Thursday, December 5, 2019



ALL INDIA POSTAL SBCO EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
(Affiliated with National Federation of Postal Employees)
 H.Q:1stFloorNorth AvenuePost office Building,NewDelhi-110001
Camp Office: CPU, O/o the CPMG Tamilnadu Circle, Chennai-600002
Email:jasminejalalbegam@gmail.com  Blog:http://aipsbcoea.blogspot.in/

No:  AIPSBCOEA/02-2019                                                            Dated : 28.11.2019
Bulletin 02
Dear Comrades,
HAPPY CHRISTMAS, NEW YEAR AND A TRADITIONAL SANKRANTHI
      On behalf of AIPSBCOEA ,  I wish all our comrades a very happy “Christmas”, “New year” and a very traditional, cultural and prosperous “Sankranthi” greetings.
            I request all  our members to participate in the one day  Nation wide strike on 8.1.20  for all the charter of demands placed before the Government. I am sure the “New Pension Scheme” will be scrapped off and all our young comrades too will be covered under the “Old Pension Scheme” very soon which is their Right. No struggle has faced Failure. Very happy that our Association was a part of history of struggle and will be a part of all the struggles programmes in the future too. Once again wishes to all the comrades for going to make the 1 day strike a Grand Success.   
“We realize the importance of ‘democratic rights’ when they are taken away. During the emergency, people realized that ‘something’ was snatched”.
But in contradiction, now we feel that all the democratic rights of the employees and workers of the country are being snatched away one by one. What had not been done earlier especially before 2014 are now being implemented gradually and almost all the Central Govt. establishments are heading towards corporatization and privatization including the Department of Posts and the benefits which we were / are enjoying as the Central Govt. employees and workers are being snatched away one after another. As if there is an undeclared emergency.  
The retrograde recommendations of 7th CPC have snatched away the allowances and advances with worst ever pay hike. The written assurances given to the NJCA leaders through a Press Release on 30.06.2016 has been dropped on the floor of the Parliament stating that there is no proposal pending before the Govt either to hike the minimum pay or revise the fitment formula. The social security of the young generation employed after 01.01.2004 has been snatched away in the name of New Pension Scheme. The future of the unemployed mass is put on hold by not filling up of lakhs of vacant posts in various Govt. establishments. The hurried implementation of I T Modernization Project in India Post with inadequate and outdated hardware, improper software and shortage of manpower has taken away the concept of fixed duty hours, mental peace and social relationships of the employees. The sluggish connectivity with continuous link failure has stood on the way of prompt and effective service delivery inviting public anger and converting post offices the unhealthiest workplace now a days. The continuous pressure of the administration for achieving the unachievable targets has done away with so many lives of the employees. Though we are continuously struggling for settlement of the above issues.
Attack on Central Govt. Organisation and its employees specially for Department of Posts introducing Task Force Committee report, non filling vacacnt posts, imposition of FR-56(J) and change of labour laws including New Wages Bill 2019
   The Govt. has accelerated its arbitrary move for corporatizing the Central Govt.  establishments including Wage Bill 2019 and amendment in Labour laws undermining the rights of the employees and workers but favouring the employers and corporate world to kill and snatch the rights of the Central Govt. employees which were gained by them through struggles.
   The CCGE&W has decided to protest the anti-employees movement of the Central Govt. and will serve the notice to Cabinet Secretary on 12th Dec 2019 for call on One Day Nationwide Strike on 8th Jan ‘2019 including mass Dharna at all State/Distt./Divisional Headquarters on 20th Dec. 2019 for settlement of our 10 points charter of demands.
   Remember, all our existing benefits & rights are achieved through struggles and sacrifices only.
                    No Strike action will go in vain!
                    No sacrifice will go in vain!
                  We will fight and we will Win!
                     Scrap NPS and restore OPS!
10 Points Charter of Demands are as under:-
1.    Scrap New Contributory Pension schem (NPS). Restore Old defined benefit Pension Scheme (OPS) to all employees. Guarantee 50% of the last pay drawn as Minimum Pension.
2.    Honour assurance given by Group of Ministers (GoM) to NJCA leaders on 30.06.2016. Increase Minimum Pay and Fitment formula. Withdraw the proposed move to modify the existing time-tested methodology for calculation of Minimum wage. Grant HRA arrears from 01.01.2016. Withdraw “Very Good” bench mark for MACP, Grant promotional hierarchy and date of effect from 01.01.2016. Grant Option-I parity recommended by 7th CPC to all Central Govt. Pensioners. Settle all anomalies arising out of 7th CPC implemention.
3.    Stop corporatization/privatization of Railways, Defence and Postal Departments. Withdraw closure orders of Govt. of India Printing Presses. Stop proposed move to close down Salt Department. Stop closure of Govt. establishments and outsourcing.
4.    Fill up all six lakhs vacant posts in the Central Government Departments in a time bound manner. Reintroduce Regional Recruitment for Group B &C Posts.
5.    (a) Regularisation of Gramin Dak Sevaks and grant of Civil servant status. Implement remaining positive recommendations of Kamalesh Chandra Committee report.
(b) Regularise all casual and contract workers including those joined on or after 01.09.1993.
6.  Ensure equal pay for equal work for all. Remove disparity in pay scales between Central Secretariat staff and similarly placed staff working in field units of various departments.
