All India Postal Employee Union, Gr-C is the major constituent of National Federation of Postal Employees - The biggest Federation of the Largest Postal Network of the World highlighting the principles of unity and struggle for the advancement of postal workers
30.04.2020 - The Grenada Postal Corporation is implementing a disaster preparedness project thanks to a Universal Postal Union technical assistance programme funded by Japan.
The project aims to enhance the postal networks ability roll out effective response measures during disasters and emergencies through planning, capacity building and equipment donations.
The UPU, in collaboration with the Grenada Postal Corporation, has taken steps to procure the disaster risk management (DRM) equipment through the United Nations Development Programme, including two power generators and automatic switches, one camcorder, two satellite phone kits and ten transistor radios.
Prior to the launching the project in late 2019, the Grenada Postal Corporation had no role within the country’s National Structure for Disaster Management. However, the Post is now included and now serves on the Relief Management Committee. Consequently, initial damage assessment and relief and supplies management were recommended areas for training.
The Grenada Postal Corporation has already concluded a four-day DRM capacity building session as part of the project, which included train-the-trainer training workshops on hazard awareness and disaster risk management, initial damage assessment, relief and supplies management and first aid.
The idea is to have those who participated in the training teach other staff members during the course of 2020. When the project comes to an end, DRM training will continue under the Post’s human resources training programme.
You might have gone through the instructions of the Confederation already posted in our websites and different WhatsApp groups.
As a mark of protest against arbitrary freezing of DA / DR to Central Govt. Employees / Pensioners , you are sincerely requested to hold protest demonstrations at workplaces during lunch hour on 1st May, 2020 holding placards and maintaining the social distancing norms circulated by the Govt. / Department from time to time to contain spread of COVID-19.
In addition, efforts may be taken to publish the programme of action through local dailies and electronic media's as far as practicable. Press notes and photographs may be posted in our WhatsApp Groups ( NFPE ODISHA STATE CoC & AIPEU GROUP-C ODISHA)
Confederation National Secretariat calls upon the entirety of Central Government Employees including Gramin Dak Sevaks and also Central Govt. Pensioners to observe MAY DAY (01.05.2020) holding protest demonstrations in front of offices with playcards against the unilateral decision of the Central Government to freeze DA & DR due from 01.01.2020 to 30.06.2021.
While conducting protest demonstrations , it should be ensured that all instructions of Central and State Governments during lockdown period such as social distancing , wearing of masks , limiting the number of participants to permissible minimum (not more than the number permitted by District Collector or local police authorities) should be strictly observed . Don't violate any COVID - 19 related precautionary measures and instructions of the District Collectors and Police.
R. N. Parashar
Secretary General.
Confederation of CGE & Workers
NFPE ENDORSE THE DECISION OF CONFEDERATION OF CGE & WORKERS
Annual submission of letter of authorization for addition / alteration of membership which is required to be submitted by 30th April every year has been extended to 30th June for this year only.
So all the Divisional Secretaries are requested to to submit the letters of authorization by 30th June, 2020.
As instructed the recertification process under check-off system will be on line this year. Detailed guidelines follow.
UIDAI allows Aadhaar updation facility through CSCs 20,000 CSCs to offer this service to citizens
Posted On: 28 APR 2020 3:19PM by PIB Delhi
In a major relief to those living in rural areas, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has allowed the Common Service Centre, an SPV under the Ministry of IT and Electronics, to begin the Aadhaar updation facility at their 20,000 CSCs which operate as Banking Correspondents (BCs), said Union Minister for Communications, MEITY and Law and Justice Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad in a tweet.
Union Minister tweeted that around 20,000 CSCs will now be able to offer this service to citizens. He urged the CSC VLEs to start the Aadhaar work with responsibility and as per instructions issued by UIDAI in this regard. He further said that this facility will help a large no of rural citizens to get Aadhar services closer to their place of residence.
UIDAI has set June deadline for the commencement of the work after CSCs with banking facilities upgrade their required infrastructure and get other necessary approvals. However, CSC CEO Dr Dinesh Tyagi said he has asked all BCs to immediately finish technical and other upgradation which the UIDAI has asked for so that Aadhaar updation work can be started soon.
Thanking the Union Minister Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad for getting Aadhaar updation work restarted through CSC, Dr Tyagi said it would further strengthen the efforts of achieving the goals of “Digital India” as envisaged by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
Commencement of Aadhaar update services through CSC also comes across as a big relief during the lockdown restrictions imposed to prevent spread of COVID19. With these 20,000 additional centers available to update Aadhaar, the users particularly in rural areas need not visit Aadhaar centres in bank branches or Post Offices for this work.
