Category Archives: P&T TU Movement

Com.N.P.Padmanabhan, the Indomitable Fighter

01 Tuesday Aug 2017

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(I am giving below a brief memorial on the life and activities of Com. N.P.Padmanabhan, the revolutionary leader of the P and T and Central Government employees who organised several mighty struggles in Kerala. He was the Convener of the Confederation, Convener of the P and T Co-ordinating Committee and Secretary NFPTE for many years. Our readers may kindly point out if there is any factual error and / or may give further details to be included for which I will be thankful )

Com.N.P.Padmanabhan – The Indomitable Fighter

Comrade N.P.Padmanabhan, who was respectfully and affectionately called ‘Pappettan’, was an indomitable fighter for the cause of the working class, especially the P&T and Central Government employees. His life was a continuous struggle against the ruling class and the bureaucracy.
Padmanabhan was born in March 1926 ( exact date not known) at Eramala Panchayat in then Malabar District. His father was Shri Gopala Kurup and mother Smt. Ammalu Amma. His elder brother N.P.Balagopal worked in Deshabhimani and later became Sales Tax Prctitioner. Advocate.
Pappettan studied at Mahe School and Government Brennen College, Tellicherry. He was an excellent Volley Ball and Ball Badminton player and participated in many tournaments.
Com.Padmanabhan joined as a Postal Clerk at Tirur in 1947. From the date of his joining he was interested in the union activities. The successful P and T strike of 1946 and connected developments resulted in the formation of a united organisation, Union of P & T Workers (UPTW), on 13th August 1947. Padmanabhan became an active worker and organised the union in the Malabar area. The department was not happy and transferred him first to Wynad, then to Tellicherry Head Post Office and then to Sub-Post Office Panur. He was elected as the Secretary of UPTW, Tellicherry Branch.
The P&T Department was expanding and the employees were working under heavy strain. Though the British has left India, the bureaucracy continued as such. The working condition was severe and employees were punished for no fault of theirs. Extra hours of work were imposed on them. There was acute shortage of staff. Com. Padmanabhan stood up for the workers and organised many struggles for settling their issues.
It was at this time that the National Federation of P&T Employees (NFPTE) was formed on 24th November 1954, amalgamating all the existing unions in to one Federation and 9 compulsory affiliated unions. Com. Padmanabhan was elected as the Divisional Secretary of the All India Postal Employees Union Class III (NFPTE), Tellicherry. President of the union was Advocate V.R.Krishna Iyer, who later became Law Minister in the EMS Ministry in Kerala and then Judge of the Supreme Court. It was usual at that time to elect M.P.s and prominent trade union leaders as the Presidents of the union. Tellicherry Divisional Branch was one of the strongest in the whole of the Madras P &T Circle. Almost all the senior leaders in the Madras circle, including Coms. A.S.Rajan, D.Gnaniah, D.Lakshmanan, A.M.A.Majeed and others have visited Tellicherry and addressed meetings on invitation from Pappettan. Shri V.V.Giri, INTUC leader who later became the President of India, also attended the NFPTE meeting at Tellicherry in 1956.
Com. Pappettan brought many other youngsters in the movement, who themselves became leaders. Coms. T.M.Janardhanan, N.O.Anandan, N.C.Narayanan, K.Narayanan, P.Narayanan and others belong to this group. Myself, who joined in Cannanore in 1959 on transfer from Kottayam, also got inspired by Pappettan.
Pappettan was the leading force in organising the Five Days Glorious strike of the Central Government employees which continued from 11th July to 16th July 1960. It was brutally suppressed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Government imposing Essential Service Maintenance Ordinance (ESMO) and other black rules. Thousands were arrested, suspended, dismissed and charge sheeted. Pappettan was arrested on the first day of the strike under ESMO and convicted for 6 months rigorous imprisonment. The arrested and jailed comrades were released only after many days. It took more than 5-6 years to remove the scars of the victimisation.
Kerala P&T Circle was formed in 1961 consequent to the formation of Kerala State in 1956. The first Circle Conference of all the nine affiliated unions were held jointly at Trivandrum. Important decisions were taken in the Joint conference to hold the conferences together every year, form a Co-Ordinating Committee of P&T Unions, joint circle conference and common journal. These decisions stood the test of time and strengthened camaraderie among the workers.
In the fourth joint conference of P&T Unions, Kerala Circle, held at Calicut in 1965, Com. Padmanabhan was elected as the Asst. Circle Secretary of Postal Class III Union and shifted to Trivandrum to work from the headquarters. In the next Conference at Quilon in 1966, he was elected as Circle Secretary. In the Palghat Conference in 1967 he was elected as the Convener of the mighty P&T Co-ordinating Committee. The “P&T House” in Trivandrum, the circle headquarters of the P&T Unions, became his residence for many years.
Under the vibrant leadership of Con. Pappettan, the P&T Co-ordinating Committee became a mighty force. This was the time when serious discussion was going on about the correct line to be taken by the organisation. There was no doubt as far as Kerala circle was concerned. Unity and struggle was the accepted line. The Post Master General and the top officers were adopting a hostile line to the union activities. Workers issues were not settled. This resulted in a large number of local struggles for settlement of issues. Many struggles were organised by the Circle P&T Co-ordinating Committee under the leadership of Pappettan. The organisation became strong and militant. There was a new awakening. He was also elected as the Convener of the Confederation of Central Government employees and workers in Kerala.