      7.  Implement 7th CPC Wage Revision and Pension revision of remaining Autonomous       
          bodies.Ensure payment of arrears without further delay. Grant Bonus to    
          Autonomous body employees pending from 2016-2017 onwards.
        8. Remove  5% condition imposed on compassionate appointments. Grant   
          appointment in all  eligible cases.
       9. Grant five time bound promotions to all Group B & C employees. Complete                                                  
           Cadre Review in all departments within a time-frame.
     10.  (a) Withdraw the anti-worker wage/labour codes and other anti-worker         
           Labour    reforms. Stop attack on trade union rights. Ensure prompt  functioning of    
          various negotiating forums under the JCM Scheme at all levels.
          (b) Withdraw the draconian FR 56 (j) and Rule 48 CCS (Pension Rules 1972).
SBCO AFFAIRS:

A letter was written by AIPSBCOEA CHQ regarding harassment of SBCO staff by entrusting the work of FRMU Alert:
Ref. No.: AIPSBCOEA/CHQ/FRMU/2019                                                   Dated- 28.08.2019
To
               The Secretary,
             Department of Posts,
             Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg,
             New Delhi – 110 001.
Sub: -  Dispensing of FRMU alert work from SBCO - regarding.
Ref: -   (i)   Association letter No. AIPSBCOEA/CHQ/FRMU/20019 Dated 19.3.2019
(II)  Directorate letter No.F.1-3/2017-PCO/PMLA Dated 15.4.2019
  Our  Association  would  like  to  bring  to  the  kind   notice  of  the   references  as  above in   which  reply  was    given  to  the  association  that  the   circles  have  been  asked  to  strengthen  the  circle FRMU/AML unit by  posting  Inspectors/Asp and staff at  a Central  location  for  checking  alerts and  that  there  is no  specific  order  from   Directorate  relating  to  any  other  staff.  But  when  this  is  being  implemented  at  Division  level  it  is  cited   that  as per  the  Directorate  letter No.  17-15/2016-Inv dated 8.5.2019  regarding  SOP   for  processing  FRMU alerts   it  is  stated  that  the  SBCO  Supervisor  to  do  the  following   checks.
1.    Cross verify  with  the  closure  voucher  (SB-7A)
2.    Verify the Signature  using  IES Menu in Finacle
3.    Check the CIF modification details  using  HAFI  menu of Finacle
4.    For subsequent accounts, check with AOF/SB-3 form.
The above 4 points mentioned for the SBCO supervisor to verify is not in the SB control procedure and  moreover the work which is already being carried out in SBCO as 100% checking of vouchers by PAs and  5% verification done by the supervisor SBCO. All closures including PMCs are checked as a part of duty by the SBCO branch. As per the above points it is duplication of work which will cause wastage of time and manpower to check the same work again as of now all SBCO units are suffering from acute shortage of staff and regular supervisor are very few. It will moreover accumulate pending of voucher checking at SBCO branch. 
The real purpose of FRMU will serve unless and until the depositors are personally met with by the investigating/field officers and SBCO is not a investigation branch also. It is therefore kindly requested to dispense the above work mentioned as per the Directorate letter No. 17-15/2016-Inv dated 8.5.2019 regarding SOP for processing FRMU alerts which is an extra burden on SBCO.
With Regards,
                                                                                                    Yours Sincerely,  
                                                                                                  Sd-                      
(SHP. Jasmine Jalal Begam)   
                                                                                                     General Secretary
A  Letter was written by the All India CHQ regarding the Directorate letter mentioned  below in the reference  (Input/Suggestion for Prevention of Fraud) asking SBCO to view the signature and closure PBs:
Ref. No.: AIPSBCOEA/CHQ/ Input/Suggestion on prevention of Fraud/2019 dated- 16.9.19 .         
  To
              The Secretary,
              Department of Posts,
              Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg,       
              New Delhi – 110 001.
Sub:     Submission of  Input/Suggestion on Prevention of Frauds reg…
Ref:  No.25-11/2016-FS-CBS,Govt of India, Ministry of Communication,   
           Department of Post(F.S Division) dated 11.9.19 at Dak Bhawan 
            New Delhi- 110 001.
 Sir,
Input/Suggestion on prevention of frauds in CBS Post Offices:
In the recent memo No.25-11/2016-FS-CBS,Govt of India, Ministry of Communication,    
Department of Post(F.S Division) dated 11.9.19 at Dak Bhawan New Delhi-110 001 regarding input /suggestion on prevention of frauds in CBS Post Offices, the third point is about Signature checking of all closed accounts by SBCO in Finacle.
The duties of SBCO  are already  well defined in Manual for SB Control, Pairing & amp; ICO Procedure.Accordingly the SBCO staff are exercising the decentralized Audit & Accounts duties and their work actually starts after accounting of the transactions. SBCO has to exercise the Audit work, (ie) thorough checking of all the mandatory items by doing 100% voucher checking including all closures as per control procedure laid down for SBCO and the SB ORDER 14/2015 and the Addendums w.r.t the AOF forms/SB-3 cards for signature of depositors.
But, checking the signature in Finacle is not laid down in the Control Procedure of SBCO and it is irrelevant to SBCO where as it is a prime duty on the part of  the counter staff  and APM only before effecting  payment of amount to the depositor to prevent Fraud.