28.04.2020 - With around 90 percent of postal operators reliant on passenger flights for their international mail delivery, the near standstill of planes due to the pandemic has led to further innovation in delivery methods.
Post Danmark has extended its sea transport operations to include mail to Iceland.
Already providing a maritime mail service to the Faroe Islands, Post Danmark is now delivering mail by sea to the Nordic island country cut off from mail services due to flight cancellations.
Long bound together by history, Iceland and Denmark are now connected via a mail route that sees mail trucked to the port, transported by ferry and then trucked again from the port to Icelandic post.
Since the first ferry journey, volumes have increased seven-fold, as other European countries have trucked their mail bound for Iceland to Denmark for onward transportation. Mail is loaded on the ferry on Friday and arrives in Iceland on Monday.
“With no flight or road route possible, we looked for a possible transport route by sea and contacted Posta Logistics, the Faroese postal operator’s subsidiary in Denmark, who we work with to transport mail to the Faroe Islands,” said Mette Boisen Post Danmark’s International Process Manager.
Asked about the operations, Ms. Boisen acknowledged there were a series of challenges to be overcome. “Now in week three we can say it works. We have a reliable transport to Iceland, but of course with a longer transit time than usual,” she said.
The new sea route to Iceland is further proof that Posts are becoming increasingly creative in delivering the mail, and seeking to clear up the backlog.
According to Jan Bojnansky, the Universal Postal Union’s Transport Programme Manager, “UPU’s role is to encourage Posts to find new ways to move the mail and to assist in overcoming administrative and legal procedures.”
“We are pleased to see so many designated operators looking at news ways to deliver mail, including by sea transport,” he added.
On 26 March, UPU sent a message to all postal operators urging them to contact their surface cargo providers, and to share any information on available transport capacity, including rail, sea and road.
28.04.2020 - UPU Security Program Manager Dawn Wilkes shares a behind-the-scenes look into how the UPU is managing the COVID-19 pandemic and what postal operators can and are doing to deliver safely.
Union Postale: How is the UPU monitoring the global threat of COVID-19 from a postal security standpoint?
Dawn Wilkes: The UPU works transversally across its varied departments to provide support and necessary information to its member countries quickly and efficiently. In addition to the Emergency Information System (EmIS) messages that our Quality of Service colleagues are working to keep current and consolidated for our members, we have also created a Critical Response consolidation folder within the Postal Security Group Sharepoint. All members can access this folder to collaborate on the current situations in their own countries and regions, as well as understanding the responses from around the world.
Has the UPU developed any guidelines for Posts regarding pandemics?
As you know, the UPU’s S58 and S59 Security Standards set out the basics for security. Within S58, there is guidance associated with disaster risk management and business continuity. The disaster risk management procedures and business continuity plan are designed to be utilized and adapted to each unique situation and can help with any disaster or unexpected circumstance. Additionally, disaster risk management has been a focus of the UPU’s Development Cooperation Directorate for several years, with the majority of financial support being provided by Japan.
What are some best practices you see coming out of designated operators?
The best practices are some of the simplest. One that we have seen from several Posts consists of a very simple consolidated website for employees and customers. Creating one centralized location to inform both employees and customers about the status of the COVID-19 situation domestically and internationally, as well as allaying fears, allows for peace of mind and security across the board.
Have you seen any cases where postal operators are supporting government emergency response measures?
As I mentioned, some Posts have created centralized websites or links to information for both customers and employees, which include alerting customers of scams associated with the crisis. Currently, some Posts are in discussion to deliver test kits within their domestic territories and are investigating the safest method to implement.
What are some of the lessons learned from this pandemic?
Some lessons learned are to be agile and ensure your organization is prepared with the updated disaster risk management and business continuity plans. Posts should test these plans before any crisis to ensure consistency and fluidity when a crisis occurs. Organizations also need to establish strong relationships among internal and external stakeholders to creatively address issues.
An anonymous story collected from WhatsApp group and posted here realizing the importance of the situation.
Once, Lord Indra got upset with Farmers, he announced there will be no rain for 12 years & you won’t be able to produce crops.
Farmers begged for clemency from Lord Indra , who then said , Rain will be possible only if Lord Shiva plays his Damru. But he secretly requested Lord Shiva not to agree to these Farmers & when Farmers reached Lord Shiva he repeated the same thing that he will play Damru after 12 years.
Disappointed Farmers decided to wait till 12 years.