This was the time when Com.E.Padmanabhan was elected as the General Secretary of the Kerala N.G.O.union, mighty organisation of the state government employees, and joined at Trivandrum. Many struggles were being organised in that sector also. There was good co-ordination between the state and central government employees. During 1967, a prolonged struggle was organised demanding supply of rice etc. through the government.
At that time workers used to joke that Trivandrum was under the control of ‘three Padmanabhans – Shri Padmanabha Swamy (deity of the Padmanabha Swamy Temple) , N.P.Padmanabhan and E.Padmanabhan.’ Such was the influence of these two great leaders.
The historic one day strike of 19th September 1968 by the central government employees demanding minimum wage, DA according to the increase in cost of living etc. was complete in Kerala Circle. Then Chief Minister of Kerala, Com. E.M.S.Namboodiripad declared that he will not implement ESMA against the striking workers, despite the threat of his government being dismissed by the centre as in 1959. But as per instructions of the Central government, hundreds of cases were filed against the striking workers by departmental officers. 300 temporary officials were terminated from service and almost double that figure suspended. Almost all the strikers were victimised one way or other. As the Convener of the P&T Co-ordinating Committee, the main responsibility of defending the workers and getting them reinstated fell on Pappettan. The three years after the strike was a period of acute hardship and hard work for getting the terminated, dismissed and suspended employees reinstated.
Donations and collections were made from the employees and other unions and somehow managed to give the terminated employees some salary every month. In some places full salary could be given. After sustained agitation, court case etc. by about three years, all the terminated employees were taken back.
Pappettan was first transferred to an interior place called Uppala near Karnataka border, then suspended and after departmental proceedings dismissed. Even after reinstating almost others, he was not reinstated, despite court orders. Department went on appeal to Supreme Court, but the same was dismissed, but still was not reinstated. He continued to be outside, but fully utilised his time for the organisation. Only after the Janatha Government came to power in 1977, he was reinstated.
It was during this time that the rented house accommodating P&T Co-ordinating Committee was purchased by the union at the initiative of Pappettan. (The present P&T House was constructed there in 1988 and inaugurated by Com. Jyoti Basu on 27th August 1989).
Com. Pappettan was elected as Secretary NFPTE, in the Federal Council held at Bangalore in 5-9 May 1978 and shifted to New Delhi to attend to his new duties. Along with Coms. N.J.Iyer, GS, RMS Class III Union and K.Adinarayana, GS Postmen Union, he fought against the revisionist leadership of NFPTE Secretary General Com. O.P.Gupta and organised valiant struggles for settlement of workers’ demands. He was re-elected as Secretary NFPTE in the Federal Council held at Cochin on 27-30 April 1980. He was also elected as the Vice-President of the All India Postal Union Class III. He stayed and worked in the NFPTE office itself for his entire tenure of office-bearer ship. After the Federal Council in February 1983, Pappettan returned to Trivandrum.
Com. Pappettan was a pillar of strength for any struggle of the workers. His leadership was clearly evident in the CRPF Strike in Trivandrum which continued for months. The sustained agitation for the regularisation of RTPs was another instance as also the agitation against the anti-worker actions of Communications Minister C.M.Stephen, at whose instance a large number of union office-bearers were transferred to distant places.
Com.N.P.Padmanabhan retired from service on superannuation on 31st March 1984. Later he shifted to his residence in Kannur, but continued his activities in the union.
Gradually his health began to deteriorate. Pappettan breathed his last on 5th March 1994 at the age of 68, due to severe cardiac attack. He was cremated at Payyambalam, Kannur. The P&T fraternity has lost one of their great leaders. Thousands of people attended the funeral ceremony and paid homage to the departed leader. A fitting memorial was erected at Payyambalam for Pappettan near the memorials of Coms.P.Krishna Pillai, E.K.Nayanar and other leaders.
His wife Smt. Devi stays with his daughter at Kochi. His son Com. Sathyanathan was employed in Postal Accounts and has since retired. His daughters Sasikala is married to Com. Chandrasenan (Retired from SBI) and Subhashini to Com. P.Janardhanan ( Retd. SDE BSNL).
Com. N.P.Padmanabhan was one of the great leaders of NFPTE, who guided and led the P&T movement in Kerala to the present position. He was an excellent speaker and agitator. He led the numerous struggles of the workers. He also guided many struggles of other CG employees. P&T House, in his time became the centre of many other organisations also.
Since 1959 till his death, I was closely connected with him. We were together at Trivandrum during 1977-81, when I was functioning as the Circle Secretary of All India Telecom Employees Union Class III. He used to write letters to me on organisational and family matters while I was in Delhi after I became the All India President/General Secretary of the union and shifted to there. I keep those letters still as a valuable possession.
Com.N.P.Padmanabhan will ever be remembered as the architect of the militant NFPTE organisation in Kerala and also for his great sacrifice for the cause of the workers.