The second point in the memo number mentioned above regarding sending of closure  passbooks  to SBCO along with the closure form SB-7A  will not prevent fraud in any way as Pass book is not mandatory for doing transactions across the counter in CBS environment.  The  entries are not being made at regular intervals in the PBs vide the printers and only manual entries are made by posting the last transaction along with the BAT in the PB. Also nowadays amount can not only be withdrawn through ATMs but also closed, transferred from POSB to IPPB and from IPPB to any other bank account  without  passbook.
Closure of accounts may be done with Aadhar enabled verification (finger print matching/Irish matching).The customers those who are unable to come to post offices may be given door step service for Aadhaar enabled verification with service charge. If door step service cannot be provided then inspecting officers may verify the genuineness by meeting the customers personally.
It is irony that the objection memos raised by SBCO must be paid serious attention and be settled without delay in Post offices which is the responsibility of the concerned postmasters as mentioned in the SB ORDER 14/2015 but, it is not adhered to. Instead reports are being asked from SBCO for early settlement of the same which is another reason for occurrence of frauds.
There is acute shortage of manpower at every level right from MTS to PA cadre which is the main reason of occurrence of frauds.  The work of  two to three PAs are done by a singe SBCO PA in most of the units and almost all H.Os are running without the supervisors   except very few which are managed by the junior officials who have just entered the department. The Association has already written letter regarding cadre restructuring to SBCO cadre to solve ths problem vide Ref. No:  AIPSBCOEA/CHQ/Ca dre restructure/2019  Dated- 28.08.2019. The shortage of manpower is experienced at the level of  the General line PAs  also which pave way  to the persons who do frauds intentionally and make the innocent officials  the scalp goats. A drive for recruitment may be conducted and vacancies may be filled upto the sanctioned strength as a one time measure.
The Silent revival (revival of dormant accounts) ,freezing and unfreezing of  a/cs with heavy amounts and exceeding the prescribed limits, transfers of sols, closures of B.Os / Single handed  SOs accounts , issue of duplicate Passbooks, issue of ATM cards , issue of cheque books  may be sent to the concerned H.Os for doing the same after verification by two Supervisors(APMs). A separate PA may be spared for the same like  that done for the claim sanction cases  as of now.
The higher value verification memos to be prepared every day at the SB branch and sent to the inspecting authorities who should verify the genuineness on daily  basis by meeting the depositors personally  and report the same.
Our Association would like to bring to the kind notice of the administration that prevention of Frauds can be done only  by evolving  necessary some additional ways and means at counter level  before effecting payment of amount to the customer and by entrusting the verification of genuineness of payment to the inspecting officers/field officers by visiting the depositors personally. 
It is requested that the suggestions  given above may be taken into consideration so  that the Frauds  can be prevented to some extent as the same have been heeped in crores of amount  after implementation of Finacle and CBS in savings bank comparatively more than when sanjay post was in usage. Hence the infrastructure and technology may be improved in such a way that except the depositor nobody can withdraw his money by linking Aadhaar , SMS alerts,OTP generation for closures and by making photograph of depositor mandatory which should be scanned for identification during payment of money at the counter. The Biometric method of payment was already suggested by our Association in the meeting under the chairmanship of Member(T)  dated 1.3.17  which was the first item in the 25 charter of demands and the minutes was received for the same by 21.4.2017 in which the suggestion was not taken into account. Atleast now the same may be implemented to prevent the fraud upto 90% by biometric method.
SBCO section is responsible for its routine work of audit nature only (ie) downloading the datas from Finacle and finding out any violation of prescribed rules while carrying out  voucher checking with utmost concentration and raising of objections if needed.
The term AUDIT defines “an official inspection of an organizations account by an independent body and it cannot be expected to detect every fraud”.
The SBCO wing is doing the Audit work and hence may not be fixed as  the co-offenders or sub-offenders which is against justice of nature as SBCO officials are in no way connected with the monetary transactions  taking place across the counter directly.Many innocent SBCO officials are already being pulled inside the trap by some way or another and penalized with the recovery under contributory negligence , hence it is requested that the act of injustice  needed to be stopped immediately. The verification of signature in finacle and  giving the closed passbooks to SBCO will not prevent frauds instead it will pave way to penalize the SBCO officials who are already over burdened with work done by SOSB, Sub accounts, CC bridge , vide many orders issued day by day. It is therefore requested that instead of issuing some orders day by day a meeting may be called for with the concerned branches with their representatives along with the technology team to sit and discuss the ground reality and follow the measures which will be suggested by them.
The FRMU alert verification is also entrusted to SBCO which is an additional work and it is already emphasized by the Association that the same may be verified by the inspecting/investigating authorities or by a centralized team at RO/CO to serve the real purpose of prevention of Frauds vide the Association’s  letter Ref. No.: AIPSBCOEA/CHQ/FRMU/2019 dated 28.8.19.
Hence both point number 2 and 3 mentioned in the memo No.25-11/2016-FS-CBS,Govt of India, Ministry of Communication, Department of Post(F.S Division) dated 11.9.19 at Dak Bhawan New Delhi-110 001 regarding prevention of Frauds  may please be dispensed with as it is an extra burdern on SBCO and will only make the voucher checking pending in under staffed situation and not prevent the Fraud. Hope the administration would understand the core of the suggestions given by the Association and implement it favourably for the smooth functioning of POSB and SBCO cadre.
