NEW DELHI: Postal employees body All India Gramin Dak Sevaks Union (AIGDSU) today called off it's about a week-long strike. However, the National Federation of Postal Employees, which claims to have a support of about 70 per cent of postal employees, continues with its plan to go on a one-day strike tomorrow.
The strike has been called to protest against pending implementation of benefits for rural postal employees as per GDS committee report, filling up of vacancies and wage revision, among other issues. "AIGDSU called off indefinite strike with immediate effect after a meeting with Nitishwar Kumar, private secretary to Minister of State (independent charge) for communications and Deputy Director General (VP, SR and Legal) Shailendra Dashora at 8 pm," AIGDSU General Secretary S S Mahadevaiah said in a statement.
AIGDSU claimed to have the support of 1.8 lakh rural employees during the strike. Mahadevaiah could not be reached for further comments. There are over 1.55 lakh post offices, including 1.3 lakh rural post offices. There are around 2.7 lakh Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) who handle operations such as money remittances, delivery of Aadhaar and MGNREGA payments in rural post offices, as per AIGDSU.
NFPE Secretary General R N Parashar told PTI that the union will go on its strike tomorrow. Implementation of benefits for GDS is top agenda for NFPE. The GDS committee in November 2016 had recommended 2.5 per cent hike in basic pay of rural postal employees along with maternity leave benefits for women employees, proper space to work and all other welfare benefits that are given to regular employees, as per an NFPE office bearer.
It recommended that minimum wage of GDS should be Rs 10,000 and maximum Rs 35,480, abolition of age limit of 50 years, annual hike of 3 per cent, children education allowance of Rs 6,000 per annum, among others.