This blog is meant for use by members of the Association for news and views. Send comments / suggestions / views to e-mail Id: aiaipasp.ors@gmail.com

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Assumption of Charge

Shri B.N. Mishra took over the charge of Assistant Director (Staff), O/o the CPMG, Odisha Circle, Bhubaneswar on 27.02.2013(A/N).

Retirement on Superannuation


Shri Ramdas Soren, Offtg SPOs, Koraput Division, Jeypore (K) has retired from Govt. Service today  the 28.02.2013(A/N) on superannuation.

On the occasion of his retirement from Govt. Service, All India Association of Inspectors and Assistant Superintendents of Posts , Odisha Circle Branch bids him a respectful farewell and wishes him a good-health and peaceful life in his post-retirement days

Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2013 Passed by Parliament

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2012 was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 26th February 2013. Lok Sabha has passed it in September 2012.
Sexual Harassment at workplace is a violation of women’s right to gender equality, life and liberty. It creates an insecure and hostile work environment, which discourages women’s participation in work, thereby adversely affecting their economic empowerment and the goal of inclusive growth. However, there is no domestic law to address this issue except a few provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Supreme Court Guidelines in the case of Vishaka vs. State of Rajasthan. The increasing work participation rate of women has made it imperative that a comprehensive legislation focusing on prevention of sexual harassment as well as providing a redressal mechanism be enacted.
The salient features of the Act are as follows:
(i)        It defines “sexual harassment at the workplace” in a comprehensive manner, in keeping with the definition laid down in the Vishaka judgment, and broadening it further to cover circumstances of implied or explicit promise or threat to a woman’s employment prospects or creation of hostile work environment or humiliating treatment, which can affect her health or safety.
(ii)       The definition of “aggrieved woman”, who will get protection under the Act is extremely wide to cover all women, irrespective of her age or employment status, whether in the organised or unorganised sectors, public or private and covers clients, customers and domestic workers as well.
(iii) While the “workplace” in the Vishaka guidelines is confined to the traditional office set-up where there is a clear employer-employee relationship, the Act goes much further to include organisations, department, office, branch unit etc in the public and private sector, organized and unorganized, hospitals, nursing homes, educational institutions, sports institutes, stadiums, sports complex and any place visited by the employee during the course of employment including the transportation.
(iv)      Definition of employee covers regular/temporary/ad hoc/daily wage employees, whether for remuneration or not and can also include volunteers. The definition of employer includes the head of the Government department/organisation/institution/office/branch/unit, the person responsible for management/supervisions/control of the workplace, the person discharging contractual obligations with respect to his/her employees and in relation to a domestic worker the person who benefits from that employment.
(v) The redressal mechanism provided in the Act is in the form of Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) and Local Complaints Committee (LCC). All workplaces employing 10 or more than 10 workers are mandated under the Act to constitute an ICC. The ICC will be a 4 member committee under the Chairpersonship of a senior woman employee and will include 2 members from amongst the employees preferably committed to the cause of women or has experience in social work/legal knowledge and includes a third party member (NGO etc) as well.
(vi)  Complaints from workplaces employing less than 10 workers or when the complaint is against the employer will be looked into by the LCC. A  District Officer notified under the Act will constitute the LCC at the district level. LCC will also look into complaints from domestic workers.
(vii) LCC will be a five member committee comprising of a chairperson to be nominated from amongst eminent women in the field of social work or committed to the cause of women, one member from amongst women working in block/taluka/tehsil/manicipality in the district, two members of whom at least one shall be a woman to be nominated from NGOs committed to the cause of women or a person familiar with the issues related to sexual harassment provided that at least one of the nominees should preferably have a background in law or legal knowledge. The concerned officer dealing with the social welfare or women and child development shall be an ex officio member.
(viii)  A complaint of sexual harassment can be filed within a time limit of 3 months. This may be extended to another 3 months if the woman can prove that grave circumstances prevented her from doing the same.
(ix) The Act has a provision for conciliation. The ICC/LCC can take steps to settle the matter between the aggrieved woman and the respondent, however this option will be used only at the request of the woman. The Act also provides that monetary settlement shall not be made a basis of conciliation. Further, if any of the conditions of the settlement is not complied with by the respondent, the complainant can go back to the Committee who will proceed to make an inquiry. 
(x)  The Committee is required to complete the inquiry within a time period of 90 days. On completion of the inquiry, the report will be sent to the employer or the District Officer, as the case may be, they are mandated to take action on the report within 60 days.
(xi) In case the complaint has been found proved, then the Committee can recommend action in accordance with the provision of service rules applicable to the respondent or as per the rules which will be prescribed, where such service rules do not exist. The committee can also recommend deduction of an appropriate sum from the salary of the respondent or ask respondent to pay the sum. In case the respondent fails to pay such sum, district officer may be asked to recover such sum as an arrear of land revenue.
(xii) In case the allegation against the respondent has not been proved then the Committee can write to the employer/district officer that no action needs to be taken in the matter.
(xiii) In case of malicious or false complaint then the Act provides for a penalty according to the Service Rules. However, this clause has a safeguard in the form of an enquiry prior to establishing the malicious intent. Also, mere inability to prove the case will not attract penalty under this provision.
(xiv) The Act has provisions for providing reliefs to theaggrieved woman in the interim period including leave and transfer during the pendency of the inquiry.
(xv) The Act prohibits disclosure of the identity and addresses of the aggrieved woman, respondent and witnesses. However, information regarding the justice secured to any victim of sexual harassment under this Act without disclosing the identity can be disseminated.
(xvi) The Act casts a responsibility on every employer to create an environment which is free from sexual harassment. Employers are required to organize workshops and awareness programmes at regular intervals for sensitizing the employees about the provision of this legislation and display notices regarding the constitution of Internal Committee, penal consequences of sexual harassment etc.
(xvii) An employer will be liable to a fine of Rs 50,000 in case of violation of his duties under the Act and in case of subsequent violations the amount of fine will be double together with penalty in the form of cancelation of his licence, withdrawal or non-withdrawal of the registration required for carrying out his activity.
(xviii) In case of domestic worker the procedure is different considering the nature of employment. A domestic worker can approach the LCC in case of any complaint. If the complainant wishes then conciliation may be carried out. However, in other cases if the complaint is proved prima facie then the LCC can forward the complaint to the police for registering the case and taking appropriate action under the relevant provision of IPC. 
(xix) Regarding monitoring, the Act provides that the State Governments will monitor implementation and maintain data for all State Government establishments as well as private establishments in their territory. For establishments of the Central Government this duty is cast on the Government of India.  All ICCs have to submit Annual reports to the employer who inturn will submit it to the district officer. All LCCs shall submit their annual report to the district officer. The district officers will submit the report annually to the State Governments.
(xx) The Central and State Governments are mandated to develop relevant IEC and training materials and organise awareness programmes to advance the understanding of the public on the provisions of this Bill.
(xxi) The Central Government will provide financial assistance to the States to meet the expenditure of fee and allowances payable to the members of the Local Complaints Committee.

