CITU Condemns ‘Vindictive’ Action of De-Recognising 2 Postal Unions on ‘Frivolous’ Grounds

New Delhi: The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has strongly condemned the anti-trade union action taken by the Postal Department. As per CITU, the action was taken at the behest of the ruling RSS-BJP dispensation and involved the withdrawal of recognition to the National Federation of Postal Employees (NFPE), the majority union in the postal department that enjoys the support of 70% of employees. The CITU views this action as high-handed and vindictive.

"It is nothing but the patently draconian actions of the government to silence the opposition of workers and employees to its destructive and anti-worker policies," CITU said.

The NFPE and the All India Postal Employees Union (AIPEU) have consistently opposed and mobilised postal sector employees against the corporatisation and privatisation of India's postal services. This has taken the form of various trade union actions, blocking the government's destructive policies at every stage.

As per CITU, the government has responded to this opposition with anger and has conspired to derecognise the NFPE and AIPEU, which represent the majority of employees in the sector. The concerned ministry and other agencies hatched this conspiracy.

In addition to championing the cause of postal employees and showing solidarity with other working people, such as farmers, the NFPE is now fiercely resisting the government's anti-worker and anti-people policies.

NFPE is a part of the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers. During the farmers' movement, the Confederation collected solidarity funds for the farmers.

"NFPE and P-III unions collected some funds and remitted to their Confederation, which, in turn, gave to the farmers. The anti-farmer RSS affiliate has made out a case even on such solidarity action as a political donation," CITU said.

Furthermore, there is an additional complaint of paying donations to CITU, which has been deemed "frivolous" and "dubious".

"In fact, on behalf of Confederation (of which the NFPE and AIPEU are integral parts), the affiliation fee payable to World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) was routed through CITU, which is also a fellow affiliate of WFTU. Is paying an affiliation fee to WFTU an offence? Rather the vindictive, punitive action against NFPE and AIPEU on that plea by the concerned authority is an act of bias and a crime committed to the democratic and trade union rights of the concerned employees and the unions. This is totally condemnable," the CITU statement read.

CITU further declared that the vindictive attacks on the recognition and related rights of NFPE "is an integral part of the overall onslaughts being carried on by the corporate communal nexus in governance on the rights and entitlements of the employees and workers and their organisations."

"CITU extends full support to the protest struggles being organised against such vindictive actions of the government by the postal and central government employees and calls upon the working people to raise their voices against such a motivated onslaught by the government on basic trade union rights. CITU demands upon the government and Postal Department to withdraw such a vindictive order of de-recognition on NFPE and AIPEU unconditionally."