 With Regards,
Yours Sincerely,                                                                                              Sd-
                                                                                                    (SHP. JASMINE JALAL BEGAM)                     
                                                                                                            General Secretary
Copy To:
1.    Shri. Sachin Kishore,DDG, FS Division, Dak Bhawan, New Delhi -110001.
      2.   The Assistant Director (SBPG),F.S Division Dak Bhawan ,New Delhi -110001.
3.    The Chief Postmaster General , Tamilnadu Circle, Chennai – 600 002.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                      Sd-        
                                                                                         (SHP. JASMINE JALAL BEGAM)  
                                                                                                  General Secretary

A Letter was written by the All India CHQ  regarding the Revised Recruitement Rules for PA/SA by the Directorate:
Ref. No:  AIPSBCOEA/CHQ/Recruitment Rules/2019                                 Dated- 20.09.2019
To,
              Shri  P.K. Bisoi,
              Honourable Secretary,
              Department of Posts,
              Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg,
              New Delhi – 110 001.
Sub: -Framing of Department of Posts (Postal Assistant and Sorting Assistant) Recruitment Rules 2019 – Reg.
Ref:-  Directorate letter F.No. 04-05/2015-SPB-I ,Government of India, Ministry of
          Communications, Department of Posts, Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi,
          dated 18.9.2019.
Respected Sir,
Our Association would like to bring to the kind notice of the competent authority with reference to the letter number cited in the above reference, regarding revision of the recruitment rules (RRs) for appointing the Postal Assistant/Sorting Assistant including SBCO in the Department of Posts, with the following guidelines:
As per Para-2(b)PA(SBCO):
(i)           There will be no further appointment in SBCO cadre.
(ii)          Existing officials of PA(SBCO) cadre will continue to be in PA(SBCO) Cadre till they are promoted or retired.
(iii)        All existing and consequent vacancies of PA(SBCO) shall be added to the strength of PA of Postal Division.
(iv)        Posting of PA(SBCO) will be done from Divisions as in Post offices.
It is transpired from the above points that the SBCO branch under Department of Posts is going to be abolished in due course which is completely in-contravention of the following prescribed procedures of the CAG, Government of India.
The SBCO and ICO(SB) branches were introduced in the Department of Posts bifurcating from  Accountant General , Posts & Telegraph as per the order of AG P & T No.  Admn. III/5(S)4A-KWiii/2806 Dated at Simla the 31st March 1964. The aim of the bifurcation was to transfer of Audit and Accounting work to the HPO. Since then, SBCO has been performing the Audit and Account functions of the various SB categories of accounts involving crores of Rupees of  lacs of Depositors in HPO.
1.    The Audit function of SBCO has been mentioned clearly in 1960 under Para-1(Preamble) of introduction POSSS Part-IV by A.N. Dureja authorized by the then P & T Board.
2.    The Internal control wing which is similar to SBCO is now called as “Internal Audit Office” as per Directorate Letter No. CIS/AU-1/101-06-07/2276 Dated 05.02.2007.
3.    The withdrawal vouchers have been checked by the SBCO staff (even now)  by putting their signature  in the place marked as “Auditor” on the SB-7.(withdrawal voucher).
4.    As per the Directorate order No.97-8/95-SB Dated 12.10.1995 newly created , the posts of Supervisor SBCO are carrying out the functions of JAO of erstwhile Audit and Account office.
5.    SBCO has to carry out the reality check to avoid delayed detection of fraud vide the Directorate Letter No.25-31/2017-FS-CBS Dated 19.11.2018.
6.    Preventive Vigilance –Procedure has to be followed by the SBCO to prevent fraud vide Directorate Letter No.4-5/DR-02/2018-Inv.Dated 20.12.2018
Through an Act of amendment by Nodal Ministry (Ministry of Finance) Small savings Audit & accounting work was transferred from the Audit office to the Post Office in 1964 with formation of new nomenclature as “SBCO”. Since then miseries of SBCO Employees are notwiped out  in the last 55 years and have lost everything from Designation to the pay & perks. On similar lines the Account wing was also introduced in the Department of Posts w.e.f.01.04.76 in the form of Office of Director of Accounts (Postal). Both the wings  were previously part of AG P & T.
Later on ,  Shri. J.S. Bhatia Member P & T Board (FD & AF) formulated a separate manual known as “Postal Manual of SB Control, Pairing & Internal Check Organisation” for duties of SBCO staff headed by AO ICO(SB) on the pattern of P& T Audit.
Time and again, our Association is demanding that the SBCO wing should be brought under the control of Director of Accounts (Postal) for effective functioning. Of late,an order was issued assigning  the work of NSCs & KVPs  to SBCO  which was previously done by DAP w.e.f  01.07.2016 vide SB Order 06/2016 issued vide No.32-01/2016-SB Dt.21.01.2019.
Ultimately SBCO section is dealing with the work of audit only (ie) downloading the datas from Finacle and voucher checking with utmost concentration. The term AUDIT defines “an official inspection of an organizations account by an independent body.Fortunately, the work being done by SBCO has coincided with the definition of AUDIT. SBCO cadre is called as distinct category according to the department, in other words independent body. POSB is very large banking institution under the Department of Posts having crores of account holders and multi crore of rupees as investment by the people.Proper audit to POSB system is inevitable.In our strong opinion, an robust internal audit should be mooted out in POSB like various audit organizations (ie) P & T audit General, Audit Civil Audit, Defence and Railway Audit which are watchdogs to the safety  of public money.
In Finacle the SBCO Auditor’s manual issued by India Post reveals that all the transactions are to be verified by the SBCO staff or auditor and all SBCO staff/Auditors have to get login IDs from CEPT, Chennai to view LOT. These lines are incorporated in page No. 03 of the said manual. Accordingly, the entire Manual indicates the detective controls by SBCO/Auditor staff.
