India Post: From Tradition to Transformation

India Post: From Tradition to Transformation

-Bruhaspati Samal-

There are institutions that merely serve people, and there are institutions that become inseparable from their lives. India Post belongs to the latter. It lives in a mother’s handwritten letter to her distant son, a money order supporting a struggling family, a savings passbook representing years of sacrifice, an insurance policy protecting loved ones, and the familiar footsteps of a postman bringing news, hope and human connection to the doorstep. For generations, India Post has been more than a government department; it has been part of India’s social fabric, connecting villages with cities and citizens with opportunities. But history teaches us that no institution can survive on memories alone. As society changes, institutions must reinvent themselves. That's why, India Post is continuously transforming  its methods to preserve its  legacy, to remain close to the people and to move forward with the times.

The journey from manual operations to digital technology marks a historic transformation in India Post. Handwritten registers, paper-based booking, manual sorting and physical records once formed the backbone of postal operations. Computerisation, electronic databases, barcode-based identification, digital tracking and integrated applications have progressively modernised these processes. The IT Modernisation Project laid the foundation, while Advanced Postal Technology (APT), or IT 2.0, marked another major milestone. Rolled out across all 23 postal circles by August 2025, the platform covered more than 1.70 lakh post offices, mail offices and administrative units. Its integrated digital workflows support booking, processing and delivery, reducing dependence on fragmented legacy systems. The reported handling of over 32 lakh bookings and 37 lakh deliveries in a single day demonstrates the scale of this transformation. This is not merely a shift from pen to keyboard; it is the evolution of a traditional network into an integrated, technology-driven service organisation.

The greatest challenge lies in competing with private courier companies and modern logistics platforms. E-commerce has transformed customer expectations, making real-time tracking, timely delivery, digital payments and responsive grievance redressal essential. India Post is strengthening its position through electronic booking, OTP-based delivery, parcel tracking, modern processing systems and time-definite Speed Post services. Its vast geographical reach remains a distinctive advantage, particularly in rural and remote areas where private operators may have limited presence. During 2025–26, India Post reportedly recorded total revenue of ₹15,373 crore, while its parcel and logistics segment registered 70% growth. These figures reflect the growing importance of technology-enabled logistics in its business. However, India Post cannot rely on its historic reach alone. Timely delivery, competitive pricing, efficient transportation, modern sorting facilities and excellent customer service must become consistent standards. Its objective should be not merely to survive competition but to establish itself as a dependable, modern logistics provider.

Technology is equally vital to postal savings and insurance, where India Post has earned the confidence of millions. Postal savings schemes, recurring deposits, time deposits, the Public Provident Fund and Sukanya Samriddhi accounts have helped ordinary households build financial security. Postal Life Insurance (PLI) and Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) have extended insurance protection to diverse sections of society. Today, however, commercial banks, private insurers and digital financial platforms compete through instant transactions, mobile applications and personalised services. India Post must therefore simplify procedures, improve digital access and deliver faster, more convenient services. India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) demonstrates how the traditional postal network can combine digital banking with doorstep service. Biometric authentication, digital transactions and Direct Benefit Transfer have strengthened financial inclusion, especially in underserved communities. Approximately ₹45,000 crore is reportedly distributed annually through DBT via IPPB. India Post’s unique strength is its ability to combine modern financial technology with a trusted human presence in communities where banking facilities remain difficult to access.

The transformation extends beyond mail and money. DIGIPIN, a digital addressing system, has the potential to improve location identification and delivery accuracy, especially where conventional addresses are incomplete. Electronic tracking, digital payments and mobile-based operational tools can make services more transparent and accountable. With approximately 2.5 lakh Gramin Dak Sevaks, India Post possesses an extraordinary network for connecting rural households, farmers, small businesses and remote communities with digital commerce and essential services. Nevertheless, technological progress must not deepen the digital divide. Elderly people, pensioners, persons with disabilities and citizens unfamiliar with smartphones must continue to receive accessible, assisted services. Cybersecurity, data privacy, reliable connectivity and prompt resolution of technical failures are indispensable. Equally important is the postal workforce. Employees and Gramin Dak Sevaks need adequate training, equipment, staffing and support to operate new systems effectively. Technology can improve efficiency, but committed workers turn digital capability into meaningful public service.

National Postal Week, observed from 9 to 15 October, is an opportunity to celebrate this evolution and consider the road ahead. India Post must move beyond its traditional identity as a letter-delivery and savings institution and emerge as an integrated network for logistics, e-commerce, digital banking and citizen services. Its achievements should be measured not only by revenue, transaction volumes or technological installations, but also by delivery reliability, affordability, customer satisfaction and equitable access. Modernisation must strengthen its public-service character while enabling it to compete effectively with private enterprises. The real objective is to combine the efficiency of a digital organisation with the accessibility and trustworthiness of a public institution.

India Post must never allow its glorious past to become a substitute for a competitive future. It must challenge private couriers through speed and reliability, banks through digital convenience, and private insurers through responsive service. Its greatest asset, however, remains the trust of generations and its presence in the everyday lives of the people. The postman may now carry a smartphone instead of relying solely on paper records, and a parcel may be tracked digitally rather than through handwritten registers, but the fundamental promise remains unchanged: to connect, to serve and to earn public confidence. India Post will remain relevant not merely because it has survived for centuries, but because it continues to change with the times, compete with the best, reach the last mile and stand beside the common citizen. Technology may transform its methods, but public service must remain its soul.

(The author is a Service Union Representative and a Columnist, presently working as the General Secretary, Confederation of Central Govt Employees and Workers and President, Forum of Civil Pensioners' Association / National Coordination Committee of Pensioners' Association, Odisha State Committee)

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Working Hours Equity

- Bruhaspati Samal -

For decades, a curious contradiction has remained embedded in the working structure of the Central Government: employees belonging to the same broad public-service system are governed by different weekly working regimes merely because one category is described as “administrative” and another as “operative”. Administrative offices of the Government of India generally observe a five-day week, while large sections of operative establishments, including the Postal Department, continue to function on a six-day basis. The issue is therefore much larger than the question of whether Saturday should be declared a holiday. It is about equality of status, equitable distribution of working time and the dignity of labour. If five-day working is considered appropriate for efficient public administration, the rationale for denying the same principle to another category of employees performing essential public services requires serious examination.

The figures placed by the National Federation of Postal Employees provide a striking illustration. For Postal Operative Staff, the calculation is: 17 closed holidays + 10 days of Casual Leave and Restricted Holidays + 0 closed Saturdays + 52 Sundays/weekly offs = 79 days; consequently, out of 365 days, the operative employee has 286 working days. At eight hours a day, this amounts to 286 × 8 = 2,288 working hours in a year. For administrative staff, the corresponding calculation is: 17 closed holidays + 10 days of Casual Leave and Restricted Holidays + 52 closed Saturdays + 52 Sundays/weekly offs = 131 days, leaving 234 working days. At 8½ hours a day, the annual working time becomes 234 × 8½ = 1,989 hours. Thus, on this calculation, the Postal Operative employee works 2,288 − 1,989 = 299 additional hours in a year—equivalent to nearly 37.4 additional eight-hour working days. 

The immediate question, therefore, is not whether postal work is operational. Obviously it is. India Post provides counter services, mail and parcel processing, delivery, financial and other public-facing services that cannot simply disappear on weekends. But operational character by itself cannot become a permanent justification for an unequal annual working burden. If an establishment genuinely requires a service to remain open six days a week, there are modern alternatives—rotation, staggered duties, shift systems, rational deployment and compensatory arrangements—through which the institution can remain operational without requiring every employee in the category to bear a structurally higher annual workload. What needs examination is whether the six-day regime remains an operational necessity for individual employees or merely an inherited administrative practice.

The argument becomes even more compelling when comparable public-service institutions are examined. Banks are themselves highly operational establishments, with customer-facing counters, cash transactions, financial services and public dealing. Yet public-sector bank employees have been enjoying holidays on the second and fourth Saturdays, while the remaining Saturdays are still working days. Significantly, the demand for a complete five-day banking week remains a live issue. The Government itself acknowledged that the second and fourth Saturdays were declared holidays in 2015, while the remaining Saturdays continue to provide access to customers. As of 28 September 2026, the proposed three-day bank strike over the five-day-week demand has been deferred after the Indian Banks’ Association and United Forum of Bank Unions agreed to establish a high-level committee to examine declaring the remaining Saturdays as holidays and explore alternatives acceptable to stakeholders, including customers.