.

‘K.G.Bose Bhavan’ inaugurated at Manjeri, Kerala.

16 Friday Jun 2017

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A newly constructed building for the office of the NFPE at Manjeri,’K.G.Bose Bhawan’ was inaugurated by Com. Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister, Kerala on 13th June 2017.  A large number of employees and public were present in the function. Many of the union offices of NFPE/BSNLEU in  Kerala are named in the memory of the great Revolutionary leader Com.K.G.Bose, who showed the correct path for forward march. It is worth mentioning here that the first Memorial to Com. KG Bose was constructed in Kozhikode as the office of the P&T Co-ordinating Committee which was named ‘KG Bose Mandiram’ and inaugurated by Com. Parul Bose, wife of Com.K.G.

Our hearty congratulations to comrades of Manjeri for their great effort!

Meeting the stalwarts of working class at Kolkata.

03 Wednesday May 2017

Posted by in AIBDPA - BSNL DOT Pensioners, BSNLCCWF - Casual and Contract workers, BSNLEU, P&T TU Movement

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I have been away to Kolkata to attend the Circle Conference of AIBDPA  Kolkata Circle as also meeting at Telecom Factory and at CTO building (W.Bengal Circle) during the period 25th to 29th April 2017. The conference and meetings were well attended and I addressed them. The latest developments were explained to the employees, pensioners and casual contract workers.