In the Auditor’s Manual under the head “Detective Controls”-Comparison of Account number and amount in the voucher with LOT, it has been written as “However, the SBCO staff or Auditor has to verify all the transactions from the vouchers received from the LOT available in the Finacle Application. All SBCO Staff/Auditors have to get Login IDs from CEPT Chennai Team to view LOT either in production or through MIS server.
Under the head “ Sample LOT is given below” it has been written as “ SBCO/Auditor has to verify Account Number and Amount mentioned in LOT with the voucher and in case of any discrepancy, full transaction can be viewed in Finacle Application with input as TRAN ID mentioned in LOT and voucher. SBCO/Audit has to raise the objection procedurally for the discrepancy.,,
There is a head written as “Inquiries and reports for SBCO/AUDITOR staff. Menu options
1.    HACSP
2.    HACLI
3.    HACLPCA
4.    HACI
Under the head “Detective Controls – Interest Inquiries” written as
All Financial organizations will be receiving various income. The major share of the income for Min. of Finance comes from interest. SBCO/AUDITOR has to see that annual interest , closing interest and the post maturity (overdue) interest has been correctly accounted for.
The two types of interest inquiries are:
Interest Inquiries
Interest Reports
These inquiries are on the various activities/transactions conducted by the employees working in a Post Office. These reports and inquiries are effective for operations as well as detective controls for SBCO/AUDITOR staff.
It has been written as All other field shown in the screen are auto populated. The Auditors can even specify what type of Interest they are looking for, for example, additional, overdue or penal and so on, by choosing from the dropdown in interest type.
The Reamendments of Recruitment Rules for PA/SAs Cadre (PA(CO), PA(SBCO), PA(PO), PA(RLO) and SA-Proposal vide Directorate F.No. 09-03/2017-SPB-I Dt. 18.10.17 was proposed  earlier which was strongly opposed by the General secretary of AIPSBCOEA through individual ballot in the letter dated 03.11.2017.
In  fine, the following points are appended with reference to the proposed RRs mentioned in the letter cited under reference :
The Savings Bank Control Organisation was set up w.e.f 01.01.1960 with the approval of AG P & T , CAG and Ministry of Finance to ensure an On-Spot Checking over the work of Small Savings Schemes for audit & accounting, vouchers checking & reconciliation work vested within AG P&T which has its own separate identity other than existing PA Cadre in the Department being their nature of duties identical to the Audit & Accounts wing.
It is pertinent to mention that all the financial institutions must have a separate wing for Checking, Auditing & Accounting to safeguard the public money and on that’s why the Department has termed SBCO as unique cadre and recruit the personnel separately.Inter-change of SBCO staff with operative work (POs)vice versa,was not allowed.SBCO is considered as custodian of small savings business records in order to prevent any untoward incidents of misuse.
It is understood that the RRs of PA(SBCO) notified on 21.05.15 under the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution were framed for 100% direct recruitment (Col. 10) with promotional avenues through DPC headed by DPS as Chairperson  and they come under Circle Cadre.
In 2017, the proposed RRs of PA/SA cadre circulated is strongly opposed by the entire rank and  file in SBCO and it was requested to maintain separate identity for SBCO cadre in proposed amendments in RRs of PA/SA cadre or consider their absorption with Audit & Accounts Wing being originated from AG P & T. Hence the RR proposal vide Directorate F.No. 09-03/2017-SPB-I Dt. 18.10.17 was dropped.
We are, still affirm since both SBCO and DAP were bifurcated from the erstwhile AG P & T by 1964 and 1976 respectively, the basic work of Audit continues to be common to both SBCO and DAP. The nature of work is of similar type dealing with the POSB  Audit and Accounting and the financial transactions of pay and allowance of employees which are also accounted through the POSB Accounts only.
In view of the above  it is requested to kindly reconsider the framing of the present proposed Recruitment Rules and to rechristen the SBCO as SB Audit Organization and PA (SBCO) as AUDITORs in  order to function effectively under the control of GM(PA & F) for the proper caring of crores of money deposited by lacs of customers.
With Regards,
                                                                                                                Yours Sincerely,
                                                                                                                          Sd-
(SHP. Jasmine Jalal Begam)
                                                                                                   General Secretary
Copy To:
1.    The DDG. FS Division, DOP, Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi -110 001.
2.    The DDG. Establishment, DOP, Dak Bhawan,Sansad Marg, New Delhi -110 001.
3.    The DDG. SR Legal, DOP, Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi -110 001.

A Memorandum was given on behalf of our All India CHQ during the  visit to Directorate on 6th and 7th November 2019 containing all the long pending sectional demands of SBCO.
MEMORANDUM
To
              The Secretary,
            Department of Posts,
            Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg,
            New Delhi – 110 001.
