Christmas Mail Piles Up as Indian Postal Strike Enters Second Week
December 12, 2000 - 0:0
NEW DELHI India's postal strike entered its second week Monday, with greeting card manufacturers worried about the impact on their Christmas season business.
According to an AFP report, even as mail continued to pile up at sorting offices across the country, Postal Union Leader Ashok Bhattacharya said his members were committed to continuing their action, which began last Tuesday. "We have been getting phone calls from our colleagues across the country asking us not to withdraw the strike till all our demands are met," Bhattacharya said. More than 600,000 postal workers are demanding they be given civil servant status, higher salaries for postmen and mail guards, as well as increased pensions.
For greeting card companies, the strike could hardly have come at a worse time. "It's a little early in the season," said Manish Kumar, who runs a small card manufacturing facility, in New Delhi.
"But we are afraid that if the strike continues, then companies might not place bulk orders like they used to," he added, referring to the forthcoming Christmas and New Year season. According to Anup Tiwari, assistant manager with the nongovernmental organization child relief and you, corporate clients were still placing orders for charity cards.
"But we are a bit worried about what will happen if the strike continues." Armesh Thakur, general secretary of the All India Postal Employees Association, said that the 154,000 post offices across India handle about 10 million Christmas or New Year related mails per day. "This is the average -- in the metropolitan areas and cities it is on the higher side, while in the rural areas it is of course lower," he added. Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court asked the Ministry of Communications on Monday to clarify what steps it intended to take to end the strike.
"Take whatever stern action you deem fit, we want that the postal services are normalized," the court said. As an "essential service" the postal system is subject to certain restrictions regarding industrial action. Experts say even if the strike, which is backed by three national-level trade unions, is called off, it could take up to 10 days to clear the backlog and restore services to normal. "The postal strike has not only affected the common man but trade, industry and banking services are severely hit," an official from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry said.
According to an AFP report, even as mail continued to pile up at sorting offices across the country, Postal Union Leader Ashok Bhattacharya said his members were committed to continuing their action, which began last Tuesday. "We have been getting phone calls from our colleagues across the country asking us not to withdraw the strike till all our demands are met," Bhattacharya said. More than 600,000 postal workers are demanding they be given civil servant status, higher salaries for postmen and mail guards, as well as increased pensions.
For greeting card companies, the strike could hardly have come at a worse time. "It's a little early in the season," said Manish Kumar, who runs a small card manufacturing facility, in New Delhi.
"But we are afraid that if the strike continues, then companies might not place bulk orders like they used to," he added, referring to the forthcoming Christmas and New Year season. According to Anup Tiwari, assistant manager with the nongovernmental organization child relief and you, corporate clients were still placing orders for charity cards.
"But we are a bit worried about what will happen if the strike continues." Armesh Thakur, general secretary of the All India Postal Employees Association, said that the 154,000 post offices across India handle about 10 million Christmas or New Year related mails per day. "This is the average -- in the metropolitan areas and cities it is on the higher side, while in the rural areas it is of course lower," he added. Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court asked the Ministry of Communications on Monday to clarify what steps it intended to take to end the strike.
"Take whatever stern action you deem fit, we want that the postal services are normalized," the court said. As an "essential service" the postal system is subject to certain restrictions regarding industrial action. Experts say even if the strike, which is backed by three national-level trade unions, is called off, it could take up to 10 days to clear the backlog and restore services to normal. "The postal strike has not only affected the common man but trade, industry and banking services are severely hit," an official from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry said.