I could utilise the stay in Kolkata during this period to meet some of the veteran senior leaders of the trade union movement. Com. Sisirda, the senior most leader of P&T employees, who is 97 at present, came to the meeting in the Telecom Factory and addressed the workers. Even at this age he is active and we discussed about the latest developments. A copy of the AIBDPA  Tirupati AIC Souvenir with my article on Sisirda was handed over to him.

On 26th evening along with Coms. Saibal Sen Gupta, Circle Secretary BSNLEU and Biplab Das, Secretary Co-ordination Committee, I went and met Com. Sukomal Sen, former Secretary General All India state Government Employees Federation and a former M.P. He was not well and is under treatment at home. He was happy to meet all of us and we discussed his health problems and other issues.

On 28th April, along with Coms. Pabitra Chakraborty and Arindo Rai, Asst. Circle Secretary, BSNLEU Kolkata  Circle, I visited Com. R.L.Bhattacharjee, Patron, NCCPA at his residence which is about 30 miles away from Kolkata. He is almost bedridden and unable to move out. We had about one hour discussion on the various issues of the pensioners etc.

On 29th morning I went to the residence of late Comrade Moni Bose to meet Com. Jyotsna Bose who is  not well. She used to attend all the meetings earlier. I could meet both the families of Coms. K.G.Bose as well as Moni Bose. Com. Babu (s/o KG Bose) and family had visited Kerala last month and he was very happy that all arrangements have been made for his stay etc. by Com.K.Mohanan, CS BSNLEU and other comrades. I had lunch from there and spoke with all the family members.

Com.Ananta Bhattacharjee, President of AIBDPA and a veteran leader was present in the AIBDPA Kolkata Conference and along with Com.K.G.Jayaraj, General secretary, we could discuss some important issues.

During the stay there, I addressed the SNEA comrades, sitting on Hunger strike in Telephone Bhavan as per decision of CHQ demanding settlement of their demands.

This tour to Kolkata was successful,especially in that I could meet the senior leaders. All the circle Secretaries of BSNLEU, Coms. Animesh Mitra (WB), Saibal Sen Gupta (Kolkata), Om Prakash Singh (TF) and Adhir Kumar Sen (TS) along with Com. Biplab Das, Mihir Dasgupta, Swastika Dasgupta, Sandib Banerjee, Pijush Chakraborty, Supriyo Mitra, Arindo Rai, Amitab Chatterjee, senior leaders Comrades Dilip Das, Prabir Dutta, Gouri Haldar – all helped me in duties assigned to me. I could not meet Coms. Tapas Ghosh and Tapos Banerjee, leaders of BSNLCCWF due to their being out of station to attend meetings.

All these comrades are functioning under great strain due to the special situation in W.Bengal. My Congratulations to all of them for their great tradition and committed service to the organisation.

W.

Com.P.S.R.Anjaneyulu, Commander of the 1960 Strike

27 Tuesday Dec 2016

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It is four decades since Com. P.S.R.Anjaneyulu, former Secretary General of NFPTE, passed away. His death anniversary falls on 16th December. A homage to his memory is given below:

Com.P.S.R.Anjaneyulu, Commander of the 1960 Strike

(03.09.1922 – 16.12.1977)

V.A.N.Namboodiri

Com.P.S.R.Anjeneyulu, former Secretary General of NFPTE, is one of the most respected leaders of the P&T Trade Union movement. It was he  who led the P&T workers in the historic Strike of the Central Government Employees in July 1960.

Patibandla Seetha Ram Anjaneyulu was born on 03.09.1922 in a well to do orthodox Brahmin family at Vijayawada. Father P.Subba Rao died early leaving his wife and children orphans. After completing graduation from Madras University, he got appointment as a Telegraphist in CTO Madras and joined there on 16.11.1945. Later Anjaneyulu got transfer to Vijayawada, his own place. In between, he worked at Kurnool also. His mother died while he had gone to attend a meeting of the Federal Executive Meeting of NFPTE.