Ref. No.: AIPSBCOEA/CHQ/memorandum/2019                      dated- 4.11.19                                                           
 Sir,

It is to bring to your kind notice that on so many occasions, we SBCO have raised our long pending genuine demands before the Department. But it is highly regretted that no effective steps have been taken by the Department to mitigate the problems causing more sufferings to the employees. We are bringing all the problems faced by the staff at ground level separately on each subject but no solution is coming out. All our long pending demands have been narrated as below:
CHARTER OF DEMANDS:
1.    Change of Administrative control:
It is learnt that SBCO was part of the AG P&T and through an Act of amendment by Nodal Ministry (Ministry of Finance) Small savings Audit & accounting work was transferred from the Audit office to the Post Office in 1961 with formation of new nomenclature as “SBCO”. Since then miseries of SBCO Employees started and in the last 55 years, have lost everything from Designation to the pay & perks. On similar lines the Account wing was also introduced in the Department of Posts w.e.f. 01.04.76 in the form of Office of Director of Accounts (Postal). Both wings of the Department were part of AG P & T but there is vast difference in pay & perks with promotional avenues between SBCO and Postal Account staff. In Postal Account Office directly recruited. Jr Accountant are getting Rs. 5400 G.P. by way of MACPs in the SBCOs, the PA being similarly situated is getting Rs. 4600/- G.P. The Department of Posts is undergoing a sea-changes because of modernization and technological advancement. The Department has launched its prestigious project CSI and in the post modernization and in CSI environment SBCO has its specific role . The Association demands that the SBCO wing should be brought under the control of Director of Accounts(Postal) being same nature of work and in recent days a order regarding the work of NSCs & KVPs is also assigned to SBCO cadre which was previously done by DAP.
2.    Permission for appearing in PS Gr. ‘B’ Examination:
Presently the PA (SBCO) is  a common cadre of Postal  Assistant having same pay & perks but their promotional avenues  are restricted and the  SBCO  staff have been debarred for appearing in PS Gr ‘B’ Departmentl Examination.This item was taken and discussed on 16.12.2014 in JCM (DC)  meeting and also on 7.1.2019 in PJCA meeting.
3.    Higher Pay scales for higher responsibility Posts (LSG, HSG-II &HSG –I):
It is learnt that after introduction of financial upgradation  schemes the NB Supervisory Posts are downgraded in their grade pay while they are shouldering higher responsibilities and supervision of the work of the officials under him. Accordingly the officials promoted against these NB posts are not interested to carry out the higher responsibility resultantly maximum no. of posts are still unfilled. It is  pertinent to mention that the Department of Posts is only a Department  where on promotion the officials are getting less grade pay and by virtue of that refusals for promotion arise.
4.    Filling up the vacant posts in SBCO:
The SBCO is facing acute shortage of staff in all the Circles and the G/S has addressed a detailed reference on 12.3.16 to the Secretary (Posts) which is unattended to. After role out of CBS hundred percent vouchers checking and other CBS works have been assigned to SBCO subject to there should not be more than 2-3 days pendency, but it is impossible to carry out the work in under staffed situation. The checking of NSCs & KVPs vouchers have also been deployed to SBCO in these situations are unmanageable without staff. That a special drive for recruitment of SBCO staff may be launched to make good the shortage of staff in SBCO as early as possible to avoid the pendency because about 50% to 60% posts of PA(SBCO) are lying vacant in all the Circles of the Deparment.
5.    Contributory Negligence/Irregular Recovery imposed on SBCO staff:
The duties of SBCO staff are well defined in Manual for SB Control, Pairing & ICO Procedure. Accordingly the SBCO staff are exercising the decentralized Audit & Accounts duties and their work actually start after accounting of the transactions. Therefore , penalizing the SBCO employee by imposing recovery of loss irrationally for frauds committed in the Savings Schemes in Sub Offices / Branch Offices is contrary to statutory Rules. The SBCO staff is not directly related to any type of monetary transaction and accordingly they should not be imposed as offender/co-offender in misappropriation cases. It is learnt that under Rule 11 (iii) of CCS (CCA)Rules 1965 the penalty of recovery can be imposed on a Govt. servant  who is directly responsible for the act of negligence or breach  of orders causing the financial loss and accordingly the SBCO staff should not be held responsible for any type of recovery in misappropriation cases, so that the SBCO staff be exempted from contributory negligence as they are not directly involved in any monetary transactions.
6.    Restoration of powers for recording APARs of SBCO staff to AO ICO (SB) in place of Divisional Heads:
SBCO functions are devised for checking, auditing and accounting according to the prescribed procedures. PAs (SBCO)  belong to circle cadre and their Appointing Authority is Director of Postal Services. The progress of the work performed by the officials of SBCO is virtually reviewed by AO ICO(SB) acquire knowledge about the staff and their performance. Since the SBCO is an audit section, it has to bring out the deficiencies and discrepancies of the SB Branch by raising objections and reports. This action is not relished by the Divisional Administration and the SBCO Branch is being considered as nuisance by them. As such , the power of writing of CRs over SBCO staff vested with Divisional Administration to coerce the SBCO staff for not raising genuine objections. Hence, it is resolved to restore the power of writing of CRs to AO ICO (SB) to enable the SBCO staff for maintenance of proper accounting and auditing as per SB Control Procedure and pattern independently.
7.    Impractical Adhoc time factor should be modified:
The exparte adhoc time factor formulated by the Department should be modified and enhanced as per actual time taken for the particular work in consultation with Association’s representative.
8.    Cadre restructuring of SBCO staff:
The cadre restructuring proposal was accepted by the staff side in 2014 with agreement between official side and only Pas (PO) have been awarded restructuring on 27.5.2016 and SBCO cadre have been left out. Thus the promotional avenues of SBCO cadre are held up. The 7th CPC has also directed to evaluate the cadre structuring to all Central Govt. employees. Thus the fundamental rights of SBCO cadre is hammered despite of subsequent agitational  programmes.