Source:-PIB

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

How to handle conflicts at workplace


By Devashish Chakravarty

When you are faced with conflict at the workplace, your primal instinct kicks in-fight or flight. Running away translates to denial that the issue exists and sidestepping the topic when it comes up. 

Fighting involves an emotional outburst, needless aggression and fixing the blame. There is a third, professional, option that you can choose: pursuing your best interests rationally.

Conflict is best understood through three principles. First, that it is inevitable at work. A clash simply indicates that people are concerned sufficiently about an issue to disagree with each other. Accept it and proceed. 



Why workplace fracas arise


Second, that you can never win a conflict. Pushing for an outright victory escalates it to a war, where everyone gets hurt. Third, you can stabilise and resolve disagreements while creating workable solutions.


Workplace fracas arise from structural or personal causes. The former includes sharing of scarce resources, guarding one's area of responsibility, and discrepancies in seniority and compensation. 

Personal causes include ego, competitiveness, jealousy, status, and gender stereotypes. These issues grow to full-blown clashes if either party has poor communication skills or indulges in strong emotional reactions. 

However, you can master the art of conflict resolution. Here's how. 


Choose your battles wisely

Attitude: Each conflict is an opportunity to grow, irrespective of how painful the consequences. Understanding what works and what doesn't is invaluable for all future disagreements. 

So listen well to learn and arrive at the best outcome in the current conflict. This will lead to a deeper understanding of the motives of the other person, which will help you handle the issue better.

Approach: Choose your battles wisely. You cannot win or fight them all. Stick to those where the consequences matter to you. In all other disagreements, give way to preserve energy, relationships and peace of mind. 