PSR, as his colleagues and friends affectionately called him, was an expert and efficient worker and was much appreciated by his superiors and colleagues. He was very much interested in union activities and became the General Secretary of the then All India Telegraph Union (AITU) in 1953 and shifted to Calcutta, union head quarters. At his initiative, the head quarter was shifted to New Delhi (W.E.A. Karol Bagh) and he started functioning from there. He worked closely in co-ordination with the Union of P&T Workers (UPTW), which was formed by merging most of the unions in P&T. During this period he visited London, Switzerland, France, Italy and Germany and participated in the Third Session of Advisory Committee on “Salaried Employees and professional Workers” of ILO and addressed the same as the General Secretary of AITU.

This was the time when serious discussion was going on for realignment of all the unions in P&T to form a single Federation. In addition to the union leaders, Minister Communications Jagjivan Ram also took keen interest to bring in the Realignment Scheme. Accordingly National Federation of P&T Employees (NFPTE) was formed on 24th November 1954 in the Convention held at Vinay Nagar, New Delhi. Initially PSR was reluctant to merge due to the pressure of Dewan Chaman Lal President of AITU, but he convinced him and AITU was also merged with NFPTE.

Com.PSR was expected to be the first General Secretary of the T.III Union affiliated to the New Federation. In addition to his name, two other names also came,  that of S.N.Misra and K.Krishna Murthy. There was no doubt that in the election, PSR would have won. But he did not want an election and withdrew his candidature. S.N.Misra was elected by majority votes as the General Secretary. In the 1957 All India Conference of T.III., PSR was elected as the General Secretary and continued as such till 1960, when he was elected as the Secretary General of NFPTE, after B.N.Ghosh (Dada Ghosh) vacated the post. During the period, PSR gave oral evidence before the Telegraph Enquiry Committee in a very effective way.

It was in the Gauhati Federal Council held on 19-25 April 1960 that PSR was elected as the Secretary General. There was a feeling among the leaders and workers whether this quiet and calm young man of 38 years will be able to take this high responsibility of leading the mighty organization, especially when it was preparing for an Indefinite Strike.

As Secretary General of NFPTE, he co-ordinated with all the General Secretaries in a very cordial way, as one among equals. There were leaders committed to different political ideologies, but PSR ensured that every decision is taken democratically and had the support of all. Immediately after taking over as the SG NFPTE, his responsibility was to lead the historic Indefinite Strike against the retrograde recommendations of the II Central Pay Commission.

In the negotiations with the government before the start of the strike, he took a firm position. Immediately after his return from the talks, within hours, he was arrested, handcuffed and taken to Tihar Jail. He was presented handcuffed before the Magistrate, who ordered the police to remove it immediately. The photo published in the P&T Labour, organ of NFPTE, with PSR handcuffed being taken to the Court, shows a calm and non-agitated person with almost his usual smile on his face. The photo became famous with the caption “Lion in Chains”.  Thousands of strikers and non-strikers were arrested, jailed, dismissed, terminated and so on. The strike was withdrawn after five days by the leaders in jail, including PSR.

P.S.R.Anjaneyulu as SG NFPTE, made out all efforts to end the victimization. But it was not an easy task. It took many years to end the victimization at least to a certain extent. After the strike, recognition of NFPTE was withdrawn. PSR was posted back to Vijayawada CTO.

In the Ambala Federal Council held on 21-26 February 1965, PSR on his own stepped down from the top post. D.Gnaniah was elected as Secretary General. PSR was elected as Vice-President and continued till 1970. PSR was the President of T.III Union from 1960 to 1974 and President of T.IV Union from 1968 to 1972.

After he was promoted to TTS-II, a class II Officer, he was posted at Vijayawada CTO. Though he accepted the post, he continued his close connection with T.III Union and NFPTE. He gave guidance and advice to the union leaders and workers.

As an administrator, he was one of the best. He was punctual, disciplined and committed and he wanted other officials also to be in the same way. His subordinates saw him as a model officer.

