141 HSG-1 PM Posts has been the hot topic of discussion lately. In our Circle, a scenario was fast emerging wherein the 8 PM posts were on the verge of being lost to our cadre but for the timely intervention of the Association during the last meeting with Chief PMG. In this backdrop, Our Circle President Sri. R.Venunathan Pillai in his new year address to the members analyses this vital issue in detail describing vividly the antecedents leading to the issue while giving strong views on the subject in his distinctive style so as to have an open discussion. Here are the excerpts....
Let the Chickens not be
counted before they are hatched.....
While conveying my
best wishes for a very happy new year to all the members I find it imperative
to put one of the recent issues facing the Association at present to an open
discussion before the members.
As you are aware we
have got 141 identified HSG-I PM posts occupied by our members all over India.
Among these 141 posts, 8 are in Kerala Circle. The intention of the
Administration in allocating these posts to IP line officials was to ensure
efficient governance in major HSG-I HOS. The intention was the same with regard
to HOs like Bombay GPO etc where JAG/DPS grade officers are put to hold the PM
posts and the intention is not different with regard to Trivandrum GPO,
Kottayam HO, Ernakulam HO etc where PS Group B officers are put in charge. However,
it is not understood as to why some of the Bada Baboos of the Department got
into their heads a notion that the recent recruitment rules for PM Grade-I will slash the share of HSG-I PM
posts held by IP line officers.
We are not against the promotion prospects of
general line officials nor any proposal to enhance it, on the other hand it is
our considered opinion that periodical cadre review should be made in all
cadres of the Department, at least once in five years, as opined by many of the
earlier Pay Commissions and promotions should be made promptly to avoid
retirement of a Postal Assistant as Postal Assistant or IP as IP. But Paul
should not be robbed to pay Peter. All these 141 posts earmarked for IP line officers
are their promotion posts and the new recruitment rules for PM Grade-I have got
nothing to do with it. Arguably, nothing is forthcoming in the said rules that
the share of HSG-I posts occupied by IP line officers will also come under the
ambit of its application. These IP line PMs existed even when 1/3 LSG promotion
was in vogue wherein 1/3rd of the LSG posts were filled up from
among the PAs who qualified in the examination who naturally got the next
promotion to HSG-II and thereafter to HSG-I at a higher pace. Anyhow, the
system of promoting HSG-II officials from general line and IPs from IP line
went on smoothly without encroaching each other’s share of posts.
In the same
analogy the present development can work. But the tendency at some quarters to
interpret things to the disadvantage of IP line staff and the unwanted haste to
transfer these posts in one pretext or other as done in Tamil Nadu is difficult
to be understood. If this haste and efficiency were there with our officers
when Presidential order was issued in 1990 to upgrade 245 posts of ASPs to PS
Group-B many of our members would not have retired as ASPs, remember the ASP
cadre didn’t even carry gazetted status at that time. In this context the
belief of some of our members that the merging of PS Group-B and ASP cadres
will bring a good number of promotion posts to compensate the HSG-I PM posts cannot
be left undiscussed either.
Let the merging come or do not come, this is only a
proposal still buried in its cocoon, waiting for its metamorphosis. The
Department, as far as I know, has not even succeeded so far in getting a full
and correct data of all IPs and ASPs or the posts in which they are presently
deployed etc and an exact modality as to how the scheme is to be implemented is
yet to be worked out. It is also not certain as to whether the Department is
really serious about this proposal or whether it is a bait to silence the
Association of its demand for upgraded pay scale to IPs in parity with Income
Tax and other similarly placed Inspector cadres of Central Govt.
There had been
several such instances before when the Department came forth with more fanciful
proposals to counter the genuine and justified demands mooted by the
Association. Clerical assistance to Sub Divisions was one of our long pending
demands and the CHQ had submitted a full fledged proposal demanding
redeployment of one PA in place of one of the Mail Overseers. As the pay/grade
pay of Mail Overseer and PA is identical there won’t be any financial
implication and statistical justification would have also met as this Mail
Overseer displaced from Sub Division can be redeployed at any HO in
Mail/Sorting/Delivery branch. Immediately on finding nothing to contradict, the
Department put forth its tricky number, ‘’are baba, why should you worry about
clerical assistance if you are going to be relieved of the entire clerical work
itself? The Department is going to set up Inspection Units. We know that our
Sub Divisional heads are finding it very difficult to manage the affairs of the
Sub Divisions by conducting the inspections single handed then typing the IRs
etc. The Sub Divisions will be dissolved and the entire staff including Sub
Divisional heads will be shifted to the Divisional offices and the inspections
of all the offices and such works will be done by two or three teams of IPs ,
ASPs and SPS /SSPs centred in the Divisional office which are called Inspection
Units and the clerical staff of Div Office will do all the file works including
typing of IRs and so on’’. This was greeted with a wide applause by our members
and they were surprised to see the motherly affection, care and regard extended
to the cadres. We longed for a flower but the employer was most benevolent
enough to spare a garden in full, at least some of our members felt like that.
But where did these Inspection Units go? It sublimed into oblivion, just like
the file relating to 245 PS Group B promotion posts.
It was the Department
which mooted the proposal of 245 posts after a cadre review and to gain the
finality, that is Presidential order, the file had to pass through a series of
sections in the Directorate itself seeking justification, approval and so on,
thereafter another ordeal of travelling through Department of Personnel and
Training, then Finance Ministry, the most dreaded threat, where a lot of
queries are put and got answered, but thereafter what happened, the same
Directorate thought not to give the benefit to these cadres, may be that was
the thought ever before, the intention might had been to entice our members for
some time and bluff around.
In my opinion we are to be much vigilant on HSG-I
posts and this is the reason why I laboured to describe the antecedents in such
a length. If we surrender the HSG-I posts dreaming on the posts which are likely
to be brought by the merger proposal and if the Department backs out, our
position will be that of the fisherman who lost what was netted and what came
flowing in (ottalil kidannathum poyi ozhuki vannathum poyi). Even if the
proposal of merger is worked out there is every likelihood of the file being
tossed in between the various Ministries and Departments and got ended up in an
unceremonial death somewhere in the dingy dungeons of the Directorate where
such a set of similar files would be available to share the space. Deeply
To conclude, I once
again wish you all a very happy and dazzling 2015. Let this year bring us a
heart to forget and forgive all petty differences or divisive sentiments among
ourselves if any and fight for the better.
With warm regards
Venunathan Pillai R
Circle President
