Friday, June 27, 2014

Secretary General , NFPE writes to Secretary ( Posts ) on incalculable miseries and untold suffering to the operative staff in CBS rolled out offices

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF POSTAL EMPLOYEES
1st Floor, North Avenue Post office Building, New Delhi - 110001
 


Ref: PF/NFPE/CBS                                                                                      Dated – 27.06.2014
To
Ms Kaveri Banerjee
Secretary
Department of Posts
Dak Bhawan, New Delhi – 110001
Madam,
Sub: -  Incalculable miseries and untold suffering to the operative staff in CBS rolled out offices – Immediate remedial and rescue operations sought for – reg.
At the outset, we appreciate the efforts leads to technological advancements and extend our fullest cooperation in the journey to reach the desired goals of implementing innovative customer centric services and operational efficiency enhancement by inducting state of art technology.
But to our dismay, the CBS migrated offices are now facing incalculable miseries and untold sufferings due to lack of adequate network capabilities and software support of the vendors. The following are the issues to be set right in war foot manner at the initial stage itself otherwise leads to garboil and distress among the stake holders especially among the working staff.
1)      Insufficient bandwidth Network:
            Providing of strong and stable network is base of successful implementation of India Post project.   Now almost all HOs have been given 2 MBPS bandwidth line, LSG SOs 512 KBPS line and B and C class offices have been given 256 KBPS line. If ‘India Post Project-2012’ is fully implemented, all the work of Post Offices will depend on these network. Present bandwidth speed is very less and due to low bandwidth, Finacle page is either not opening and  some time opening very slowly.   Due to this PO staff are forced to work up to night 10 pm many days. In many occasions in every CBS migrated office, the ‘Login’ is inconsistent and for each transaction “Login” is forced.
If CSI and PLI are migrated and placed on this network the situation may further worsen. Hence we request to provide at least 4 MB bandwidth line to HOs, 2 MB bandwidth line to LSG SOs and 1 MB bandwidth line to B and C class offices.
2) Failure of Sify:
            In India Post Project 2012, NI Vender is Sify. On observation of quality and quantity of service being provided by them it is very much proved that  M/S Sify is incapable to give service to this  big department.  They do not have sufficient skilled manpower and it seems that they are not intending to give good quality service also.   At initial stage itself they have not made proper survey of all offices.  Before installing and commissioning they were very keen on taking installation report from concerned Postmasters/Sub Postmasters. 
            It is told that, as per MOU, all offices should be provided with NSP-1 and NSP-2 lines.  In almost all offices, NSP-1 is BSNL line and NSP-2 is either Sify line or Airtel datacard.   It is observed that in many offices they have installed Airtel datacard ,where as  Airtel signal is  not available at that place.
            It is also observed that M/S Sify is not recharging Airtel datacard  installed.  Instead they are recharging on receipt of complaint from concerned offices.  By doing this they are deviating from MOU and leaving the staff in the field in distress.
3) Finacle Problem:
            If we come to Finacle part, it is another tragedy.   Initially it was boosted that Finacle is fully foolproof software and successfully implemented in many banks.  We could not understand why Infosys is not utilizing experience gained in banks and  implementing  here.  There are so many bugs in the software and  more surprisingly  even after lapse of 6 months of implementation, nothing is changed.   All the issues raised at the time of January-2014 is still not resolved.  Moreover Finacle server becomes inaccessible many time in peak business hours or responds very slow. It is a naked truth that we are losing clientle and distancing from the customers only due to faulty service of vendors.
4) Lack of Guidance:
            No separate rulings are received to suit Finacle Environment. No authorities are giving authoritative guidance on many issues. 
For example
§  Role of SOSB in HO after implementation of Finacle at SOs,
§  Role of SBCO at HO
§  Fate of manual records on transfer accounts from one Finacle office to other etc.
5) Supply of Printers and Computers:
            At initial stage  new Computers and printers are supplied to pilot offices.  Rest of the offices are having   more than 5 year old  Computers and Printers  which are not suitable to present scenario.  Administration is pressing  hard to migrate offices without supplying required hardware. The old computers and peripherals either to be revamped or replaced to make it compatiable to the present environment.
6) Problem of User credentials:
            One each User credential is given to  trained staff.  But it is not clearly told what action to be taken while SPM/PA goes on leave especially in B class offices.   As sharing of  user credential is very  risky and dangerous, alternative arrangement  should be made immediately.
7) Due to slow network and frequent failure of server customers of the department are frustrated and moving out the department and needed immediate attention.
8. You may aware that we are struggling with outdated Computers and peripherals, which were purchased during the year 2000 to 2005 and immediate supply of needy new hardware to ensure the technological transformation in and effective manner.
9. Even proper up gradation of CPU is not made in many areas and the Software loaded is upto Windows XP in most of the offices. Presently it is a fact that windows XP is not supported by the Microsoft with updates.
10. Finacle can be better loaded with Windows 7 and hence the officers at ground level are pressurized to use pirated version of Windows 7, which may lead to litigation with Microsoft apart from non supporting with updates.
11. The MOU made with M/s Sify, for net work integration is limiting to low bandwidth such as 256 Kbps to 512 Kbps in many areas, serving with 1 server and 4 to 5 nodes, resulting in sluggish connectivity and takes hours together to transform the data. This results in hang over and the transactions could not be able to be made at the instant, as the Department expects, It requires atleast 2 to 4 Mbps and M/s Sify refused to increase the bandwidth now.
12. Further in the Data Centre, it requires to the level of 400 Mbps on the Network to receive the Data transmitted at a time from all the 680 offices but Sify is learnt to be provided with a minimum of 200 Mbps capacity. This affects the receipt of data from the end users at a time and take hours to complete the process. Further expansion is required when there is further migration.
13. The area of occupation in the main server at Mumbai maintained by M/S Reliance Ltd. is also not sufficient, which results in sluggish transmission of data from the entire 680 offices at present, at a time and even the validation cannot be made before 8:00 PM or 10:00 PM on all the days.
14. End of day process cannot be made even on daily basis and the staff have to wait for the nod from the Infosys even after midnights on several days and at times it can be made on the next day morning. Even the women employees are compelled to complete the EOD process in midnights and their husbands or wards waiting till midnights to take them to home.
15. Even the Help desk provided is not answering and the end users are taken to task and receiving brick bats from the irate public.
16. This results in closing of accounts in large numbers that too, can be made not on the date of presentation but after few days and our Department looses large chunk of customers, because of the miscalculations, wrong estimations and over ambitious activities and inadequate technological support.
17. Even the first and prestigious ATM of our Department unveiled by the ex Finance Minister Sri. P. Chidambaram at T. Nagar HO is not functioning from the date of installation and only 10 ATM cards are supplied on the first instant, that too only to the staff and some friendly users of T. Nagar HPO. But the ATM is provided with 24x7 A/C and a paid Guard, making huge loss to the Department and receiving severe criticism from the Print media.
18. The women employees should be relieved from this area of operation, till the situation improves, in order to avoid late night stays at offices inviting gender problems and unsafe returns to their home at midnights.
19. Further, adequate hardware and infrastructure should be given immediately to the CBS migrated offices with sufficient man power and proper remuneration for the extended hours, the staffs re serving.
20. In spite of all above cited problems the Postal staff is being worked on finacle software as matter of challenge and trying to give best services to the customers. In spite of all efforts the customers are not satisfying/delighting which hampers the reputation of the department. No PO which is upgraded with finacle are being closed before 8 PM every day. We are ready to work hard provided, solution for above problems are to be solved.
It is requested to sort out all the issues arising out of the CBS Migration and all the vendors need to be instructed to provide all the technological support as required by the field staff. As this is the pilot and sorting stage, if we failed to pull up the vendors to the level of expectation and necessity, later full implementation, restoration may be difficult with this vendor support.
It is further requested to spare some time and provide opportunity to present and brief our case in person for the welfare of our department staff and the clientle. Your immediate intervention as if house on fire is requested.
A line in reply is highly appreciated.
With profound regards,
Yours faithfully,