This development actually strengthens rather than weakens the case for a broader review. The argument advanced for a five-day week in banking generally rests on considerations such as changing customer behaviour, digital banking, productivity, technological transformation, employee welfare and rationalisation of working time. These are legitimate considerations. But if those considerations justify reducing the weekly working burden in one category of public-oriented financial service, the same principles deserve examination elsewhere. A principle cannot be logically valid for one operational establishment and inherently invalid for another without an objective reason. So the question for policymakers is why employees of comparable public-service status should bear substantially different individual working burdens without a transparent, evidence-based justification.

The constitutional principle involved is equally important. Article 14 guarantees equality before law and equal protection of the laws, while Article 16 embodies equality of opportunity in public employment. These provisions do not mean that every employee must necessarily have identical working arrangements irrespective of the nature of duties. Reasonable classification is constitutionally permissible. But classification must have a rational basis connected with the objective sought to be achieved. Therefore, the distinction between administrative and operative staff cannot be allowed to become an unquestioned formula whereby one category automatically receives 52 additional weekly holidays while another continues to work those days year after year. 

The matter also deserves to be viewed from the perspective of productivity and human dignity. Working time is a component of the real cost of employment. An additional 299 hours a year is not merely a statistical figure. It represents hundreds of hours that could otherwise be devoted to family, social responsibilities, education, rest, health and personal life. In an era when governments and employers increasingly speak about productivity, work-life balance, mental well-being, technology-enabled administration and efficiency, it is difficult to justify a system in which technological and organisational advancement coexist with a decades-old disparity in weekly working arrangements. In this context, the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers, Odisha State Coordination Committee, has raised this issue before the Eighth CPC during its visit to Bhubaneswar in August 2026 with request to examine the annual working hours of administrative and operative employees, the operational justification for Saturday attendance, staffing patterns, productivity, shift and rotational possibilities, compensatory arrangements and the practices followed by comparable public-sector and government institutions as a comprehensive Working Hours Equity Review. 

Therefore, either five days or six days may be adopted according to genuine operational requirements, but the principle must be applied fairly. If five-day working is considered efficient, productive and compatible with public service in administrative offices, banks, LIC and other organisations, the same rationale should be examined for Central Government operative establishments. If six-day functioning is genuinely indispensable in a particular service, employees should not be individually burdened merely because the establishment is operational. The annual burden needs to be fairly shared. What cannot be defended indefinitely is a system in which employees of the same public-service framework, with comparable employment status and responsibilities, are subjected to substantially unequal working time simply because of an administrative classification. The time has come to replace the five-day-versus-six-day argument with a more fundamental principle: equal work deserves equal status, and equal status demands an equitable distribution of working hours.

(The writer is a Service Union Representative and a Columnist.)

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𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐘 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐘 & 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔! - 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤, 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬!

 

📮🌍 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐘 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐘 & 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔! 🌍📮

❤️✉️ 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤, 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬! ✉️❤️

Dear Comrades,

On this special occasion of 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲, 𝟗 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔, and the celebration of 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟗–𝟏𝟓 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔, I extend my heartfelt greetings, warmest wishes and deepest respect to all postal employees, workers, trade union comrades, management, business partners, customers and stakeholders across the world, particularly the proud family of 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭. 🇮🇳💌

📯 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐬; 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬. ❤️

Behind every letter delivered, every parcel transported, every pension disbursed, every savings account served and every village connected, there stands a dedicated postal worker—often working under challenging conditions, walking extra miles and sacrificing personal comfort to fulfil a public responsibility. 🚶‍♂️📬📦

From the familiar sound of a bicycle bell to the modern rhythm of digital communication, from handwritten letters carrying the fragrance of love to parcels bringing smiles to distant families, the postal service has remained a timeless bridge between people, generations and nations. 💌👨‍👩‍👧‍👦🌏

As a 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭, I carry cherished memories of service, camaraderie, struggles and solidarity. The post office is not simply a workplace one leaves behind after retirement; it becomes a part of one's identity, a lifelong bond and an enduring source of pride. The friendships forged in service and the affection earned from the people remain treasures that time can never erase. ❤️🙏

✨ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞 “𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤, 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬” reminds us that a united postal network can open countless opportunities for communication, financial inclusion, e-commerce, innovation and social development. In an increasingly digital world, the postal system must continue to evolve while preserving its greatest strength—𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧. 🌐🚀

📅 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐬𝐦:

🌍 𝟗 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 — 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲

📮 𝟏𝟐 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 — 𝐅𝐮𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐲

🏦 𝟏𝟑 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 — 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐂𝐂𝐒 𝐃𝐚𝐲

📦 𝟏𝟒 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 — 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 & 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲

💡 𝟏𝟓 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 — 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 & 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐲

These celebrations are not merely ceremonial occasions; they are an opportunity to recognise the contribution of the entire postal fraternity, honour its glorious legacy and strengthen our collective commitment to a more inclusive, efficient, innovative and people-centred postal service.

✊ 𝐀 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫—from the postman delivering letters in scorching heat and pouring rain to the Gramin Dak Sevak serving remote villages, from the sorting assistant and mail guard to the driver, postal assistant, postmaster, administrative staff and every other member of this vast network. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. You are the living strength of the postal institution. 🌹👏

Let us also acknowledge the valuable contribution of postal management, customers, business partners and all stakeholders whose cooperation sustains this indispensable public service. May our shared commitment foster mutual respect, stronger teamwork, better working conditions and greater public trust.

🎉 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔!

🎊 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔!

May the postal network continue to connect the world, unite hearts, empower communities and carry the message of peace, friendship and humanity to every doorstep. May every postal worker enjoy dignity, recognition, safety, prosperity and happiness.

💌 𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦, 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞.

With immense gratitude, affection and pride for the postal fraternity, I salute every hand that serves, every heart that cares and every footstep that carries the post to the last mile. ❤️📮🌍

𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲,

𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐈 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐋

A Retired Staff Member of India Post🙏🇮🇳

#WorldPostDay2026 #NationalPostalWeek2026 #OnePostalNetworkInfinitePossibilities #IndiaPost #PostalWorkers #PostalEmployees #GraminDakSevaks #PostalFraternity #ProudToBePostal #PostalSolidarity #ConnectingPeople #ServiceToHumanity #PostConnectsUsAll 📮❤️✊

India’s Unemployment Crisis

 

India’s Unemployment Crisis

-Bruhaspati Samal-

India’s current employment situation presents a striking paradox. On the one hand, official statistics show a substantial decline in the headline unemployment rate and an increase in labour-market participation. On the other hand, a closer examination of the latest data reveals persistent unemployment among young people, graduates and women, widespread self-employment and informality, and a serious mismatch between education and available jobs. The central question, therefore, is not simply whether unemployment has fallen, but whether India is creating enough productive, adequately paid and secure employment for its growing working-age population.

The latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report 2025, released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, provides the most authoritative annual picture. It puts the unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above at 3.1% in 2025, compared with 3.2% in 2024. Youth unemployment among those aged 15–29 declined from 10.3% to 9.9%, while urban youth unemployment remained considerably higher at 13.6%. These figures indicate genuine improvement in open unemployment. However, they should not be interpreted as proof that India's employment problem has been solved.

The first reason for caution is that unemployment is only one dimension of labour-market distress. A person is counted as employed if he or she has worked under the survey's definition, even when the work is poorly paid, irregular, involuntary or substantially below the person's qualifications. The 2025 PLFS shows that 56.2% of workers remained self-employed, although this share declined from 57.5% in 2024. Regular wage or salaried employment increased from 22.4% to only 23.6%. Thus, while open unemployment is low, a very large proportion of India's workforce remains outside regular salaried employment. This distinction is fundamental: employment is not synonymous with decent employment.

The second and perhaps more disturbing dimension is youth unemployment. The latest PLFS puts youth unemployment at 9.9%, more than three times the overall unemployment rate. Urban youth unemployment is still 13.6%. More significantly, 25% of young people aged 15–29 were estimated to be not in employment, education or training (NEET) in 2025. Among 15–24-year-olds, the corresponding figure was 21%. These figures suggest that a significant section of India's young population is neither acquiring education nor participating productively in the labour market.

The ILO–Institute for Human Development India Employment Report 2024 provides an even deeper warning. It found that unemployment in India had become increasingly concentrated among young and educated people. In 2022, youth constituted 82.9% of the total unemployed population, while educated youth accounted for 65.7% of all unemployed persons, up from 54.2% in 2000. Among educated unemployed youth, women constituted an especially large share. The report therefore challenges the simplistic assumption that unemployment is primarily a problem of insufficient education. Increasingly, education itself is not guaranteeing access to employment.

