Work overload isn’t part and parcel, say postmen wanting out
More and more postal dept staff are
opting for VRS to escape 10-hr shifts brought on by acute staff shortage
At a time when the email has taken
second place to social networking sites as a primary tool of communication, the
city’s snail mail department is struggling with piles of undelivered mail — not
because snail mail is back in fashion, but that there are too few postmen to
deliver letters.
Add to this extra workload the
pressure from bosses to get more customers for postal savings schemes and marketing
mini-refrigerators, and it’s no wonder that more and more postal staff are
opting for voluntary retirement.
Y N Bambale, secretary, National
Federation of Employees Union (Pune) — the national-level postal employees
union — and post officer at Ghorpadi post office, claims postal department
employees are working more than 10 hours per day and blames the shortfall in
staff on the existing recruitment policy. “Recruitment is done only for posts
vacated due to retirement, about five per year on an average.
However, there is no recruitment to fill posts vacated due to employees taking voluntary retirement and death,” Bambale said.
Now, the situation is so bad that only Speed Posts and registered letters are getting delivered, while letters franked with basic postage are piling up and delivery of these ‘ordinary’ letters is delayed by anything up to two months.
“We want to give our customers the best possible service, but it has become a practical impossibility as there are very few staffers to do the work. Our priority is Speed Post letters, which contain important documents like passports, PAN cards, driving licenses and legal notices.
Only after delivering Speed Post letters do we get time for ‘ordinary’ letters, but these are equally important nowadays as government job interview letters are sent via normal post,” added Bambale.
On an average, says V V Muley (52), accountant at the Pune General Post Office (GPO), a postman delivers 400 letters per day in one area.
“In addition to the huge number of letters to be delivered, postal employees are given targets just like private banks to bring in business by getting people to open new saving accounts or sell ‘Chotu Kool’ refrigerators as part of a tie-up of the Indian postal department with appliance major Godrej. Letters are piling up as there is no one to deliver them,” Muley said.
Fiftysix-year-old R S Dighe, a postman with Hadapsar P.O. with 25 years of service, said one postman has two areas under him now, but earlier, two postmen would be given one area to take care of. “We’re all really fed up of this situation and want more people to be recruited. It is affecting our credibility,” Dighe said.
In all, there are 110 post offices in the city, which are divided into East and West zones with 62 and 58 post offices falling under them respectively.
“Since the last few months, there is tremendous workload especially on the postmen and Group D employees — office boys, peons and housekeeping staff.
Presently, I’m delivering to two areas, including Magarpatta City, which is a huge commercial and residential area. I need a minimum of eight hours to cover one section of this, which makes it impossible for me to deliver letters to other societies and offices in the area the same day,” Dighe said.
Muley added, “If a postman is unable to achieve his daily target and deliver the ordinary letters, he is punished in various ways like transfers, withholding increments and sometimes, even suspension from duties.”
S Badhekar, a former postman with Hadpsar P.O. who opted for voluntary retirement a couple of months ago, told Mirror, “I have been feeling the pressure over the last one year. I couldn’t work for ten hours everyday. The main problem is shortage of staff at the city’s post offices. I decided to quit and stay home instead.”
R K Jayabhaye, Director, Postal Services for Pune, said, “Yes, there is shortage of staff and postmen are having to deliver to more than one area. Recruitment will solve this problem.
There are various reasons letters being delivered late, and they have to do with the delivery process — sometimes the address is wrong, or wrong stamps were affixed. One cannot blame the system or staff shortage. Recruitment is an ongoing process. Every three years. we review all the post offices in the city and fill vacant posts accordingly.”
According to the department, 131 postmen’s posts are lying empty in both the East and West zones. Recruitment has been cleared for 80 posts and is expected to be completed in the next six months. However, there is a shortage of 45 Group D employees, but no announcement has been made regarding recruitment for them till date.
However, there is no recruitment to fill posts vacated due to employees taking voluntary retirement and death,” Bambale said.
Now, the situation is so bad that only Speed Posts and registered letters are getting delivered, while letters franked with basic postage are piling up and delivery of these ‘ordinary’ letters is delayed by anything up to two months.
“We want to give our customers the best possible service, but it has become a practical impossibility as there are very few staffers to do the work. Our priority is Speed Post letters, which contain important documents like passports, PAN cards, driving licenses and legal notices.
Only after delivering Speed Post letters do we get time for ‘ordinary’ letters, but these are equally important nowadays as government job interview letters are sent via normal post,” added Bambale.
On an average, says V V Muley (52), accountant at the Pune General Post Office (GPO), a postman delivers 400 letters per day in one area.
“In addition to the huge number of letters to be delivered, postal employees are given targets just like private banks to bring in business by getting people to open new saving accounts or sell ‘Chotu Kool’ refrigerators as part of a tie-up of the Indian postal department with appliance major Godrej. Letters are piling up as there is no one to deliver them,” Muley said.
Fiftysix-year-old R S Dighe, a postman with Hadapsar P.O. with 25 years of service, said one postman has two areas under him now, but earlier, two postmen would be given one area to take care of. “We’re all really fed up of this situation and want more people to be recruited. It is affecting our credibility,” Dighe said.
In all, there are 110 post offices in the city, which are divided into East and West zones with 62 and 58 post offices falling under them respectively.
“Since the last few months, there is tremendous workload especially on the postmen and Group D employees — office boys, peons and housekeeping staff.
Presently, I’m delivering to two areas, including Magarpatta City, which is a huge commercial and residential area. I need a minimum of eight hours to cover one section of this, which makes it impossible for me to deliver letters to other societies and offices in the area the same day,” Dighe said.
Muley added, “If a postman is unable to achieve his daily target and deliver the ordinary letters, he is punished in various ways like transfers, withholding increments and sometimes, even suspension from duties.”
S Badhekar, a former postman with Hadpsar P.O. who opted for voluntary retirement a couple of months ago, told Mirror, “I have been feeling the pressure over the last one year. I couldn’t work for ten hours everyday. The main problem is shortage of staff at the city’s post offices. I decided to quit and stay home instead.”
R K Jayabhaye, Director, Postal Services for Pune, said, “Yes, there is shortage of staff and postmen are having to deliver to more than one area. Recruitment will solve this problem.
There are various reasons letters being delivered late, and they have to do with the delivery process — sometimes the address is wrong, or wrong stamps were affixed. One cannot blame the system or staff shortage. Recruitment is an ongoing process. Every three years. we review all the post offices in the city and fill vacant posts accordingly.”
According to the department, 131 postmen’s posts are lying empty in both the East and West zones. Recruitment has been cleared for 80 posts and is expected to be completed in the next six months. However, there is a shortage of 45 Group D employees, but no announcement has been made regarding recruitment for them till date.
By Dheeraj Bengrut
Courtsey : PuneMirror.in, Oct 6,
2012
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