The Editorial published greeting the
formation of AIPEU GDS (NFPE) Union in the Postal Life APRIL 2012 is reproduced
here under for the consumption of our viewers.
Our Sincere thanks to our Com. I. S. Dabas,
General Secretary, AIPEU Postmen &
MSE/Group ‘D’ and also requesting all P3 & P4 Divisional Secretaries to
kindly assist the CHQ in formation of branches in respect of all divisions at
the earliest.
DAWN OF A NEW GDS ORGANISATION
The P&T Trade Union movement right from its inception had taken up the
cause of the downtrodden Extra Departmental employees in the Postal. The NFPTE
leadership led by Dada
Ghosh stood firm and not relented by declining to withdraw the call of the indefinite
strike until the then
Government conceded the demand for constitution of the ED Pay Committee called
the Rajan Committee in 1957. Step by step improvements and in between snatching
away of the hard won rights of this lowest strata of the postal workers by the
authorities is the life storey of EDAs who are currently called as the GDS.
NFPTE was denied the right to form a separate union as its affiliate in 1954 by
the Government on the grounds that they are not regular employees. Even the
latest New Recognition Rules follows the footsteps of the earlier policy and that
is the background of the NFPE recognised without GDS Union affiliation.
However the NFPE succeeded in forming a strong union of GDS in 1999
because of the great role played by the then Secretary General NFPE Comrade K. Adinarayana.
Despite his word was ‘gospel’ amongst the lakhs of GDS at that time and despite
the situation that anyone named by him could win hands down as the General
Secretary of the newly constituted AIPEDEU, he chose to accept the proposal of
others and unanimous panel was elected at Kaiwara foundation conference of
AIPEDEU. The magnanimity of Comrade Adinarayana was notonly not reciprocated by
the leadership but step by step anti-NFPE platform became the bulwark of the
AIPEDEU leadership. Trade Union democracy was butchered in its subsequent AICs
to prevent any democratic forces capture the leadership.
The achievements if any gained by the EDAs or the GDS are purely because
of the joint movement built up by the NFPE. But attacking the NFPE and its
leadership at every available opportunity has become the basic strategy of
AIPEDEU leadership. NFPE has been blamed for any failures on the part of the
leadership of AIPEDEU. United movement and joint struggle have been the
fundamental policy of the NFPTE and NFPE. But adventurist and individual action
to undermine the NFPE and joint action in order to get cheap popularity had
become the fundamental direction of AIPEDEU. All the efforts taken by the NFPE
including measures to normalize the relation with the AIPEDEU to build a common
movement in the interest of all postal employees both regular and GDS are always
been nullified by the strategic ambition of the leadership of AIPEDEU to
tarnish the Federation. Democratic traditions have been buried and major
decisions including indefinite strikes and anti-NFPE actions have been taken
without even convening the managing bodies like the CWC. The net result of the
above course of action has resulted in huge losses to the three lakhs of GDS.
The GDS became the target point of attack by the Authorities and Government due
to the disunity created by the whole approach of the AIPEDEU. The mass of GDS
are under attack but the AIPEDEU leadership has no answer except to blame the
NFPE for all ills caused by its own failures.
The suffocation of large masses of GDS who always cherished the united
movement under the banner of the NFPTE and NFPE have raised the above questions
in the latest AIC of AIPEDEU in Mozri Conference and they have also raised so
many questions about the mismanagement of the finances of union collected from
the poor GDS all over the country. The leadership has no answer to the pointed
questions of the delegates except to deny them their democratic opportunity to
speak. At the height of the undemocratic attitude of the leadership, the
delegates from several circles including many major circles condemned the leadership
and came to the conclusion that any continuance under this undemocratic
leadership will result in further huge losses to the GDS interests and a new
organisation for the GDS has become the urgent requirement for launching united
movement in advancing the cause of the downtrodden GDS masses. They came
forward to form such a new organisation with the title “All India Postal
Employees Union – GDS[NFPE]” there itself and elected an Adhoc Office Bearer
body to form the union from grass roots to the apex level within a time frame
of six months. Hundreds of delegates from several circles and hundreds of
visitors attending the AIC have then walked out of the AIC and their huge and
long procession ended in another accommodation ‘Shiv Mandir’ where they have conducted
the first ever meeting of the new born organisation AIPEU-GDS[NFPE] and
resolved to build the organisation and strive for united movement under the
able guidance of the NFPE federation.
NFPE formed its first ED Union in 1999 to build a powerful joint
movement but the effort was thwarted by the leadership with its own selfish
goals and designs. Now a new organisation with the declared policy of united
functioning under the guidance of NFPE and its affiliated regular employees’
organisations is born on 7th April,
2012. The P4 CHQ extends its warm congratulations to the leadership of the
AIPEU-GDS[NFPE] and assures total cooperation at all levels from the CHQ to
branch levels. The P4 organisation will stand shoulder to shoulder with the new
formation and will fight to its potential as was the tradition created by our
organisation under the leadership of Comrades V. G. Dalvi and K. Adinarayana.
We hail the dawn of this new GDS organisation and wish it gains strength from
strength organisationally and ideologically and emerge as the real champion of
three lakhs of GDS masses.