The technical and professional education picture is equally revealing. According to the ILO report, in 2022 the unemployment rate among youth with a graduate diploma was 31.1%, while it was 29.4% among those with technical training degrees. This is a profound structural contradiction. India has invested heavily in expanding higher and technical education, yet a significant proportion of educated young people are unable to find suitable work. The problem is therefore not simply a "skills deficit"; it is also a deficit of appropriate jobs.

The latest NITI Aayog report, “Reimagining Skilling for Viksit Bharat@2047,” released in August 2026, reinforces this concern. It cites the Economic Survey 2024–25 to note that only 8.25% of graduates are employed in roles aligned with their qualifications. NITI Aayog further cites PLFS 2023–24 data showing that 13% of graduates and 20.4% of graduate women were unemployed, against a national unemployment rate of 3.2% in that dataset. This is perhaps the clearest evidence of India's qualification–employment mismatch. A country cannot claim to be fully exploiting its demographic dividend when large numbers of educated young people are either unemployed or working in occupations unrelated to their training.

NITI Aayog's more recent 2026 working paper also indicates that graduate employability has improved—from 47.3% in 2019 to 56.4% in 2026—but that general degrees continue to produce weaker employability outcomes than several professional programmes. Improvement is welcome, but the fact that employability remains little above half even after years of skilling initiatives demonstrates that the challenge is much deeper than merely adding more certificates and training programmes.

The gender dimension deserves particular attention. The annual PLFS 2025 shows that urban female unemployment fell from 6.7% to 6.4%, while rural female unemployment was 2.1%. Yet these relatively low unemployment rates coexist with much lower female labour-force participation than male participation and with the much higher unemployment recorded among educated women in NITI Aayog's analysis. The apparent contradiction illustrates an important statistical point: a woman who is not seeking work is not counted as unemployed. Consequently, a low female unemployment rate does not necessarily indicate a healthy female employment situation.

The ILO evidence strengthens this concern. The India Employment Report found that the unemployment problem was particularly concentrated among educated youth and women in urban areas. India's challenge is therefore not merely to bring women into the labour market, but to create employment that is accessible, safe, adequately paid and compatible with social and family responsibilities.

There is also a methodological issue that must be acknowledged. Since January 2025, PLFS has undergone important changes, including a shift from the July–June survey cycle to a January–December cycle, and the methodology itself has been modified. MoSPI explicitly cautions users about comparing the new estimates with earlier PLFS publications. Therefore, political or ideological arguments based on mechanically comparing every unemployment figure across different survey regimes should be avoided. The official PLFS remains the principal source, but its definitions, reference periods and methodological changes must be respected.

At the same time, the CMIE Consumer Pyramids Household Survey provides an independent and more frequent labour-market indicator. CMIE's Economic Outlook reports an unemployment rate of 6.2% for July 2026, considerably above the 3.1% annual PLFS usual-status estimate for 2025. The difference should not automatically be treated as evidence that either institution is wrong. The surveys differ in methodology, reference period and definitions. Rather, the divergence itself demonstrates why India's employment situation should be assessed through multiple indicators rather than a single headline number.

The latest evidence consequently leads to a more nuanced conclusion. India has succeeded in reducing measured open unemployment, but it has not yet resolved the employment crisis. The crisis has increasingly shifted from simply "no work" to what work, for whom, at what wage and with what security. Low unemployment can coexist with precarious self-employment, disguised underemployment, inadequate earnings, qualification mismatch and youth exclusion.

This is particularly important for the idea of India's demographic dividend. A large young population becomes an economic advantage only when young people can obtain productive employment. If educated youth spend years preparing for a small number of government vacancies, migrate in search of insecure work, accept jobs unrelated to their qualifications, or remain outside employment, education and training, the demographic dividend can become a demographic burden.

The policy response must therefore go beyond the traditional prescription of "more skilling". Skills without jobs cannot solve unemployment. India needs a coordinated employment strategy based on labour-intensive manufacturing, construction, modern agriculture and agro-processing, MSMEs, care services, tourism, logistics and other sectors capable of absorbing large numbers of workers. At the same time, apprenticeship opportunities, industrial training and higher education must be aligned much more closely with actual labour-market demand.

Most importantly, the success of employment policy should be measured not merely by the unemployment rate. The government should regularly publish and debate indicators covering youth unemployment, graduate unemployment, NEET population, female labour-force participation, regular salaried employment, real wages, underemployment, job quality, social-security coverage and qualification–occupation mismatch.

The latest evidence therefore does not support either extreme claim—that India is facing an unprecedented unemployment catastrophe or that the employment problem has been solved. The truth is more complex and more consequential. Open unemployment has declined, but the deeper employment crisis remains concentrated among India's youth, educated population and women, while the predominance of self-employment and the limited share of regular salaried work raise serious questions about the quality and security of employment.

For a country aspiring to become Viksit Bharat by 2047, the real benchmark cannot be merely “How many people are technically employed?” It must be: “How many Indians have productive work, decent wages, social security, dignity and a job commensurate with their education and ability?” Until that question is answered satisfactorily, India's unemployment problem cannot be declared over merely because the headline unemployment rate has fallen.

(The author is a Service Union Representative and a Columnist, presently working as the General Secretary, Confederation of Central Govt Employees and Workers and President, Forum of Civil Pensioners' Association / National Coordination Committee of Pensioners' Association, Odisha State Committee)

*****

WFTU International Action Day – 3 October 2026

 

“United in Action and Struggle, We Demand!”

Bruhaspati Samal

General Secretary 

Confederation of Central Govt Employees and Workers

Odisha State CoC, Bhubaneswar 

Every year on 3 October, workers and trade unions across the world observe the International Action Day of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), commemorating the historic founding of the organisation. This year’s Action Day carries a powerful message: “United in action and struggle, we demand!” The WFTU calls for science and technology in the service of humanity and not of monopolies and the oligarchy of wealth; work with rights for the satisfaction of contemporary needs; and an economy for progress and not for war and destruction. 

The WFTU was founded in Paris on 3 October 1945, soon after the end of the Second World War. Its founding congress brought together representatives of 67 million workers from 56 national organisations from 55 countries and 20 international organisations. Born in the historic struggle against fascism and war, the WFTU sought to unite workers internationally for peace, social justice, democratic and trade-union rights and a better future for humanity. 

For more than eight decades, the WFTU has developed as an international trade-union organisation based on unity, solidarity, independence, collective action and the defence of workers’ rights. Its stated objectives include combating exploitation and oppression, defending full employment and social security, improving working and living conditions, protecting trade-union freedoms, promoting equality and opposing war and aggression. 

The theme of 2026 is especially relevant in an age of artificial intelligence, automation, robotics, digitalisation and platform-based employment. Technological progress has enormous potential to improve human life, but the WFTU argues that its benefits should not be concentrated in the hands of a few. Instead, increased productivity should contribute to decent employment, higher wages, shorter working hours, occupational safety, universal healthcare, education and social security. The WFTU is particularly demanding a 35-hour working week and seven-hour working day without reduction of wages. 

On this International Action Day, the message to workers everywhere is clear: our greatest strength is our unity and collective organisation. Whether in factories, offices, farms, transport, education, healthcare, postal services, platforms or public institutions, workers share a common interest in dignity, security and justice at work. Divided workers remain vulnerable; organised workers can defend their rights and shape the future.

Let 3 October 2026 become a day of international workers’ solidarity—a day to raise our voices for decent work, social security, peace and human dignity. Let technology serve people, let progress serve society, and let the wealth created by workers contribute to a better life for all.

Long live international workers’ solidarity!
Long live the unity of the working class!

*****

Happy International Day of Older Persons - The Right to Grow Old

 

The Right to Grow Old 

-Bruhaspati Samal-

Ageing is not a disease; it is the destination of a successful life. Every wrinkle carries a story, every grey hair a memory, and every ageing hand reminds us of work once done for family, society and the nation. The true character of a civilisation is therefore revealed not by how it treats the powerful in the prime of their lives, but by how it treats those who have grown old. On 1 October 2026, the United Nations observes the International Day of Older Persons under the theme “The Age of Longevity: Rethinking Systems for Longer Lives.” The theme asks humanity to confront a profound reality: we have succeeded in extending life, but must now ensure that those additional years are lived with health, security, dignity and purpose. The global population aged 60 and above has reached about 1.2 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach 2.1 billion by 2050, around one-fifth of humanity.