Adopt an honest and open approach

Whether you or a competitor gets a reserved parking slot is not as important as getting the next big assignment. Seek to confront and address the issue as early as possible in its life cycle. Unless there is a clear tactical advantage, procrastination or avoidance only serves to increase the cost to your career and personal happiness.

Finally, adopt an honest, open approach and plain communication. Avoid sarcastic comments or loud interaction, and ensure that you exude a positive body language.

Action: Ask for a meeting to discuss the issue. If the other person is willing, invite a mature, unbiased mediator, such as your common boss. During the discussion, use neutral language shorn of judgmental tone and words; focus on 'I' over 'you'. 

Acknowledge actions where you were wrong

Speak about your issues and how you felt, not what the other person did. As the discussion proceeds, note down the points on which there is no disagreement. Use these as a foundation to build the solution. 

Acknowledge actions where you were clearly wrong while accepting the other person's positive contribution, both past and present. Your actions will help release some stress and bring forth reciprocal statements.

Next, make sure that both parties understand the price to be paid in terms of work output and relationships if the conflict continues to escalate. Then try to generate various agreeable solutions. 

How to deal with these colleagues

Towards the end of the meeting, request for an assurance from all parties on concrete steps that each will take to reduce the level of conflict. If there is no consensus, seek a commitment for another meeting, and on the medium of communication in the interim. Each meeting will increase the comfort and defuse the intensity of the conflict.

How to deal with these colleagues

1) The truck driver: The truck driver barrels down towards you, headlights on, honking his horn and expects you to get out of the way. To get a fair deal from him, do likewise. On most occasions, both truck drivers veer away at the last moment. If they don't, they both stand to lose.

Reciprocate in kind and give in

2) The nun: The nun prefers to give in rather than fight. This may work fine for you at times, but may not for her, which makes it unsustainable as a solution. So, the next time, reciprocate in kind and give in. This keeps the relationship going and you get what you want when it matters.

3) The pizza guy: The pizza guy mathematically slices up the issue and divides the pieces. Everyone gets a bite, but remains hungry. No one wins or loses completely. Try to bring him around to a win-win negotiation instead.

Use logical, acceptable arguments

4) The judge: The judge holds the power of law over you. This could be your boss. Use logical, acceptable arguments to move your case. However, if it's ineffective, appeal to the next, higher authority.

5) The guerrilla: The guerrilla runs away to avoid a fair fight but returns to strike with unfair means. Everyone loses in the civil war that follows. In such a case, make the issue public and ensure there is direct communication. 

(The writer is an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad and CEO of Quetzal Verify, an HR solutions company)

Source:-The Economic Times




Enhancement of limit for verification of withdrawals from Savings Accounts made at Extra Departmental Sub/Branch Post Offices and Single Handed Post Offices

To view SB Order No.02/2013 wherein the present limit of Rs.5000/- has been enhanced to Rs.10,000/- w.e.f. 01.03.2013  please Click Here

Monday, February 25, 2013

Transfer and Posting order of the JAG Officers of the Indian Postal Service Group-A

The following transfer and posting order of the JAG Officers of the Indian Postal Service Group-A has been issued vide Directorate Memo No.2-8/2013-SPG dated 21st February, 2013.

Sl. No.
Name of the Officer
Presently Posted
Posting on Transfer
1
Sh. Pranav Kumar (IPoS-1995)
Director New Delhi GPO, Delhi Circle
Director (Mails& SP), Delhi Circle
2
Sh. A.K. Sing(IPoS-1989)
DPS, North Region, Muzaffarpur, Bihar Circle
Director (BD & Mktg), Odisha Circle
3
Sh. Pranoy Sharma (IPoS-1998)
OSD to Secretary (Posts)
AGM (BP), BD & M Directorate, New Delhi
4
Sh. Pawan Ku. Sing (IPoS-2000)
Director (BD, Tech & Mktg), Odisha Circle
DPS (HQ), Odisha Circle
5
Sh. Aman Sharma (IPoS-2002)
Director (Mails& SP), Delhi Circle
OSD to Secretary (Posts)

Regarding payment of incentive to SDl/ASP Sub Divisions for verification of RPLI proposals

To view please Click Here.

Clarification on change of Nominee and Insurant name

To view please Click Here.

Shri Prannoy Sharma (IPoS-1998), OSD to Secretary (Posts), will hold the additional charge of Addl. General Manager (BP) in BD&M Directorate

To view please Click Here.

