Postal services in rural areas across the state were hit hard as postal services staff on Tuesday launched an indefinite strike to press for their 10-point demands.
Hundreds of postal employees deployed in rural areas of Chhattisgarh launched an indefinite strike throughout the state seeking fulfilment of their various demands, including regularisation of their services. The strike was launched as part of indefinite strike call given by All India Rural Postal Employees Union.
The postal employees raised slogans and staged a demonstration in front of the office of the General Postal Office (GPO) in Raipur. The key Union leaders Siyaram Sinha, Shyamlal Sab, lilaram Sahu who led the protest at GPO said they were forced to go on strike work as the central government had repeatedly refused to consider their ten charter demands.
“If the government does not consider their demand, the strike will continue,” the Union leaders claimed. The leaders of the striking employees further said that about 6,000 postal staff were deployed in rural belts of Chhattisgarh.
The demands they were making include regularisation of the services, payment of PlB of Rs. 3,500 on a par with regular departmental employees. Appointment of rural postal employees on seniority basis as multi task staff,
postman and mail guard; not to abolish vacant rural postal services posts and fill them on priority.
Among other demands, they are demanding stopping of pay cut and paying all the withheld salaries; revision of wages for casual labour workers in the department with retrospective effect from 2006.