But one Farmer regularly was digging, treating & putting manure in the soil & sowing the seeds even with no crop emerging.
Other Farmers were making fun of that Farmer . After 3 years all Farmers asked that Farmer why are you wasting your time n energy when you know that rains will not come before 12 years.
He replied “I know that crop won’t come out but I’m doing it as a matter of “practice”. After 12 years I will forget the process of growing crops and working in the field so I must keep it doing so that I’m fit to produce the crop the moment there is rain after 12 years.”
Hearing his argument Goddess Parvati praised his version before Lord Shiva & said “You may also forget playing the Damru after 12 years!”
The innocent Lord Shiva in his anxiety just tried to play the Damru, to check if he could….and hearing the sound of Damru immediately there was rain and the farmer who was regularly working in the field got his crop emerged immediately while others were disappointed.
It is the practice which keeps on making you perfect.
We become even diseased or old just because we don’t practice.
Practice is the essence of quality survival.
So, let lockdown lift after 2 weeks, 2 months or 2 years. Whatever trade or profession we are in, keep sharpening our skills, practice with what we have, upgrade our knowledge.
Don’t wait for rain , that is the lock down to be lifted and then start something… focus on our skills today, upskill your self so that you are ready to meet the challenges, in future.
With more than 650,000 post offices and 5.3 million staff reaching populations in even the remotest areas, there is no doubt that the postal network is critical infrastructure for connecting citizens with the services they need. This is more evident now than ever as the spread of COVID-19 has prompted countries to shut down public life, reframing how governments and citizens view the postal system. Posts across the world are increasingly being recognised and acknowledged as an essential service provider as people are forced to stay home to prevent the spread of the virus.
Posts can offer those stuck at home a lifeline. Their physical reach, the trust and confidence they generally hold with the public and their knowledge of people and local communities make Posts an obvious partner to support the broader government response to the pandemic. Many have already assumed additional responsibilities, introducing new services, or expanding existing ones to lend a helping hand to those in need. Some of the most relevant postal services include wellness checks for the elderly, prescription medicine delivery, remittances and pension payment delivery.
Against the backdrop of Posts assisting governments in protecting and expanding social and financial services during the pandemic, there is an urgent need to highlight this work and to provide platforms by which knowledge, experiences and solutions may be shared for the benefit of policy makers.
This page is intended to provide a single location for collecting examples of social and financial services that have been initiated and/or expanded by governments and designated operators in response to the pandemic. In the spirit of solidarity, efficiency and collaboration, the UPU is seeking:
Examples of postal social and financial service responses to COVID-19
Frameworks on rapid implementation of new services or expansion of existing ones
Details of new governmental initiatives to facilitate access to social and financial services through the postal network
Information on barriers or concerns in relation to the provision of such services e.g. regarding funding, access to materials etc.
Checklists, protocols or other tools that could be shared with other designated operators
Technical questions or requests for the International Bureau staff
This new UPU webpage will be updated regularly. Questions, examples, suggestions, and other relevant materials should be sent to pss(at)upu.int (social services) or pfs(at)upu.int (financial services).
Examples of new, modified or expanded social and financial services
Postal responses to this outbreak are being identified via online articles and through direct contact with UPU member countries. Links to these examples have been published as sub-pages for Social Services and Financial services.
UPU commentary on social and financial services from a postal perspective
The IB will provide commentaries on how designated operators have been able to rapidly protect, establish or expand a particular social or financial service. These will be made available on this page during the coming weeks. These commentaries are not intended to provide best practice guidance. Instead, their focus is on: sharing more details on the experiences of designated operators, how they are working with governments to address the societal impacts of COVID-19, and emerging themes in policy making in this space
From: Official Circulations, Department of Posts, GoI
Sent: 27 April 2020 10:29
To: All Active Users
Cc: DoP Email Solution Nodal Officer; IT Security Team, CEPT
Subject: Malicious / spoof eMails - reg
Dear Sir/ Madam ,
It is observed that many users are receiving SPAM/SPOOF emails to their India Post Mail inboxes.
It is requested to:
A] Please remember:
1. India Post never asks for any personal details for any purpose whatsoever.
2. India Post also does not send any mails stating expiry of mail box or eMail ID.
3. India Post does not ask to click on any URL / Link provided in the above mail or anywhere else to rectify / continue the eMail ID.