Service Tax - admissibility of service tax on sale of space or time for printing of advertisements on items of postal stationeries including Meghdoot Postcards etc.

To view please Click Here.

Posting of Officers promoted to PS Group “B” Cadre on adhoc basis in Berhampur Region.

The following officers on their promotion to PS Gr- B cadre on temporary and ad hoc basis have been posted against the posts mentioned below to have immediate effect vide R.O Berhampur Memo No.ST/8-16/90/Ch-I dated at Berhampur 22.02.2013.
Sl No
Name of the Officer
Present place of Posting
Posting on Promotion
1
Sh. Ramdas Soren
ASP(HQ), Koraput Division
SPOs, Koraput Division
2
Sh. H S Mohapatra
ASP(BD/Mail), RO, Berhampur
SRM, RMS “BG” Division, Berhampur

Shri Ramdas Soren assumed the charge of SPOs, Koraput Division on 22/02/2013(A/N). Shri H S Mohapatra has been relieved from the post of ASP(BD/Mail), RO, Berhampur on 22/02/2013(A/N) to assume the charge of SRM, RMS “BG” Division, Berhampur.

Coming soon, Post Bank of India

The postal department plans to enter the banking business with the Reserve Bank of India deciding to grant new bank licences to entities with credible track-record.
Consultant appointed
Sources said the Department of Posts, which has a strong foot print in rural areas, has appointed Ernst and Young (E&Y) as the consultant for the proposed ‘Post Bank’
“Ernst and Young is expected to submit a detailed project report by April, after which all the necessary measures will be taken up to apply for banking licence,” a source at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology told PTI.
The sources added that the Department of Post (DoP) might need Cabinet approval for setting up Post Bank of India.
Of the 1.55 lakh post offices in the country, around 24,000 district offices may be ready to offer banking services in the next two years.
The DoP is in process of setting up 1,000 ATMs.
“Post Bank shall not only take care of the banking needs of the rural poor but shall also converge with micro-insurance and micro-remittance services of the DoP,” the source said.
As per data shared with Parliament, there were over 26 crore operational small savings accounts in post offices as on March 31, 2012, having deposits worth Rs.1.9 lakh crore.

Source:-The Hindu

Philatelic exhibition inaugurated at Berhampur of Odisha



A visitor going round the district level philatelic exhibition organised at the GPO in Berhampur on Saturday. —Photo: Lingaraj Panda
A visitor going round the district level philatelic exhibition organised at the HO in Berhampur on Saturday

A new first day cover of India Post on Ashokan relics at Jaugarh in Ganjam district was inaugurated in the city on Saturday.
This first day cover depicting a major historical remain of the country was inaugurated during the inauguration ceremony of a two-day district level philatelic exhibition.
This exhibition had been organised by the Berhampur region of India Post.
Senior Superintendent of this postal division, Dibakar Patnaik, Vice-Chancellor of Berhampur University Jayant Mohapatra, Post Master General of Berhampur region, S.P.Ramlingam, deputy superintending archaeologist of Bhubaneswar circle Jivan Kumar Patnaik attended the ceremony for inauguration of first day cover on Jaugarh stone relics.
Jaugarh is situated at distance of 35 kilometres from Berhampur. It was once fortified provincial capital of Mauryan King Ashoka. The rock inscriptions at Jaugarh are engraved on three different tablets on vertical face of a picturesque granite rock of the Khapingala hills. The inscriptions are in Prakrit language written in Brahmi script.
The special Rock Edicts were inscribed in the form of instructions of Ashoka to the ‘Mahamatras’ to be impartial and conciliatory to the people, and to promulgate the principles on which Ashoka had decided to build up the base of his administration in Kalinga and its bordering tribes.
There are special Kalinga Edicts specially meant for the people of Kalinga which are unique to this place. These inscriptions have been declared protected monument by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
The Postal Department also conducted a philatelic quiz for students as part of the two-day philatelic exhibition.

Source:-The Hindu

Friday, February 22, 2013

Assumption of charge


The following officers assumed their charges today the 22nd February, 2013 in their new place of posting in PS Group "B" cadre.

Sl No
Name of the Officer
Assumed the charge in the Post
1
Sri D K Samal
Asst. Director(SB/FS),CO, Bhubaneswar
2
Sri. K C Chinara
Superintendent, Bhadrak Division.
3
Sri N.K. Samal
Dy. Manager, Postal Printing Press, Bhubaneswar vice vacant post

Revision of PPO of Pre-2006 Pensioners/Family Pensioners - (i) Even if age/date of birth of spouse is not available, (ii) model advertisement for use by Ministries/Departments.