PSR Anjaneyulu was a man of simple living and high thinking. His dress was always of white cotton shirt. He never smoked or drank. He continued as a strict vegetarian. He was amenable with all whom he contacted. Though mild-spoken he was firm in his principles and an excellent negotiator. All those who were in contact with him were enamored by his sincerity and firm convictions. Shri L.C.Jain, then Chairman P&T Board, said about PSR that he is an “Ocean of Calmness.”

PSR expressed his opinions clearly and argued for its acceptance. Even if the decision was against his opinion, he worked to implement the decision with 100% sincerity. He was a democrat to the core. He participated in the discussion with both II and III Central Pay Commissions.

Since he was an excellent Officer, the administration entrusted with more and more responsibility. On a few occasions, he was at the same time, functioning as STT, as Superintendent of Hyderabad CTO and some other function also. The hard work made him weak and sick, but he did not take much care about his health. He neglected his health and continued to over work.

PSR Anjaneyulu was admitted in the Hyderabad Nursing Home 0n 15th December 1977. His condition became worse and despite best treatment, he passed away at 07.42 AM on 16th.

The news of his sudden illness and death shocked the entire P&T fraternity. The news spread like wild fire. Through telegrams and telephone calls, the sad news reached all over India. Condolence messages reached his bereaved family, wife Kamala Anjaneyulu and daughter Lalita, in hundreds.

All India leaders and many active comrades from many parts of the country reached Vijayawada hearing the news. GMT Hyderabad and other top officers also reached there. All of them paid homage to the departed leader. The body was covered with the Red Flag of NFPTE.

A big funeral procession was taken through the streets of Vijayawada participated by hundreds of P&T workers and other comrades and reached the banks of river Krishna, where the body was put on the funeral pyre after rituals. Com. PSR Anjaneyulu has left us forever.

The following words of Com.N.J.Iyer, then General Secretary of R.III Union gives a befitting picture of Com. PSR:

“Wearing a smiling face, giving patient hearing to all  views, firmly holding his own and fearlessly giving expression to it and implementing the policies and programmes decided upon, Com. P.S.R.Anjaneyulu, unified the movement of P&T and through it , the Central Government employees movement. Looking back, he has a right to be satisfied for doing his best to bring credit to this great organization”.

…………

 

Condolence Meeting paying homage to Com. Desraj Sharma

13 Thursday Oct 2016

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A well attended meeting was held on 12th October 2016 at the M.P.Club North Block to pay homage to Com. Desraj Sharma, veteran leader and former Deputy Secretary General NFPE and General Secretary of Postmen Union, who passed away on 24-09-2016. The meeting was presided by President P.IV Union. Com. R.Seetha Lakshmi, General Secretary, P.IV. Union welcomed all. All the participants paid homage to Com. Desraj Sharma by paying floral tributes to the Photo placed near the stage.
Com. V.A.N.Namboodiri, Advisor, AIBDPA spoke about the great contribution of Com. Desraj Sharma to the Postal workers in general and Postmen and EDAs in particular. He was a true disciple of the great leader Com.K.Adinarayana, former Secretary General of NFPE and General Secretary P.IV Union for long period. He also mentioned about the close relation with him for the last four decades or more. He expressed deep grief at the demise of Com. Desraj and conveyed condolence to the family members who were present.
Coms. M.Krishnan, Secretary General, Confederation of CG Employees and Workers, Giriraj Sharma, President, NFPE, V.Bhattacharjee, General Secretary, Civil Audit Association and other leaders addressed and paid their homage to the deceased leader.

Red Salute to Com. Desraj Sharma!

From the Past (33) – NFPTE, A Role Model for Trade Unions!