4. Any loss to the content of the mail (s) or mail box shall be the sole responsibility of the eMail User.
5. In case the link / URL is inadvertently clicked may result into compromising the security of entire DoP Network.
B] Please don’t forget
1. Checking anti-virus definitions periodically within entire LAN and keeping it update.
2. Isolating the system (s) from further use and removing it from network If any suspicious / malicious activity is sensed in the account like data / eMail in encrypted form.
3. Informing your Circle / Region/ Divisional IT Team through which system, this eMail is accessed outside the sify network along with IP details.
4. Avoiding use of this account / System (s) until further instructions through your Circle / Region/ Divisional IT Team.
The All India Trade Union Congress on Friday protested against the government's move to freeze dearness allowance, terming it as an "arbitrary decision".
It urged the government to immediately withdraw the "anti labour decision".
"AITUC protests against the arbitrary decision of the BJP led NDA Government to freeze the Dearness Allowance (DA) due to the Central Government Employees and DR (dearness relief) due to the Pensioners," an AITUC statement said.
AITUC opposes the arbitrary and drastic decision taken by the government against its own employees and pensioners, it added.
Taking shelter under the umbrella of COVID-19, every day the government is taking one decision or the other to attack the working class which is already in deep crisis due to the lockdown, it said.
The Union Cabinet had in March 2020 approved releasing 4 per cent additional DA to the central government employees and pensioners in accordance with the increase in All India Consumer Price Index (Workers).
Instead of issuing an order to implement the decision, the Ministry of Finance issued an order on April 23 freezing DA of central government employees numbering 48 lakh (including armed forces) and 65 lakh pensioners, which includes 60 per cent ex-servicemen, the trade union said.
The government is looking to save around Rs 50,000 crore by not hiking DA for 18 months, but why is it not withdrawing any of the tax concessions, including the recently reduced corporate tax which benefitted big corporates to the tune of Rs 1.45 lakh crore, the AITUC said.
The government has in the last five-and-a-half years written off corporate loans worth Rs 7.7 lakh crores, it claimed.
Above all, there are more than Rs 13 lakh crore of pending loans to be recovered from these corporates, it added.
The government has got no programme to curtail the price rise of essential commodities, and instead it is freezing DA of employees and pensioners, it said.
The National Council (Staff Side) Joint Consultative Machinery for Central Government Employees has written a letter to the Central Government against the decision of freezing of dearness allowances and dearness relief.
Shiva Gopal Mishra, General Secretary, the national council (representing employees) of the joint consultative machinery has written to Cabinet Secretary GOI to immediately roll back decision to cut Dearness Allowance of Central Government Employees & Pensioners.
The letter says that before taking such a major policy decision the government has not bothered to consult the national council and without hearing the views of staff side, the decision affects the wages of employees and pension of senior citizen is against the spirit of JCM scheme. The entire 48 lacs Central government employees and the 65 lacs pensioners are very much disappointed against the most drastic decision.
Moreover, the freezing of DA will have a serious impact of the House rent allowance of the employees. In accordance with the 7th CPC recommendations and as approved by the government the HRA rates will be revised from 24% to 27% in ‘X’ cities, and from 16% to 18% in “Y” cities and 8% to 9% in “Z” cities. The manner in which the prices for the essential commodities are rocketing sky high, DA is expected to cross 25% from 01.07.2020 onwards. Since the DA is frozen the employees will loose this hike in the HRA also.
The Central & State governments employees are the one who are playing their front line role in the fight against COVID-19 Virus by taking all risk and working in the field exposing themselves without any sufficient Personal Protective Equipments. The railway, defence civilian, postal and all other central government employees have already contributed their one day wages to the PM-CARES Fund, said the letter.
DA is not a gift of the Govt. DA is paid to the employees only to compensate the cost of living and to protect the wages from erosion in the real value on account of inflation. Govt. has got no moral authority to freeze the DA of the Central Govt. Employees & Pensioners. By not paying the increased DA to the Govt. Employees & Pensioners for 18 months the Govt. is saving more than 50,000 Crores. This savings will go to whom ?, whether to the Corporate Houses or to the suffering workers of this country ?
The government is not contemplating to withdraw any of the tax concessions including the recently reduced Corporate Tax which benefitted them to the tune of Rs One Lakh Forty Five Thousands crores (1.45 lakh crores) given to the Big Corporates. The Government had in the last five and half years written of the loans of these Corporates to the tune of Rs seven lakh and seventy thousands (7,70,000 crores) of crores. Above all that there are more than Rupees 13 lakh crores of pending loans called NPAs to be recovered from these Corporate houses. It is the fact on parliament records that the tax recovery to the tune of Rs 8 lakh and 90,000 crores is pending in which the major defaulters again are these Corporates. This is also on record in parliament that 36 rich business entities left the country in the last 5 years fleecing our banks to the tune of more than one lakh crore rupees.