The recognition of ageing as a global social issue has evolved over decades. The United Nations General Assembly designated 1 October as the International Day of Older Persons in 1990, following the Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing adopted in 1982. The UN Principles for Older Persons followed in 1991, and the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing in 2002. These milestones represented an important philosophical shift—from treating older persons primarily as recipients of charity to recognising them as rights-holders, citizens and contributors. That principle is more relevant today than ever. An elderly person is not merely someone who needs care; he or she is someone who has contributed to society and retains the right to participate in it.

India is now entering a profound ageing transition. Government projections show that the population aged 60 and above is expected to rise from 10 crore in 2011 to 23 crore by 2036, while its share of the population will increase from 8.4% to 14.9%. During the same period, the proportion of children below 15 is projected to fall from 30.9% to 20.1%. The UNFPA India Ageing Report 2023 projects that the elderly population could rise from 10.4% of India's population in 2022 to 20.8% by 2050, potentially reaching 36% by the end of the century. These numbers are more than demographic indicators. They signal a fundamental transformation of Indian society. An ageing India will require corresponding changes in pensions, healthcare, employment, housing, transport and social protection.

The most immediate question is income security in old age. Longer life necessarily means a longer period requiring financial protection after employment ends. Yet India's smaller families, migration, urbanisation and changing employment patterns are weakening traditional family-based support. Millions remain outside formal pension systems. Under IGNOAPS, central assistance remains ₹200 per month for those aged 60–79 and ₹500 for those aged 80 and above, subject to BPL eligibility, with more than 2.21 crore beneficiaries covered. Such assistance has value, but it also exposes the enormous gap between subsistence support and genuine income security. Pension is not charity. For those who have completed a lifetime of service, it represents deferred economic security; for vulnerable elderly people outside formal employment, social pension represents a basic instrument of social citizenship. If longevity is to be celebrated, old age cannot simultaneously become a period of financial anxiety.

Healthcare presents an equally serious challenge. According to the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI), 23.8% of Indians aged 60 and above have at least one limitation in Activities of Daily Living, indicating varying degrees of care dependency. India has taken significant steps, including extending ₹5 lakh annual health cover under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY to all citizens aged 70 and above, irrespective of socio-economic status. The National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly has also expanded, with functional districts increasing from 595 in 2020–21 to 722 in 2024–25. Yet an ageing nation needs more than insurance and hospitals. It requires accessible geriatric medicine, preventive healthcare, rehabilitation, home-based care, palliative care and trained caregivers. Adding years to life without adding health and dignity to those years would be only half the achievement.

The elderly must also be freed from the stereotype of being merely dependent. They remain workers, caregivers, mentors, professionals, volunteers and custodians of institutional memory. Government National Career Service data showed 1.89 lakh job seekers aged above 60 registered on the portal, alongside 1.68 lakh vacancies identified as suitable for senior citizens in July 2026. But this should not become an excuse to compel elderly people to work because retirement income is inadequate. The right to work and the right to retire with dignity must coexist. Those who wish to remain professionally active should have suitable opportunities; those who have completed their working lives should have the security to retire without fear. India's celebrated demographic dividend must eventually be complemented by an experience dividend, recognising the knowledge and social capital of older citizens.

Rethinking systems for longer lives also means creating an age-friendly society. Housing, transport, roads, public offices, banking and digital services must be accessible to older citizens. Technology should simplify life, not create another barrier between elderly people and the State. Particular attention is required for elderly women, widows, persons with disabilities and those living alone. India's Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, together with programmes such as the Atal Vayo Abhyuday Yojana and the National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly, provides an institutional foundation. But the scale of demographic change demands a comprehensive national ageing framework backed by adequate resources and effective implementation.

There is also a deeper intergenerational responsibility. The elderly of tomorrow are the workers of today. The pensioner, employee, farmer, teacher, postal worker, nurse, artisan and homemaker who contribute today will eventually experience ageing. Pension, social insurance and healthcare are therefore not issues belonging to one generation. They are investments in everyone's future. A society that weakens old-age security while people are living longer merely transfers today's uncertainty to tomorrow's elderly. The UN's call to rethink pensions, employment, healthcare, housing and lifelong learning is therefore not simply a welfare agenda; it is a blueprint for an ageing society.

The challenge before India is no longer whether it will age. India will age. The question is whether it will prepare for that future with foresight, resources and compassion. The elderly do not seek pity. They seek dignity. They do not ask to be remembered only on 1 October. They ask to be respected every day. The generation that built our present deserves security in our future. Let longevity never become a longer struggle for survival. Let it become a longer chapter of health, security, participation, love and purpose.

The real success of longevity will not be measured simply by how many additional years humanity gains, but by the quality of those years. If India can ensure that an ageing citizen has adequate income, accessible healthcare, social participation and the freedom to live with dignity, then longevity will truly become a triumph of civilization. A nation that protects its elderly is not merely honouring its past—it is securing its own future.

(The author is a Service Union Representative and a Columnist, presently working as the General Secretary, Confederation of Central Govt Employees and Workers and President, Forum of Civil Pensioners' Association / National Coordination Committee of Pensioners' Association, Odisha State Committee)

******

India Post withdraws previous guidelines regarding the election of Office Bearers of Service Associations under CCS Conduct Rules 1964 restricted previously vide its Order dated 15.09.2021 issued in accordance with DoPT OM dated 27.02.2020

 

COMPASSIONATE APPOINTMENT CANNOT ERASE PENSION RIGHTS! - CAT, Cuttack Bench Order dated 15.09.2026 in OA No. 260 / 00185 of 2025

 

🔥 COMPASSIONATE APPOINTMENT CANNOT ERASE PENSION RIGHTS! 🔥

The CAT, Cuttack Bench vide its Order dated 15.09.2026 in OA No. 260 / 00185 of 2025 ( Bibhudutta Dalei, Sub Postmaster, Puruna Bazar SI, Bhadrak vrs. Union of India and others)  has directed the respondents to verify the actual date on which the applicant had applied for compassionate appointment—a date that may determine whether he is entitled to the Old Pension System under the CCS Pension Rules.

The applicant joined as a Sub-Postmaster in 2004, and the respondents argued that since his appointment was after 01.01.2004, he must necessarily come under NPS.

But the Tribunal has rightly focused on a crucial question: When was the application for compassionate appointment actually made?

If the application was submitted before 01.01.2004, the Tribunal has directed the respondents to extend the consequential pension benefits to the applicant.

⏳ The respondents have been given 60 days to verify the facts and take appropriate action.

⚖️ This is more than an individual pension case. It raises a fundamental principle—pension entitlement cannot be decided mechanically by looking only at the date of joining, when the employee's appointment arose from an earlier compassionate appointment claim.

✊ DATE MATTERS. FACTS MATTER. JUSTICE MATTERS.

For thousands of employees caught in the transition from the Old Pension System to NPS, such judicial scrutiny reinforces the importance of examining the complete circumstances of appointment, rather than applying a cut-off date blindly.

Pension is deferred social security. It is a right earned through service—not a favour granted by the State.

🔥 Let every genuine pension claim be examined with justice, facts and the rule of law!

#OldPensionSystem #OPS #NPS #PensionJustice #CompassionateAppointment #CCSRules #PensionRights #JusticeForEmployees #WorkersUnity #PensionStruggle #TribunalVictory

AIPRPA, CHQ writes to the Secretary, DoPT and Secretary DoP&PW for coverage of all vacancies pertaining to the year 2003 under OPS

 

The 8th Central Pay Commission’s dialogue with stakeholders continues… at Mumbai on 22 & 23 October 2026

 

🌿 The 8th Central Pay Commission’s dialogue with stakeholders continues…

The journey of consultation moves forward, bringing the voices and expectations of employees and pensioners to the table.

📍 Mumbai

📅 22 & 23 October 2026

May these continuing interactions bring meaningful consideration to the genuine concerns, aspirations and long-pending expectations of all stakeholders.

The dialogue continues… with hope for a fair and comprehensive outcome. 🌸

Postal Directorate directs Chief PMG, Odisha to 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗻’𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗔𝗧, 𝗖𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝟭𝟯.𝟬𝟮.𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 in OA No. 295/2024 and 24 other similar OAs relating to GDS strike cases.

 

🔥 𝗔 𝗠𝗔𝗝𝗢𝗥 𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗗𝗦 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗚𝗚𝗟𝗘! ✊🚩

𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗗, 𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗗!

A significant development has come from the Department of Posts, GDS Section, New Delhi, through its letter dated 28.09.2026.

The Department has directed the Chief Postmaster General, Odisha Circle, to 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗻’𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗔𝗧, 𝗖𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝟭𝟯.𝟬𝟮.𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 in OA No. 295/2024 and 24 other similar OAs relating to GDS strike cases.

