of the terms of our commission”
From
the above observation it is clear that fourth CPC was in conclusion that the ED
Agents (now GDS) are Civil Servants and therefore they are to be brought under
the purview of Pay Commission.
Now the recommendations made by Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur,
Chairman 7th CPC, who is also a Retired Justice of the Supreme Court
is quite contradictory to the observation made by Justice (Retd) Supreme Court
Shri P. N. Singhal, chairman, Fourth CPC.
Further Justice Charanjit Talwar Committee headed by Retired
Justice Shri Charanjit Talwar of Delhi High Court, who was the Chairman of the
One-man Committee which examined the wages and Service Conditions of Gramin Dak
Sevaks (then EDAs) has made the following recommendations in its report
submitted to Government.
“Extra Departmental Agents have to be included within the overall class
of Civil Servants being holders of civil posts. They can be grouped as
“additional” to the departmental employees, but they cannot be classified as a
class apart from the Civil Servants. At any rate they cannot be classified with
the sole object of not granting them benefits which accrue to departmental
employee………………………………. The plea taken by the Department before the second and
third Pay Commissions and also before various learned Tribunals that ED Agents
are a class apart is entirely misconceived. It is violative of Article 14 and
16 of the constitution…………. They have been held by the Supreme Court to
be Civil Servants. Therefore, these employees are required in future to be
includedwithin the purview of the Pay Commission………….
It is therefore recommended that whenever it is required to review the service
conditions and wage structure of the employees of the Department of Posts, ED
Agents be bracketed along with the departmental employees. There is no need to
set up a separate committee or commission for ED Agents.”
Here again the recommendations made by Chairman 7th
CPC is contradictory to the recommendations of another Judge Shri. Charanjit
Talwar.
Thus it can be safely concluded that the 7th CPC has
not examined the case of GDS in a fair and judicial manner, but simply repeated
the often – repeated arguments of the Postal Board and Government of India to
deny Justice to the three lakhs Gramin Dak Sevaks.
We urge upon the Government of India and Departmental of Post to
reject the retrograde recommendations of the 7th CPC relating to GDS
and treat the GDS as Civil Servants and extend all the benefits of the
departmental employees on pro-rata basis to Gramin Dak Sevaks also.