To view please Click Here.

To Fix Timeline for Redressal of Grievances relating to Pension

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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Transfer and Posting in PS Group “B” Cadre.

The following transfer and posting in PS Gr-B Cadre has been ordered to have immediate effect vide C.O Memo No. ST/2-4(3)/2011/Ch-I dated 21st February, 2013.

Sl No
Name of the Officer
Present place of Posting
Allotted/Posted on transfer
1
Sri B.N. Mishra
AD(Est/plg),CO, Bhubaneswar
AD(Staff),CO, Bhubaneswar
2
Sri Srikant Kar
Sr.Postmaster, BBSR GPO
Asst. Manager, PPP, Bhubaneswar vice Sri K.C. Ghadei transferred.
3
Sri M.M.Mohapatra
AD(TO/BD/Mail),CO, Bhubaneswar
Superintendent, Cuttack South Dvn. Vice Sri S.C. Shukla transferred
4
Sri N.K. Samal
Superintendent Mayurbhanj Dvn(Designate)
Dy. Manager, Postal Printing Press, Bhubaneswar vice vacant post
5
Sri S.C. Shukla
Superintendent, Cuttack(South) Dvn.
Dy. Manager, Postal Printing Press, Bhubaneswar vice Sri R.K. Swain, transferred.
6
Sri K.C. Ghadei
Asst. Manager, Postal Printing Press, Bhubaneswar.
Sr. Postmaster, Bhubaneswar GPO vice Sri Srikant Kar, Transferred.
7
Sri K.P. Parida
AD(Bldg/MM),CO, Bhubaneswar
DSRM, Cuttack ‘N’ Divn, Bhubaneswar attached as AD(Accounts/RE),CO, Bhubaneswar
8
Sri R.K. Swain
Dy. Manager, Postal Printing Press, Bhubaneswar
Sr. Postmaster, Cuttack GPO vice Sri P.K. Nanda promoted to PS Group-B aand allotted to NE Circle.

1.   Sri K.C. Ghadei ,Asst. Manager, PPPat Sl no.06 will be relieved immediately and relieve Sri Srikant Kar, Sr. Postmaster, BBSR GPO.
2.   Sri R.K. Swain, Dy. Manager, PPP, BBSR will be relieved on joining of Sri N.K. Samal.

Posting of Officers promoted to PS Group “B” Cadre on adhoc basis in HQ Region.

The following officers on their promotion to PS Gr- B cadre on temporary and ad hoc basis have been posted against the posts mentioned below to have immediate effect vide C.O Memo No. ST/2-4(3)/2011/Ch-I dated 21st February, 2013.
Sl No
Name of the Officer
Present place of Posting
Posted on ad hoc promotion to
1
Sri  Krupasindhu Panda
ASP(OD), Sambalpur  Division
Supdt., PSD, Bhubaneswar .
2
Sri. Banamali Patra
ASP (HQ), Berhampur Division
Supdt, CSD, Bhubaneswar
3
Sri Lingaraj Pradhan
ASP(HQ), Sundargarh Division
Asst. Director(EST/Planning),CO, Bhubaneswar
4
Sri D K Samal
PI, Cuttack RMS attached to Circle Office as ASP(Staff)
Asst. Director(SB/FS),CO, Bhubaneswar
5
Sri. P C Mohapatra
ASP(OD), Bhubaneswar Division
Asst. Director(TO/’BD/Mail),CO, Bhubaneswar
6
Sri. K C Chinara
ASP I/c, Bhadrak
Superintendent, Bhadrak Division.
7
Sri. Maheswar Sethi
ASP,Printing, PSD, BBSR
Asst. Director(Bldg/MM),CO, Bhubaneswar

The officers promoted on ad-hoc basis will be relieved on office arrangement and join their respective new assignment relieving the present incumbents except that:

1.Sri P.C. Mohapatra, ASP(OD), Bhubaneswar Division will be relieved immediately and relieve Sri M.M. Mohapatra Asst. Director(TO/’BD/Mail),CO, Bhubaneswar

2.Sri M. Sethi, ASP, Printing,PSD, BBSR will be relieved on joining of Sri K.S. Panda.

3.Sri KS Panda ASP,OD, Sambalpur Division may be relieved and directed         to join in his new place of posting without availing the transit.