More importantly, the Department has directed:

✅ 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟬𝟱 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 already filed before the Hon’ble High Court.

✅ 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝗳𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝟱𝟵 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗸𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀.

✅ 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 in CP Nos. 64/2026 and 81/2026.

This is 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. It marks an important development in a long-drawn legal and organisational struggle concerning GDS strike cases.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿. ✊🚩

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲𝘀 — 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀!

𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗚𝗗𝗦 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆!*✊

𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲!🚩

𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀’ 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆! ✊🚩

#GDS #GDSStrike #GDSUnity #PostalWorkers #TradeUnion #WorkersUnity #Justice #DepartmentOfPosts #LongLiveStruggle #VictoryThroughStruggle

ଅବହେଳିତ ଗ୍ରାମୀଣ ଡାକ ସେବକ

 

ଅବହେଳିତ ଗ୍ରାମୀଣ ଡାକ ସେବକ 

ବୃହସ୍ପତି ସାମଲ

ସାଧାରଣ ସମ୍ପାଦକ

କେନ୍ଦ୍ର ସରକାରୀ କର୍ମଚାରୀ ଓ ଶ୍ରମିକ ପରିସଂଘ

ଓଡିଶା ରାଜ୍ୟ ସମନ୍ୱୟ ସମିତି, ଭୁବନେଶ୍ୱର

ଭାରତର ଏକ ଅଜବ ବିଡ଼ମ୍ବନା ହେଉଛି ଯେ, କେତେକ ଲୋକ ସାରା ଜୀବନ ସରକାର ପାଇଁ କାମ କରନ୍ତି, କିନ୍ତୁ ସରକାର କେବେ ସେମାନଙ୍କୁ ନିଜର ବୋଲି ସ୍ୱୀକାର କରନ୍ତି ନାହିଁ। ସେମାନେ ସରକାରଙ୍କ ଦାୟିତ୍ୱ ବହନ କରନ୍ତି, ସରକାରୀ ଯୋଜନାକୁ ଗାଁ ଗାଁରେ ପହଞ୍ଚାନ୍ତି, ଲୋକଙ୍କ ବିଶ୍ୱାସର ପ୍ରତୀକ ହୋଇ ରହନ୍ତି, କିନ୍ତୁ ସେମାନଙ୍କ ନିଜ ଜୀବନ ଅନିଶ୍ଚିତତା, ଅବହେଳା ଓ ପ୍ରବଞ୍ଚନାରେ କଟିଯାଏ। ଏହି କାହାଣୀ କୌଣସି ଏକ ବ୍ୟକ୍ତିର ନୁହେଁ; ଏହା ଭାରତର ପ୍ରାୟ ତିନି ଲକ୍ଷ ଗ୍ରାମୀଣ ଡାକ ସେବକଙ୍କ କାହାଣୀ। ଏହା ସେହି ନିରବ ସୈନିକମାନଙ୍କ କାହାଣୀ, ଯେଉଁମାନେ ଦେଶର ସବୁଠାରୁ ଦୁର୍ଗମ ତଥା ଅପହଞ୍ଚ ଅଞ୍ଚଳରେ ଭାରତ ସରକାରର ମୁହଁ ହୋଇ ଠିଆ ହୋଇଛନ୍ତି, କିନ୍ତୁ ଏବର ଠିକା ଓ ସାମୟିକ କର୍ମଚାରୀଙ୍କ ଭଳି ନିଜେ ଆଜି ମଧ୍ୟ ମାସେ ନୁହେଁ କି ବର୍ଷେ ନୁହେଁ, ଦୀର୍ଘ ସତର ଦଶନ୍ଧିରୁ ଉର୍ଦ୍ଧ ସମୟ ଧରି ନ୍ୟାୟ ପାଇଁ ଅପେକ୍ଷାରତ।

ସମ୍ପ୍ରତି ସଂସଦରେ କେନ୍ଦ୍ର ଯୋଗାଯୋଗ ରାଷ୍ଟ୍ରମନ୍ତ୍ରୀ ଡଃ ଚନ୍ଦ୍ରଶେଖର ପେମ୍ମାସାନି କହିଥିଲେ ଯେ, ଗ୍ରାମୀଣ ଡାକ ସେବକ ବା ଜିଡିଏସ୍ ବ୍ୟବସ୍ଥା ଏକ ଏପରି ସରକାରୀ ଚାକିରି ଯାହା ସରକାରୀ ଚାକିରିର ନିରାପତ୍ତା ଓ ବେସରକାରୀ ଚାକିରିର ପ୍ରୋତ୍ସାହନ ବ୍ୟବସ୍ଥାର ସମନ୍ୱୟ। ମନ୍ତ୍ରୀଙ୍କ ଏହି ସ୍ୱୀକୃତି ସ୍ୱାଗତଯୋଗ୍ୟ। କିନ୍ତୁ ଏହି ସ୍ୱୀକୃତି ଏକ ଐତିହାସିକ ପ୍ରଶ୍ନକୁ ଆହୁରି ତୀକ୍ଷ୍ଣ କରିଦେଇଛି। ଯଦି ଜିଡିଏସ୍ ଏକ ସରକାରୀ ଚାକିରି, ତେବେ ଜିଡିଏସ୍‌ମାନଙ୍କୁ କେନ୍ଦ୍ର ସରକାରୀ କର୍ମଚାରୀର ମାନ୍ୟତା କାହିଁକି ମିଳୁନାହିଁ? ଯଦି ସେମାନେ ସରକାରୀ କାମ କରୁଛନ୍ତି ଏବଂ  ସେମାନଙ୍କ ଚାକିରୀ ସରକାରୀ ତେବେ ସେମାନଙ୍କୁ ନିୟମିତ କର୍ମଚାରୀ ଭଳି ନିଯୁକ୍ତି (ଆପଏଣ୍ଟମେଣ୍ଟ) ପତ୍ର ମିଳିବା ପରିବର୍ତ୍ତେ ସର୍ବନିମ୍ନ ତିନି ଘଣ୍ଟାରୁ ସର୍ବାଧିକ  ପାଞ୍ଚଘଣ୍ଟା ପାଇଁ ନିୟୋଜିତ (ଏନଗେଜମେଣ୍ଟ) କରାଯାଉଛି କାହିଁକି ତଥା ସେମାନଙ୍କୁ କେନ୍ଦ୍ରୀୟ ବେତନ ଆୟୋଗ ପରିସରରୁ ବାହାରେ ରଖି ନିୟମିତକରଣ, ଛୁଟି, ପେନ୍‌ସନ୍, ଚିକିତ୍ସା ଓ ଏଲଟିସି ସୁବିଧା, ସାମାଜିକ ସୁରକ୍ଷା ଭଳି ସୁବିଧାରୁ ବଞ୍ଚିତ ରଖାଯାଉଛି କାହିଁକି?

