Counting of RTP Services for TBOP
Dear viewers,
This is regarding the counting of RTP services for the grant of financial upgradation under TBOP scheme.
The RTP (Reserve Trained Pool) candidates recruited during the years from 1982 to 1984 had to wait for many years for their regular appointment. Till their regularization they were working against leave vacancies and were paid hourly wages, instead of pay. They were forced to wait for long years for their regularization consequent on the imposing of ban on recruitment from 1.1.1984. Even though they were performing the normal duties of the Postal assistants, their services are not counted for anything. As a consequence they have lost a long period of service ranging from 1 year to 8 years.
Some of the officials retired from service and they are getting less pension and have got less pensionary benefits because of the non inclusion of RTP services as regular service. Most of the officials are in the verge of retirement and left with few years of service only.
The scheme of TBOP was introduced in the year 1983. This is also one of the reasons for the plight of the RTPs. As per the TBOP, some percentage of operative posts and supervisory posts were surrendered as matching savings and this made the RTPs to wait for their regularization.
Many cases are filed in CATs for regularization of the RTP services as regular services. One such case is pending in the Principal CAT, Dehli for a long time. In the meanwhile two judgments are already implemented in some circles. As per those judgments the following benefits were extended to the erstwhile RTPs.
1. They were paid the pay for the RTP services instead of hourly wages, consequent on the judgment of CAT, Jabalpur and CAT, Mumbai. I came to understand that this order has been implemented in MP and Mumbai circles. Recently, this has been implemented in AP and Telengana circles as well.
2. In Kerala Circle, the RTP services are counted for TBOP and their date of TBOP has been advanced and the consequential benefits are paid, consequent on the judgment by CAT, Ernakulam.
In Kerala Circle, the benefits are extended only to those who approached the legal forum vide Chief PMG, Tiruvananthapuram No: CO/LC/22/OP(CAT)/2017 dated 27.12.217. This benefit is approved by Directorate order no F.No.18-04/2017-SPB.II dated 13.12.2017. In the order of the Chief PMG and also the Directorate it is clearly stipulated that this order will be applicable only to the applicants in the OA and should not be cited as a precedent in other cases. Other officials who requested for the extension of the same benefitsare forced to approach the Court and the cases are going on.
I do not know whether this benefit is extended in other circles. As I know, the RTPs of other circles are not extended the benefit. The government preferred appeals in High court and Supreme Court against the orders of the CAT, Ernakulam and they were dismissed. Even then, the government restricted the benefits to those RTPs who were the applicants in the concerned OAs. The government clearly specifies that that order should not be cited by precedence by others.
I submit that those orders are not in the nature of personal so that is applicable to those applicants only. The court did not restrict the benefits exclusively to those applicants. Also it did not mention that the “question of law is open”. The government as a model employer while extending these benefits should have extended these benefits to all the similarly placed officials. Instead, the government pushes every official towards legal forum.
Time and again, the Apex court and almost all other courts reiterated that once a case attained the finality, it should be extended to all the similarly placed officials without pushing them to approach the Court of law for remedy.
It is not out of place to mention that the courts are already studded with over work consequent on the huge pendency of cases. I hope a majority of the cases are related to service matters and the cases are in the nature of appeals by the Government.
Following the principles enunciated by the courts to extend the benefits to the similarly placed officials, a huge number of cases may be reduced. Also, the government as a model employer should treat all its employees equally and to extend the benefits once the benefit is decided to be implemented and implemented to a section of its employees.
I hope the Government will consider this case and will issue appropriate orders in this regard without further loss of time, considering the age of the erstwhile RTPs.
I request all the trade union leaders to take up the case at appropriate level for necessary action.
Thank you, viewers.
Article by:
R.Hariharakrishnan,
Manager, PSD,
Tirunelveli 627002, TN
15-02-2019
