An Eye-wash reply of Circle Office to the letter of Postal JCA, Odisha on COVID-19 issues.

Dear Comrades,

We have raised 14 issues as follows and the reply has not been given on a single issue. It is nothing but an eye-wash.

Now, no alternative is left but to go on agitation.

1.    To run the Post / RMS Offices with 50% staff introducing roster arrangement including administrative offices, PAO, PSDs, CPCs, Hubs etc. exempting physically handicapped and pregnant women employees. 

2.    To reduce the business hours of the Post and RMS Offices restricting to maximum 5 hours on all working days and 3 hours on Saturday.

3.    To ensure compulsory COVID-19 Test of all employees. In the first phase, the employees of GPOs/HOs/MDGs and other bigger offices including administrative Offices may be targeted.

4.    To close all PO Aadhaar Centres and other biometric activities like PMA, AePS etc. 

5.    Not to ensure achievement of annual targets fixed for 2020-21 in respect of POSB, IPPB, PLI/RPLI and BD products and services.

6.    To stop doorstep delivery of articles except medicines and essential items and to ensure window delivery.

7.    To ensure supply of adequate preventive materials centrally by Divisional Offices to all offices calculating their daily requirements according to the staff strength.

8.    To convert the IRs / IQs and vacant staff quarters to COVID-19 Isolation Centres for suspected / affected Departmental employees and GDS.

9.    Supply of Thermal Scanners and Sanitization Machines to all POs / RMS Offices with permission for purchase of required disinfectants as and when necessary.

10. Deployment of a person on daily wage basis at the main entrance of the POs, especially in bigger offices with unexpected rush of customers for thermal scanning,  requesting / helping each customer to wash hands and to use sanitizer and to restrict entry of customers to the Counter Hall till restoration of normalcy. 

11. Provision of police assistance at the entrance of the bigger offices like GPOs/HOs, HSG-I / HSG-II SOs and MDGs to minimize rush of customers into the counter hall and to maintain proper social distancing. 

12. To close down all post offices in the containment zones and on each Saturday in the areas where weekend shutdown is declared by the State Govt. 

13. To return all RMS staff members brought on deputation from Puri and Cuttack RMS to NSH Bhubaneswar during this lockdown period. 

14. Temporary sitting arrangements for customers especially for senior citizens / women and disabled with provision of chairs, writing tables, fans and drinking water facility in the available space of the PO premises till restoration of normalcy.