ଉଲ୍ଲେଖଯୋଗ୍ୟ ଯେ ଭାରତୀୟ ଡାକ ବିଭାଗର ୨୦୨୫-୨୬ ବାର୍ଷିକ ବିବରଣୀ ଅନୁଯାୟୀ ଗ୍ରାମାଞ୍ଚଳର ୧,୪୯,୩୮୫ (୯୦.୪୧%) ଓ ସହରାଞ୍ଚଳର ମାତ୍ର ୧୫,୬୧୪ (୯.୫୯%) ସହ ମୋଟ୍ ୧,୬୪, ୯୯୯ ଡାକଘର (୨୫୦୯୧ ବିଭାଗୀୟ ଡାକଘର ଓ ୧,୩୯,୯୦୮ ଶାଖା ଡାକଘର) ସହ ଭାରତୀୟ ଡାକ ବିଭାଗ  ବିଶ୍ୱର ସର୍ବବୃହତ ଡାକ ସଂସ୍ଥା। ବିଭାଗୀୟ ଡାକଘରଗୁଡିକ ସହ ଡାକ ନିର୍ଦ୍ଦେଶାଳୟରୁ ଆରମ୍ଭ କରି ସମସ୍ତ ଉପମଣ୍ଡଳ, ମଣ୍ଡଳ, ପରିମଣ୍ଡଳ ଓ ଆଞ୍ଚଳିକ ପ୍ରଶାସନିକ କାର୍ଯ୍ୟାଳୟ, ଡାକ ଲେଖା କାର୍ଯ୍ୟାଳୟ, ପୋଷ୍ଟାଲ ଷ୍ଟୋର୍ସ ଓ ଷ୍ଟାମ୍ପ ଡିପୋ, ରେଳ ଡାକସେବା ତଥା ଡାକ ପ୍ରଶିକ୍ଷଣ କେନ୍ଦ୍ର ଇତ୍ୟାଦିରେ ସବୁ ବର୍ଗର ମୋଟ ୧,୯୫,୭୫୪ ଜଣ ବିଭାଗୀୟ କର୍ମଚାରୀ କାମ କରୁଥିବା ବେଳେ, ଏହିସବୁ କାର୍ଯ୍ୟାଳୟ ସହ ସମସ୍ତ ଶାଖା ଡାକଘରଗୁଡିକରେ ମୋଟ୍ ୨,୭୮,୬୩୩ ଜଣ ଗ୍ରାମୀଣ ଡାକ ସେବକ ନିୟୋଜିତ ଅଛନ୍ତି। ଅର୍ଥାତ୍, ଭାରତୀୟ ଡାକ ବିଭାଗର ମୋଟ୍ ୪,୭୪,୩୮୭ କର୍ମଚାରୀଙ୍କ‌ ମଧ୍ୟରେ ବିଭାଗୀୟ କର୍ମଚାରୀ ମାତ୍ର ୪୧.୨୬% ଥିବାବେଳେ ଜିଡିଏସଙ୍କ ସଂଖ୍ୟା ୫୮.୭୪%।  ତେଣୁ ସିଧାସଳଖ ଭାବେ ବିଶ୍ୱର ଏହି ସର୍ବବୃହତ ଡାକ ସଂସ୍ଥାକୁ ଜୀବନ୍ତ ଓ ଗତିଶୀଳ ରଖିବାରେ ଜିଡିଏସମାନଙ୍କର ଭୂମିକା ଓ ଯୋଗଦାନ ଅତୁଳନୀୟ। ଏହି ଜିଡିଏସମାନେ  ହିଁ ପ୍ରତିଦିନ ଲକ୍ଷ ଲକ୍ଷ ଚିଠି, ପାର୍ସଲ, ବ୍ୟାଙ୍କିଙ୍ଗ୍ ସେବା, ବୀମା ସେବା, ପେନ୍‌ସନ୍, ସରକାରୀ ଅନୁଦାନ ଓ ବିଭିନ୍ନ କଲ୍ୟାଣମୂଳକ ଯୋଜନା ଦୁଆରେ ଦୁଆରେ ପହଞ୍ଚାଉଛନ୍ତି।

ଆଜି ଯେତେବେଳେ ଇଣ୍ଡିଆ ପୋଷ୍ଟ ପେମେଣ୍ଟସ୍ ବ୍ୟାଙ୍କ କୋଟି କୋଟି ଗ୍ରାହକଙ୍କ ପାଖରେ ପହଞ୍ଚିଛି, ଯେତେବେଳେ ଆର୍ଥିକ ଅନ୍ତର୍ଭୁକ୍ତିକରଣ ସରକାରଙ୍କ ସବୁଠାରୁ ବଡ଼ ସଫଳତା ଭାବେ ଉପସ୍ଥାପିତ ହେଉଛି, ଯେତେବେଳେ ଗ୍ରାମୀଣ ଭାରତକୁ ଡିଜିଟାଲ୍ ଭାରତ ସହ ଯୋଡ଼ିବାର କଥା କୁହାଯାଉଛି, ସେତେବେଳେ ଏହି ସଫଳତାର ମୂଳରେ ଥିବା ଜିଡିଏସ୍‌ଙ୍କ ଅବଦାନକୁ ଅସ୍ୱୀକାର କରାଯାଇପାରିବ ନାହିଁ। ଜଣେ ଜିଡିଏସ୍ କେବଳ ଚିଠି ବଣ୍ଟନକାରୀ ନୁହେଁ। ଅଧିକନ୍ତୁ, ସେ ମଧ୍ୟ ଜଣେ ବ୍ୟାଙ୍କର, ବୀମା ପରାମର୍ଶଦାତା, ସାମାଜିକ ସୁରକ୍ଷା ଯୋଜନାର ବାହକ ଓ ସରକାର ଏବଂ ଗ୍ରାମୀଣ ଜନତାଙ୍କ ମଧ୍ୟରେ ଏକ ଜୀବନ୍ତ ସେତୁ। ଗାଁର ଜଣେ ବୃଦ୍ଧ ଯେତେବେଳେ ନିଜ ପେନ୍‌ସନ୍ ପାଆନ୍ତି, ଜଣେ ଚାଷୀ ଯେତେବେଳେ ନିଜ ସଞ୍ଚୟ ଜମା କରନ୍ତି, ଜଣେ ମହିଳା ଯେତେବେଳେ ନିଜ ଖାତାରୁ ଟଙ୍କା ଉଠାନ୍ତି, ସେତେବେଳେ ସେମାନଙ୍କ ଭରସାର ନାମ ହେଉଛି ଜିଡିଏସ୍। କୋଭିଡ୍ ମହାମାରୀ ସମୟରେ ସମଗ୍ର ଦେଶ ଯେତେବେଳେ ଘର ଭିତରେ ବନ୍ଦ ଥିଲା, ସେତେବେଳେ ଏହି ଜିଡିଏସ୍‌ମାନେ ଗାଁ ଗାଁରେ କୋଭିଡ୍ କିଟ୍, ଜୀବନ ରକ୍ଷାକାରୀ ଔଷଧପତ୍ର, ନଗଦ ଅର୍ଥ, ପେନ୍‌ସନ୍ ଓ ଜରୁରୀ ସେବା ପହଞ୍ଚାଇଥିଲେ। ସେମାନେ କୌଣସି ପୁରସ୍କାର କିମ୍ବା ପ୍ରଶଂସା ପାଇଁ ନୁହେଁ, ବରଂ ନିଜ କର୍ତ୍ତବ୍ୟବୋଧ ପାଇଁ ଜୀବନକୁ ବାଜି ଲଗାଇ ଦାୟିତ୍ୱ ନିର୍ବାହ କରିଥିଲେ। କିନ୍ତୁ ଦୁଃଖଦାୟକ ଭାବେ ସେହି କର୍ମଯୋଦ୍ଧାମାନଙ୍କ ଜୀବନ ଆଜି ମଧ୍ୟ ଅନିଶ୍ଚିତତାର ଅନ୍ଧକାରରେ ପରିପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣ।