The Association would most humbly bring to the kind notice of  the administration  that  Savings  Bank Control Organisation is a  present doing the Audit work of the  Post Office  Savings  Bank  Accouts. Ours being a circle cadre and promotional oppurtunities are very megre for the  youngsters who enter the department  with  professional  and  technical  qualifications . Also  the  number of LSG, HSG II and HSG I posts are very  limited  that  every time   the  LSG or  HSG promotions when awarded to the officials, they are not  able  to  accept  it  as  either   there are no post  available  in the  areas with  HRA  or  feasible  to  them  or  there are  no  posts  in  that  region  where  the  official   is  working. 
For  illustration, if one circle like  Tamilnadu  is taken, there are  only  around  49  LSG Supervisor posts in SBCO whereas  there are  around  60-70  in  general  line  for  the PAs  in  a  division itself. So,comparatively the  chances for  promotion  for  the  SBCO  PA is  very less. As also  many  senior  officials  are  retiring whose  posts  are  lying  vacant  and   the  young  officials who have  just  entered  the  department  are  forced  to  take up  the  incharge  seat without  any  financial/cadre  upgradation  as  there  is  no  officiating  arrangement  in SBCO.   
 It  is therefore kindly requested to implement the Cadre Restructure to  SBCO  wing  which will enable the young officials working  at  SBCO  to  get  their  promotions  under  LSG ,  HSGII and  HSG I  at the  earliest  in  service  without  disappointing  them.
9.    To Dispense the work of FRMU Alert from SBCO:
With reference to the Directorate letter No.F.1-3/2017-PCO/PMLA Dated 15.4.2019,it is brought to the kind notice of  the administration that  reply  was   given  to  the  association that the circles have been asked to strengthen the circle FRMU/AML unit by posting  Inspectors/Asp and staff at a Central  location  for  checking  alerts and  that  there  is no  specific  order  from  Directorate  relating  to  any  other  staff.  But  when  this  is  being  implemented  at  Division level it is cited that as per  the  Directorate  letter No. 17-15/2016-Inv dated 8.5.2019  regarding SOP for  processing  FRMU alerts   it  is  stated  that  the  SBCO  Supervisor  to  do  the  following   checks:
1.    Cross verify  with  the  closure  voucher  (SB-7A)
2.    Verify the Signature  using  IES Menu in Finacle
3.    Check the CIF modification details  using  HAFI  menu of Finacle
4.    For subsequent accounts, check with AOF/SB-3 form.
The  above  4  points  mentioned   for  the  SBCO supervisor  to  verify  is  not  in the SB control  procedure  and  moreover  the  work  which  is  already  being  carried  out  in  SBCO  as  100%  checking  of  vouchers   by  PAs  and  5%  verification   done  by  the  supervisor SBCO.All closures  including  PMCs  are  checked  as  a part  of  duty  by  the SBCO branch as per the control procedure and SB order 14/2015 and the Addendums.  As per  the  above  points  it  is  duplication  of  work  as after few months again  alerts have been sent to verify  once again  from the beginning which  will cause wastage  of  time  and  manpower  to  check  the  same  work  again , as of  now  all  SBCO  units   are  suffering  from  acute  shortage   of  staff  and  regular   supervisor  are  very  few. It  will moreover  accumulate  pending  of  current voucher  checking  at  SBCO  branch.  As far as the checking of CIF modification and signature verification using IES is concerned , it is not in the control procedure of SBCO and it is a routine to be completed at the counter level itself before payment of the amount to the depositor.
The  real  purpose  of FRMU  will  not serve   unless  and  until  the  depositors  are  personally  met  with  by   the  investigating / field  officers  and  SBCO  is  not  a   investigation   branch also.   It  is  therefore  kindly  requested   to  dispense  the  above  work  mentioned   as  per  the  Directorate  letter No.  17-15/2016-Inv dated 8.5.2019  regarding  SOP   for  processing  FRMU alerts   which   is   an  extra  burden  on  SBCO. A letter has already been sent regarding FRMU  alert to the Directorate vide Ref. No.: AIPSBCOEA/CHQ/FRMU/2019 dated 28.8.19.
10.  Non Adherence of the Union constitution regarding  granting immunity from transfer to the Circle Secretaries:
In some circles the Circle secretaries of AIPSBCOEA have not been granted immunity from transfers  (for example Assam circle, Odisha circle , Madhya Pradesh circle, Uttarkhand circle)  according to the Union Constitution which is strongly condemned by the AIPSBCOEA CHQ and an immediate  intervention is needed to implement the same as per the DG (P & T) No.69/18/70.SPB I dated the 7th December 1970.