The Government has got no programme to curtail the price rise on essential commodities. Instead of freezing the price rise, Govt. is squeezing the employees. It is the Central Govt. & State Govt. employees who are in the frontline in the field fighting against the dangerous COVID-19 Virus. They are under severe risk and the Govt. is not able to provide even the required Personal Protective Equipments to them. When the Private Corporate Houses have gone hiding during this lockdown period, it is the Govt. Employees in the Health Department, Defence, Railways, Telecom, Postal, Power, Oil, Coal etc., are in the field to provide services and to prevent the spread the COVID-19 Virus. The Govt. instead of recognizing the services of the Central Govt. Employees and Pensioners have started punishing them economically.
The secretary has requested the Government to reconsider the decision and withdraw the same so as to motivate the central government employees to perform their responsibilities especially in this crisis period.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionIndia has the largest postal service in the world
India has the largest postal service in the world - and now it is stepping in to help deliver lifesaving medicines during a countrywide lockdown aimed at tackling the coronavirus pandemic. The BBC's Ayeshea Perera in Delhi reports.
Red postal vans are a familiar sight in India. They make thousands of journeys every day, criss-crossing the country's wide network of post offices in 600,000 villages.
The postal service does much more than deliver letters and packages. It is also a bank, a pension fund and a primary savings instrument for millions of Indians. Now it will also be transporting medical equipment and drugs to where they are needed most, at a time when transport has come to a standstill.
When India went into total lockdown on 24 March in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus, all businesses - apart from essential services - were ordered to shut and people were told to stay home. Given that the announcement was made barely four hours ahead of the lockdown going into effect, many industries were left in the lurch - including hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and labs at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionMedical institutes and pharmaceutical companies were caught out by the sudden lockdown
"We were facing a lot of difficulties. We usually rely on courier services to send out products to customers, but none of them were responding, probably because they didn't have curfew passes or delivery people," Ashok Kumar Madan, the executive director of the Indian Drug Manufacturer's Association (IDMA), told the BBC. Many of these products, he added, were essential medicines such as for heart conditions or cancer.
Then, he got a call from Alok Ojha, the senior superintendent of the postal service in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state.
The postal service had already partnered with the IDMA in the western state of Gujarat to deliver medicines and equipment as a priority. Mr Ojha was offering to do the same on a much wider scale.
"We were definitely looking for a solution, and the postal service has unhindered access the country," Mr Madan said.
That is because India Post is among only a few industries deemed "essential services" and allowed to operate normally during the lockdown.
Image copyrightALOK OJHAImage captionA number of institutions have used the postal service since the lockdown began
"We thought we could help with this as we have a supply chain that is intact. Many people I spoke to said this would help as it helps keep drugs in the market and prevents hoarding," Mr Ojha told the BBC.
As word spread, many people began calling and asking for help.
Dr Ujjala Ghoshal, a microbiologist at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences in the northern city of Lucknow, told the BBC she got in touch with Mr Ojha when a batch of Covid-19 testing kits she urgently needed was stuck in the capital Delhi, 550km (340 miles) away.
"The Institute of Medical Research told us that we would have to send someone to Delhi to collect the kits because the courier company they usually used was not working, but there was no way we could do it because of the lockdown," she said.
The postal service, she said, made an exception and actually went to the institute to pick up the kits, instead of having them dropped off at a post office. She received them a day after she made the request.
Many other institutions and companies have made similar requests. Mr Ojha says ever since the lockdown began, the postal service has been used to deliver everything from batches of lifesaving drugs to Covid-19 tests, to N95 masks and ventilators, moving medicine and equipment between major cities and states - mostly via the red postal vans.
Image copyrightALOK OJHAImage captionIndia's red postal vans make tens of thousands of journeys every day
For longer or very urgent journeys - such as a consignment of defibrillators that had to be transported from the state of Tamil Nadu in the south to Uttar Pradesh in the north - cargo planes are used. Sometimes, the consignments must be handled with special care - one drug manufacturer who asked for help said his medicines needed cold chain maintenance, which means they need to be frozen while transported. And so far, every request made to the department has been fulfilled.
"We are the best-connected service in India. We are everywhere. And in this case, we knew we could help," Mr Ojha says.
And with the lockdown set to be extended, he anticipates that the service will play a larger role in the weeks ahead.