ସବୁଠାରୁ ବଡ଼ ଦୁଃଖର ବିଷୟ ହେଉଛି, ଯେଉଁମାନଙ୍କ ଉପରେ ସରକାର କୋଟି କୋଟି ଟଙ୍କାର ଆର୍ଥିକ କାରବାରର ଦାୟିତ୍ୱ ନ୍ୟସ୍ତ କରିଛନ୍ତି, ସେମାନଙ୍କୁ ଆଜି ମଧ୍ୟ ମାତ୍ର ତିନିରୁ ପାଞ୍ଚ ଘଣ୍ଟା ପାଇଁ "ଏନ୍‌ଗେଜ୍"  କରାଯାଉଛି। ବାସ୍ତବରେ ସେମାନେ ଦିନସାରା କାମ କରୁଛନ୍ତି, କିନ୍ତୁ ନିୟମାନୁଯାୟୀ ସେମାନେ ଏପର୍ଯ୍ୟନ୍ତ ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣକାଳୀନ କର୍ମଚାରୀ ନୁହଁନ୍ତି। ଡାକ ବିଭାଗ‌ ପ୍ରାରମ୍ଭରୁ ଏମାନଙ୍କୁ ଏକ୍ସଟ୍ରା ଡିପାର୍ଟମେଣ୍ଟାଲ ଏଜେଣ୍ଟ (ଇଡିଏ ବା ଅତିରିକ୍ତ ବିଭାଗୀୟ ଏଜେଣ୍ଟ)  ଭାବେ ବିବେଚନା କରୁଥିଲେ ହେଁ ପୋଷ୍ଟ ଆଣ୍ଡ ଟେଲିଗ୍ରାଫ ଏକ୍ସଟ୍ରା ଡିପାର୍ଟମେଣ୍ଟାଲ ଏଜେଣ୍ଟ (କଣ୍ଡକ୍ଟ ଆଣ୍ଡ ସର୍ଭିସ୍) ରୁଲ୍ସ ୧୯୬୪ ଅନୁଯାୟୀ ଏମାନଙ୍କୁ ନିଯୁକ୍ତି ମିଳୁଥିଲା। ପରେ ୨୦୦୧ ମସିହାରେ ଏମାନଙ୍କ ପଦବୀକୁ ଇଡିଏ ବଦଳରେ ଜିଡିଏସକୁ ପରିବର୍ତ୍ତନ କରିବା ସହ ୧୯୬୪ର ନିୟମକୁ ବଦଳେଇ ଡିପାର୍ଟମେଣ୍ଟ ଅଫ୍ ପୋଷ୍ଟ ଗ୍ରାମୀଣ ଡାକ ସେବକ (କଣ୍ଡକ୍ଟ ଆଣ୍ଡ ଏମ୍ଲଏମେଣ୍ଟ)  ରୁଲ୍ସ ୨୦୦୧ ଅଧୀନରେ ମଧ୍ୟ ନିଯୁକ୍ତି ମିଳୁଥିଲା। କିନ୍ତୁ ପରେ ପରେ ତାହା ଡିପାର୍ଟମେଣ୍ଟ ଅଫ୍ ପୋଷ୍ଟ ଗ୍ରାମୀଣ ଡାକ ସେବକ (କଣ୍ଡକ୍ଟ ଆଣ୍ଡ ଏନଗେଜମେଣ୍ଟ) ରୁଲ୍ସ ୨୦୧୧ ଓ‌ ୨୦୨୦କୁ ପରିବର୍ତ୍ତିତ ହୋଇ ସରକାରୀ ଶବ୍ଦ ଆପଏଣ୍ଟମେଣ୍ଟ, ଏମ୍ଲଏମେଣ୍ଟ  ଓ ଏନଗେଜମେଣ୍ଟର  ଭିତିରି ଖେଳ ଭିତରେ ଲକ୍ଷ ଲକ୍ଷ ଗ୍ରାମୀଣ ଡାକ ସେବକମାନଙ୍କୁ  ନିଯୁକ୍ତି ବଦଳରେ ନିୟୋଜିତ କରାଗଲା ତଥା ସେମାନଙ୍କୁ ନିୟମିତ କରି କେନ୍ଦ୍ର ସରକାରୀ କର୍ମଚାରୀର ମାନ୍ୟତା ପ୍ରଦାନ‌ କରିବାର ରାସ୍ତାକୁ ଏକ କୂଟନୈତିକ ତଥା ଗଣତାନ୍ତ୍ରିକ ଉପାୟରେ ସବୁଦିନ ପାଇଁ ବନ୍ଦ କରି ଦିଆଗଲା। ଏହି ବିରୋଧାଭାସ କେବଳ ପ୍ରଶାସନିକ ତ୍ରୁଟି ନୁହେଁ; ଏହା ଏକ ଗଭୀର ସାମାଜିକ ଅନ୍ୟାୟ।

ଆଇନତଃ ଜିଡିଏସମାନଙ୍କୁ ସାଧାରଣ ବେସରକାରୀ କିମ୍ବା ସାମୟିକ ଶ୍ରମିକ ଭାବେ ଦେଖାଯାଇପାରିବ ନାହିଁ। ସୁପରିଣ୍ଟେଣ୍ଡେଣ୍ଟ ଅଫ୍ ପୋଷ୍ଟ ଅଫିସେସ୍ ବନାମ ପି. କେ. ରାଜମ୍ମା (୧୯୭୭) ମାମଲାରେ ସୁପ୍ରିମକୋର୍ଟ ସ୍ପଷ୍ଟ କରିଥିଲେ ଯେ, ସେତେବେଳର ଏକ୍ସଟ୍ରା-ଡିପାର୍ଟମେଣ୍ଟାଲ୍ ଏଜେଣ୍ଟମାନେ, ଯେଉଁମାନେ ଆଜିର ଜିଡିଏସ୍‌ଙ୍କ ପୂର୍ବସୂରୀ, କେନ୍ଦ୍ର ସରକାରଙ୍କ ଅଧୀନରେ ସିଭିଲ୍ ପୋଷ୍ଟ ବା ସରକାରୀ ପଦବୀ ଧାରଣ କରନ୍ତି ଏବଂ ଉଚିତ ପରିସ୍ଥିତିରେ ସମ୍ବିଧାନର ଧାରା ୩୧୧ର ସୁରକ୍ଷା ପାଇପାରନ୍ତି। ପରବର୍ତ୍ତୀ ସମୟରେ ଛେତ୍‌ ରାମ ବନାମ ଜିତ୍ ସିଂହ (୨୦୦୮) ଏବଂ ବିନୋଦ କୁମାର ସାକ୍ସେନା ଓ ଅନ୍ୟମାନେ ବନାମ ଭାରତ ସରକାର (୯ ଡିସେମ୍ବର ୨୦୧୪) ମାମଲାରେ ମଧ୍ୟ ଜିଡିଏସ୍‌ଙ୍କ ସରକାରୀ ପଦବୀଧାରୀ ସ୍ଥିତିକୁ ନ୍ୟାୟାଳୟ ସ୍ୱୀକାର କରିଥିଲେ। ପେନସନ୍ ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗରେ ବିନୋଦ କୁମାର ସାକ୍ସେନା ମାମଲାଗୁଡ଼ିକ (କେନ୍ଦ୍ରୀୟ ପ୍ରଶାସନିକ ନ୍ୟାୟାଧିକରଣ, ନୂଆଦିଲ୍ଲୀ, ୧୭ ନଭେମ୍ବର ୨୦୧୬) ଗୁରୁତ୍ୱପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣ। ନ୍ୟାୟାଧିକରଣ ନିୟମିତ ଗ୍ରୁପ୍ ‘ଡି’ରେ ଅବସ୍ଥାପିତ ଜିଡିଏସ୍‌ଙ୍କ ସମ୍ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣ ଜିଡିଏସ୍ ସେବାକୁ ପେନସନ୍ ପାଇଁ ଗଣନା କରିବାକୁ ଏବଂ ଜିଡିଏସ୍ ଭାବେ ଅବସର ନେଇଥିବା କର୍ମଚାରୀଙ୍କ ପାଇଁ ୧୯୭୨ର କେନ୍ଦ୍ରୀୟ ସିଭିଲ୍ ପେନସନ୍ ନିୟମ ଅନୁଯାୟୀ ୫/୮ ଅଂଶ ସେବା ଗଣନା କରିବାକୁ ନିର୍ଦ୍ଦେଶ ଦେଇଥିଲେ। କିନ୍ତୁ ଏହା ସୁପ୍ରିମକୋର୍ଟର ରାୟ ନୁହେଁ। ପରେ ଭାରତ ସରକାର ବନାମ ଗାଣ୍ଡିବ ବେହେରା ମାମଲାରେ ସୁପ୍ରିମକୋର୍ଟ କହିଥିଲେ ଯେ, ଭିନ୍ନ ନିୟମରେ ପରିଚାଳିତ ଜିଡିଏସ୍ ସେବାକୁ ନିୟମିତ ସରକାରୀ ସେବା ସହ ସ୍ୱତଃ ପେନସନ୍ ପାଇଁ ଯୋଡ଼ାଯାଇପାରିବ ନାହିଁ। ଏହାପରେ ବୁଟା ରାମ ଓ ଅନ୍ୟମାନେ ବନାମ ଭାରତ ସରକାର ଓ ଅନ୍ୟମାନେ (ଦିଲ୍ଲୀ ହାଇକୋର୍ଟ, ୩୧ ଅକ୍ଟୋବର ୨୦୨୫) ମାମଲାରେ ଜିଡିଏସ୍ ଭାବେ ଅବସର ନେଇଥିବା କର୍ମଚାରୀଙ୍କ ପେନସନ୍ ସମ୍ବନ୍ଧୀୟ ୨୦୧୬ର ନ୍ୟାୟାଧିକରଣ ନିର୍ଦ୍ଦେଶକୁ ବାତିଲ କରାଗଲା। ତେଣୁ ଆଇନଗତ ସ୍ଥିତି ଜଟିଳ ହେଲେ ମଧ୍ୟ ଗୋଟିଏ କଥା ସ୍ପଷ୍ଟ ଯେ ଜିଡିଏସ୍‌ମାନେ ସରକାରୀ ପଦବୀରେ ଥାଇ ମଧ୍ୟ ସେମାନଙ୍କୁ ନିୟମିତ କର୍ମଚାରୀଙ୍କ ଭଳି ସମାନ ସାମାଜିକ ସୁରକ୍ଷା ମିଳୁନାହିଁ। ସପ୍ତମ ବେତନ ଆୟୋଗରୁ ଜିଡିଏସ୍‌ଙ୍କୁ ବାଦ ଦିଆଯାଇଥିବା ପରିପ୍ରେକ୍ଷୀରେ, ଅଷ୍ଟମ ବେତନ ଆୟୋଗରେ ସେମାନଙ୍କୁ ସାମିଲ କରିବା ଦାବିକୁ ନ୍ୟାୟ, ସମାନତା ଓ ମର୍ଯ୍ୟାଦାର ଦୃଷ୍ଟିରୁ ପୁନର୍ବିଚାର କରିବା ଅତ୍ୟନ୍ତ ଆବଶ୍ୟକ।

