The Joint Action Council of Postal Employees has served notice on Postal authorities stating it will go on an indefinite all-India strike from July 5.
A release issued by M. Krishnan and D. Thiagaraj, secretaries-general of the National Federation of Postal Employees (NFPE) and the Federation of National Postal Organisation (FNPO), which are part of the JAC, has stated that the notice was served on June 14, following the failure of talks with the Postal Board on June 6 and 7.
The release cited as the major reason the unions' opposition to the Postal Department's move to go ahead “unilaterally” with the implementation of recommendations of the consultancy agency, Mckinsey.
As a first-step towards the implementation of the recommendations, the number of national centres of Speed Post was reduced from 315 to 89, which were now called Speed Post hubs.
This arrangement, the release said, had resulted in heavy delay in transmission and delivery of articles booked under the service. The Department now proposed to introduce the hub system for first class mail, including registered articles.
This meant closure of 366 mail sorting offices and opening of 89 first class hubs.
The Department also issued instruction to all Chief Postmaster Generals to close down and merge 9,797 urban post offices in the name of optimisation, the release stated.
The JAC includes All India Postal Extra Departmental Employees Union (AIPEDEU) and the National Union of Gramin Dak Sevaks (NUGDS).