11.  Audit status to SBCO staff and change of nomenclature as Auditor in place of PA(SBCO) & grant of promotions accordingly:
The G/S on behalf of AIPSBCOEA has already submitted cadre restructuring proposal on 15.1.14 to the Department where in the justification for change of nomenclature of PA(SBCO) into Auditor has been elaborated. The two round discussion with Chairman Cadre restructuring committee have also been held on 05.02.14 & 07.02.14. After introduction of CBS the SBCO staff have been ordered for Auditor’s training in Postal Training Centres.In view of aforesaid discussion the nomenclature of PA(SBCO) into Auditor should be accepted and the house expressed his concern accordingly to pass the resolution. It is learnt that the SBCO staff was decentralized / born from Audit & Accounts and are liable  to promotional avenues at par with them, Proposed Nomenclature & their promotional avenues are as under:-
Present
Designation
Proposed
Designation
MACPs

Proposed
Scales of pay
PA(SBCO)
The duties of
UDCs (SBCO) are at Present assigned to them
Auditor
(Entry level)
-
5200-20200
GP-2800


MACP –I
9300-34800
GP-4200


MACP-II
9300-34800
GP-4600


MACP-III
9300-34800
GP-4800
LSG
(Supervisor)
Sr. Auditor
-
9300-34800
GP-4200
HSG –II (Sr. Supervisor
Chief Auditor
-
9300-34800
GP-4600
HSG – I (Chief  Supervisor)
Executive Auditor
-
9300-34800
GP-4800
-
Chief Executive Auditor (Gazetted)
-
9300-34800
GP-5400
Ultimately SBCO section is dealing with the work of audit only (ie) downloading the datas from Finacle and voucher  checking with utmost concentration. The term AUDIT defines “an official inspection of an organizations account by an independent body and it cannot be expected to detect every fraud”.
Fortunately the work presently done by SBCO has coincided with the definition of AUDIT . SBCO cadre are called as distinct category according to the department, in other words independent body. POSB is very large banking institution under the Department of Posts having crores of account holders and multi crore of rupees as investment by the people. Proper audit to POSB system is inevitable.
In our strong opinion , an robust internal audit should, be mooted out in POSB like various audit organizations (ie) P & T audit        General, Audit Civil Audit, Defence and Railway Audit, taking in account of safety  of public money.
Now the Government/Department should take initiative to declare the SBCO as SB audit organization and its cadres  as Audit and cause order the DPS/AO ICO(SB) as controlling authority straightaway delinking powers of Divisional Heads and Postmasters of HO over SBCO.
12.  Retaining  of  posts at  CPU/CPO as per  justification  after diversion of  Surplus  posts : Diversion of all  the Circle pairing  unit (CPU)/Central Pairing Office(CPO)  posts  (Supervisor and PA  posts)  to  justified  SBCO  units  immediately  as per  the  Directorate  Letter No. F. No. 109-01/2017-SB dated  03.05.2019 after keeping atleast one supervisor and one PA at the  CPU/CPO  as per  justification  to  attend  the  pending  UD and  UCs  remaining  due to  some  non migrated offices (non CBS)   which  are  still there.
13.  The Role of SBCO cadre in future :
The recent Directorate order F.No.04-05/2015-SPB-I, Government of India, Ministry of Communications, Department of Posts, Dak Bhawan , Sansad Marg, New Delhi. Dated 18.09.2019 regarding Framing of DOP (Postal Assistant  and sorting Assistant) Recruitment Rules, 2019 – regarding , Our Association would like to inform the Department that the cadre of PA(SBCO) should not be merged with General line PA and as per constitution an option should be given for merger with DAP from where SBCO has been bifurcated as SBCO is an AUDIT wing. Any decision may be  taken only after discussion and suggestion of  Union representatives of SBCO cadre .A separate detailed letter was sent by the Association to the Department on 20.9.2019 regarding the Revised Recruitment Rules 2019.
Our Association likes to  bring to the  notice of the Department  that most of  the demands mentioned above were also passed as Resolutions in the 5th All India Conference held at Haridwar from 5.7.19 to 7.7.19 . Hence it is requested to take necessary action to solve the long pending issues in SBCO cadre mentioned above  as the Department knows the importance of SBCO and its necessity to maintain a separate identity.
A line of reply is solicited please.
 With Regards,
                                                                                                               Yours Sincerely, 
                                                                                                                         Sd-                                                  
(SHP. JASMINE JALAL BEGAM)  
                                                                                                      General Secretary
          The two days meeting with all higher officers at Directorate on behalf of AIPSBCOEA CHQ, by the General Secretary  and our Ex General Secretary Comrade Virendra Tewary  was very beneficial to our cadre at this crucial time.
          The issue of the new Revised Recruitment Rules was discussed in detail with the DDG (P), Smt. Meera Kumar and a letter was again given, a positive reply in favour of our cadre was given as demanded by our CHQ.
          The DDG (FS) Sri. Sachin Kishore was met and all the software issues were discussed and some suggestions were given regarding removal of limit for report generation for SBCO users and the necessity of Revised Control Procedure after GL integration was emphasized.
          The Director SR Legal  Sri. A.R.Amin was met and all our Union dealings were discussed.The  Memorandum as above was given citing all the long pending issuses and charter of demands.
APPEAL: All the items mentioned above / and any problems and suggestions at any level are also invited.
All the Circle Secretaries /CHQ Office Bearers are requested to offer their suggestions on the points mentioned in the Bulletin.
It is also requested to all the Circle Secretaries to conduct  Trade union and SB Rulings classes in their respective circles  to educate our members in this regard.
All the Circle Secretaries/Office Bearers and I/C of SBCO branches are requested to  circulate the Bulletin amongst the members/officials for wide publicity.
 Best Compliments on the eve of “Christmas, New year and Sankranthi”.
LONG LIVE NFPE!!    LONG LIVE AIPSBCOEA!!    NFPE ZINDABAD!!   AIPSBCOEA ZINDABAD!!
                                                With Revolutionary Salute
                                                        Fraternally Yours,
Sd/-                                                                                          
(SHRIKANTH MALLICK)                                               (SHP.JASMINE JALAL BEGAM)
  President –CHQ                                                             General Secretary

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