ଜିଡିଏସମାନଙ୍କର ସ୍ୱାର୍ଥରହିତ ନୀରବଚ୍ଛିନ୍ନ ସେବା ପାଇଁ ପ୍ରଧାନମନ୍ତ୍ରୀ ଅନେକବାର‌ ପ୍ରଶଂସା କରିଛନ୍ତି। ମାନ୍ୟବର ଯୋଗାଯୋଗ ମନ୍ତ୍ରୀ ଜ୍ୟୋତିରାଦ୍ଵିତ ସିନ୍ଧିଆ ମହୋଦୟ ଏମାନଙ୍କର ଉତ୍ସର୍ଗୀକୃତ ସେବାକୁ ସମ୍ମାନ ଜଣେଇ ନିକଟ ଅତୀତରେ ସଂସଦରେ ସେମାନଙ୍କ ଉଦ୍ଦେଶ୍ୟରେ ମଥାନତ କରିଛନ୍ତି। ହେଲେ ସେଥିରେ କ’ଣ ତାଙ୍କ ପେଟ ପୁରିବ‌ ନା ନିୟମିତ ବିଭାଗୀୟ କର୍ମଚାରୀର ମାନ୍ୟତା ‌ମିଳିବ! ନିଜ ଜୀବନର ତିନିରୁ ଚାରି ଦଶନ୍ଧି ଦେଶ ସେବାରେ ବିତାଇ ଦେଇଥିବା ଜିଡିଏସ୍ ଭାଗ୍ୟରେ ଅବସର ପରେ ନା‌ ଅଛି ନିୟମିତ ପେନ୍‌ସନ୍, ନା ଚିକିତ୍ସା ସୁବିଧା, ନା ଭବିଷ୍ୟତର ସୁରକ୍ଷା। ଯିଏ ସାରା ଜୀବନ ଅନ୍ୟମାନଙ୍କ ଜୀବନରେ ସୁରକ୍ଷା ଓ ନିଶ୍ଚିତତା ପହଞ୍ଚାଇଛନ୍ତି, ଅବସର ପରେ ସେ ନିଜେ ଅସୁରକ୍ଷିତ ହୋଇପଡ଼ୁଛନ୍ତି। ଏହାଠାରୁ ବଡ଼ ବିଡ଼ମ୍ବନା ଆଉ କ'ଣ ହୋଇପାରେ? ଆଜି ଜିଡିଏସ୍‌ମାନେ କୌଣସି ଦୟା ବା ଅନୁଗ୍ରହ ଚାହୁଁନାହାନ୍ତି। ସେମାନେ କେବଳ ନିଜର ନ୍ୟାୟସଙ୍ଗତ ଅଧିକାର ଦାବି କରୁଛନ୍ତି। ନିୟମିତକରଣ, ସରକାରୀ କର୍ମଚାରୀର ମାନ୍ୟତା, ପେନ୍‌ସନ୍, ସାମାଜିକ ସୁରକ୍ଷା ଏବଂ ବେତନ ଆୟୋଗରେ ଅନ୍ତର୍ଭୁକ୍ତି ଯାହା କୌଣସି ଅସ୍ୱାଭାବିକ ବା ଅଯୌକ୍ତିକର ଦାବି ନୁହେଁ। ଏଗୁଡ଼ିକ ସେମାନଙ୍କର ପ୍ରାପ୍ୟ ଓ ନ୍ୟାଯ୍ୟ ଅଧିକାର। ସମୟ ଆସିଛି ଭାରତ ସରକାର ଓ ଡାକ ବିଭାଗ ଉଚିତ୍  ବିଚାର କରି ଦଶନ୍ଧି ଦଶନ୍ଧି ଧରି ଚାଲିଆସୁଥିବା ଏହି ବୈଷମ୍ୟର ଅବସାନ କରିବାକୁ ହେବ। କାରଣ ଇତିହାସ ସାକ୍ଷୀ, ଯେଉଁ ଶ୍ରମ ଉପରେ ଏକ ବ୍ୟବସ୍ଥା ଠିଆ ହୋଇଥାଏ, ସେହି ଶ୍ରମକୁ ଚିରଦିନ ଅବହେଳା କରି ରଖାଯାଇପାରେ ନାହିଁ। ଆଜି ଜିଡିଏସ୍‌ଙ୍କ ସଂଘର୍ଷ କେବଳ ପେନ୍‌ସନ୍ କିମ୍ବା ଚାକିରିର ମାନ୍ୟତା ପାଇଁ ନୁହେଁ; ଏହା ଶ୍ରମର ମର୍ଯ୍ୟାଦା, ସାମାଜିକ ନ୍ୟାୟ ଓ ସମ୍ବିଧାନ ପ୍ରଦତ୍ତ ସମାନତାର ଆଦର୍ଶ ପାଇଁ ଏକ ସଂଘର୍ଷ। ଦେଶର ଏହି ନିରବ ସୈନିକମାନେ ନିଜ କର୍ତ୍ତବ୍ୟ ପାଳନ କରିସାରିଛନ୍ତି। ଏବେ ଦେଶ ସେମାନଙ୍କ ପ୍ରତି ନିଜର କର୍ତ୍ତବ୍ୟ ପାଳନ କରିବାର ସମୟ ଉପନୀତ।

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Latest fares for contract carriages in the category of Motor Cabs (Cars and three Wheelers) plying in the State of Odisha for the purpose of claim of Travelling Allowance by Govt. officials

 

Joint Council of Postal Employees writes to the Secretary, Department of Post for payment of PLB before Durga Puja

 

MEMBERSHIP VERIFICATION IS NOT JUST A FORMALITY — IT IS A CHOICE ABOUT OUR COLLECTIVE STRENGTH!

Dear Postal Comrades,

Today, when online membership verification is taking place under the CCS (RSA) Rules, 1993, every postal employee should pause for a moment and remember where our rights came from and who stood beside us when those rights did not exist.

From NFPTE to NFPE, this organisation has travelled through decades of struggle — from the historic postal movement of 1946 to the formation of NFPTE in 1954, the heroic struggles of 1960, 1968 and 1974, and innumerable battles for wages, DA, bonus, promotion, holidays, service security and dignity at work.

TBOP, BCR, promotional avenues, bonus, holidays and improvements in the service conditions of postal and GDS employees did not descend from the sky. They were the outcome of collective organisation, negotiations, strikes, sacrifices and, at times, repression and victimisation. 

The history of NFPTE/NFPE is also a history of standing firm when recognition itself was withdrawn. In 1960, the organisation faced derecognition and repression. Yet the movement survived, recognition was restored and the struggle continued. 

Today, NFPE and its major constituent AIPEU, Group-C face another difficult phase following the withdrawal of recognition on 26 April 2023. But the struggle has not ended. The courts have already intervened: the Jharkhand High Court directed similar treatment regarding trade-union facilities, and the Calcutta High Court on 5 May 2026 quashed the Department's order preventing correspondence with NFPE and AIPEU Group-C and directed extension of trade-union facilities available to another de-recognised federation. 

Recognition may be withdrawn; but the right to organise and the history of struggle cannot be erased.

✊ Therefore, comrades, do not judge a trade union merely by the facilities it enjoys today. Judge it by the struggles it has undertaken, the sacrifices it has made and the rights it has defended when there were no facilities at all.

A difficult period is precisely when the commitment of the membership matters most.

Do not allow temporary administrative difficulties to erase a permanent history of struggle.

Do not allow the memory of yesterday's sacrifices to disappear from today's verification.

Stand with the organisation that has stood with employees.

Stand with the movement that has carried the voice of postal workers from generation to generation.

✊ STAND WITH NFPE!

✊ STAND WITH AIPEU, GROUP-C!

✊ STRENGTHEN THE UNITY OF POSTAL EMPLOYEES!

✊ VERIFY YOUR MEMBERSHIP — STRENGTHEN YOUR COLLECTIVE VOICE!

History is not merely something to remember.

History is something to defend and carry forward.

NFPE ZINDABAD!

AIPEU, GROUP-C ZINDABAD!

POSTAL EMPLOYEES' UNITY ZINDABAD! 🔥✊

#NFPE #AIPEUGroupC #NFPTE #PostalEmployees #PostalUnity #TradeUnionUnity #MembershipVerification #UnityAndStruggle #WorkersRights