11 Tuesday Oct 2016

Posted by in P&T TU History, P&T TU Movement

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I have been going through the old journals and records of NFPTE in preparation for writing some articles on the P and T Trade Union history. National Federation of P and T Employees was formed on 24th November 1954, by merging all the unions of the Class III and Class IV employees in the Department of Posts and Telegraphs. The structure was this way: 9 All India Unions, one union each for the class III and Class IV employees in Postal, RMS, Telegraph Engineering ( Telephones) and Telegraph Traffic and one for the P and T employees working in the administrative office of the Post Master General. (PMG both for Posts and Telegraphs). All the 9 All India Unions were compulsorily affiliated to NFPTE. Since this was under a Realignment Scheme agreed by both Unions and Department, recognition was granted to all the unions and Federation with the condition that no new unions will be formed, affiliated or recognised. Certain aspects of the then functioning are given below:

  1. All the Unions and Federation were accommodated in the same (rented ) building named P and T House, 9, Pusa Road, New Delhi.
  2. Regular meetings of the Federal Executive were held.
  3. Monthly journal/s were published by the Federation and All India Unions.
  4. Federal Council and All India Conferences were regularly held annually and Office-bearers elected. Interestingly, there seemed to be contest in elections in almost all Federal Councils.
  5. The Statement of Receipts and Payments as also the quota received from the hundreds of Branch Unions were regularly published in the monthly journals.
  6. The deliberations of the  Working Committee Meetings / Federal Executives as also All India Conferences / Federal Council, were reported in detail, with the issues discussed, the opinion expressed by each office-bearer/ member/delegates, the decisions arrived etc.  enabling the reader to clearly understand the different view points and the speakers who expressed, what opinions etc.
  7. There were regular reports about the Parliament debates with regard to the P and T matters, some times verbatim, ( there was separate budget for P and T, just like the Railways). Reports on the trade union movements in various countries, regular report of the PTTI (Posts, Telegraph, Telephone International), articles on trade unions and socialism by well known trade union leaders, tour report of the leaders, Readers views, minutes of the meetings with the government and Department etc. were published in full with the names of the participants. The correspondence with the government and the replies was a regular feature.
  8. These monthly journals were printed in very small types having about 40 pages or more.  I was surprised how there was time for the office-bearers to go through the proof ( only hand composing at that time, which have to be gone through more than once) and correct it. Despite this, I could hardly find any mistake.
  9. There was sustained fight against victimisation of leaders and workers. Even all India leaders were not spared.
  10. The President of almost all the unions and Federation were mostly trade union leaders who are Members of Parliament. This enabled effective discussion in the parliament on the issues of P ant and its workers.

In fact, such systematic functioning of NFPTE and affiliated Unions strengthened them. It is not surprising that  other service unions at that time viewed NFPTE as a role model.

Com. Desraj Sharma cremated. Red Salute to Com. Desraj!

25 Sunday Sep 2016

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Comrade Desraj Sharma, former General Secretary of P-IV Union and Dy. Secretary General of NFPE, who passed away on 24th September 2016 was cremated today at the Nigambodh Ghat, Delhi in the presence of a large number of relatives and comrades. Earlier, Com. Prakash Karat, PBM CPI(M) along with Coms. V.A.N.Namboodiri and K.G.Jayaraj paid last respects to the deceased at his residence.

On behalf of NFPE etc. wreaths were placed. On behalf of BSNLEU and AIBDPA, red shawl was placed. Coms. V.A.N.Namboodiri and K.G.Jayaraj along with comrades including Com. Diwas, former GS P.IV, were there at the cremation.

Com.Desraj was a close disciple and companion of Com.K.Adinarayana, former Secretary General of NFPE and legendary leader of the P and T Employees. Even after retirement in 2007, Com. Desraj continued to take active interest in the union activities.

I had close association with Com. Desraj for about 40 years, especially after I shifted to Delhi in 1991. In the fight against revisionist leaders in the P and T movement, he had contributed in a good way.

His death is a big loss to the P and T trade union movement. I pay my last respects and convey my heartfelt condolence to the bereaved family and friends!

Visit the Past (18) – No Lift for subordinates in Calcutta CTO

15 Monday Aug 2016

Posted by in P&T TU Movement, Uncategorized, VISIT THE PAST

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In the Calcutta CTO heritage building with five floors, you can see lifts on both sides of the building inside. One is a usual lift as in other buildings. On the other side, the lift is of the old type, with iron bars etc. The latter was erected long back during the old British days. Though lift was provided, only the officers were allowed to use the same. The subordinate staff like telegraphists and clerks were not allowed the same. They had to climb the long steps to go upstairs.

The Indian Telegraph Association (ITA) and the All India Telegraphist Union (AITU) both took up the issue with the Chief Superintendent f Telegraphs, but no favourable decision was taken. At last after years of pressure only, the sub-ordinate staff were allowed to use the same.

Another interesting matter. There were separate Coffee House for the Anglo-Indians and the Indians. However, the Telegraphists used to take coffee in the Instrument Room (IR) to save time and to put more messages to clear the heavy traffic.

Visit the Past (11) – No Holiday, No Weekly Off for Telephone Operators.

02 Tuesday Aug 2016

Posted by in P&T TU Movement, VISIT THE PAST

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During the initial stage of the introduction of telephone Exchanges in India, many exchanges were opened with three telephone operators only. They were to attend 8 hours duty every day so that the exchange will be manned all 24 hours. They were neither given any holiday nor weekly off. If one of the telephone operators had to take leave (getting leave was almost impossible), the other two operators will have to share his work.

Now all officials in the telecom sector, including operators get paid Holidays, Sunday (or Weekly Off) and other permissible leave. It was only through sustained struggle for years that these achievements could be made.

The P and T Unions have a past full of sacrifices and struggles!

From the Past – The report of a Federal Council Meeting

17 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by in P&T TU Movement

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I was going through the minutes of the Federal Council Meeting of  NFPTE held at Madras from 27th December 1963 to 1st January 1964, for preparing my book on ” P&T Trade Union Movement”. I was surprised to see the thoroughness of the proceedings of the Council, which was reported in the P&T Labour, the organ of NFPTE, It was a full 14 pages, with copies of Resolutions in extra pages.

The report mentions in detail the entire proceedings, including the names of the participants and what they spoke in brief. The agenda items were taken one after another and those who wanted to speak, spoke on the subject and decisions taken. The participants who spoke expressed their opinion clearly and forthright and did not hesitate to criticize the leaders, if necessary.  The discussions included on many issues of common interest like price rise etc.

As usual, Communications Minister, Chairman P&T Board and other  top departmental officers attended and spoke.

The name of all the 79 Federal Councillors, including Secretary General NFPTE and General Secretaries of affiliated unions were mentioned.

Even the time of start of the meeting and when it was adjourned, when again started, all information are there. A thorough report, reading of which we will be able to understand the union, its demands, its policy etc.

Another interesting fact was the number of Greetings and Good Wishes received by the Federation from various international organisations, trade unions in India, political and trade union leaders. The Home Minister, Finance Minister, Labour Minister, Communications Minister, Shipping Minister (former Communications Minister), PTTI, ICFTU, trade unions from Manila, Japan, London, America, USSR, Yugoslavia, Germany, AITUC, UTUC, Confederation, AIDEF, Audit & Accounts, S.M.Banerjee M.P., K.Anandan Nambiar M.P., Subhadra Joshi M.P., Diwan Chand Sharma M.P., Hare Krishna Mehtab, M.P. and many others have sent Greetings for the Federal Council, which were also published.

The election was unanimous this time. But in the earlier Federal Council meetings, when contest had taken, the name of the contestants, the vote they had received were also mentioned.

A question naturally will arise. But how all these can be published in a monthly journal which has limited pages? The answer is simple. The P&T Labour used to have about 40 to 60 pages with small letters. ( Think about the time spent on manual composing and proof reading for so many pages!)

NFPTE was a model organisation in all aspects.  That is why no rival organisation could come up for a long time.