(M. Krishnan)

Secretary General
 
 
 

Dopt introduced new initiatives to boost morale of its employees - Idea Boxes, Employee of the Month etc.,

Best Practices and New Initiatives introduced by the Department of Personnel & Training to boost morale and effective functioning of the employees of the Department - Regarding: 
No. I-28011 /46/2014-Coord 
Government of India 
Ministry of Personnel, P. G. & Pensions 
(Department of Personnel & Training) 
North Block, New Delhi 
Dated: 18th June 2014 
OFFICE MEMORANDUM 
Sub: Best Practices / New Initiatives introduced by the Department of Personnel & Training to boost morale and effective functioning of the employees of the Department - Regarding: 
During the year 2013-2014, the Department of Personnel & Training has introduced the following new initiatives to boost the morale of its employees and to give a fillip to their effective functioning: - 

SI. No.   New Initiatives / Best Practices 
1. CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE & 
2. EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH 
Realizing that recognition of meritorious performance of employees is a critical tool in human resource management, a new non-monetary incentive in the form of an annual award of "Certificate of Excellence" to recognize the contribution of its meritorious employees of the level of Under Secretary and below has been introduced. This initiative was circulated to all Ministries/Departments vide O.M. No. A-37011/1/2013-Ad.l, dated 18th December 2013 (copy enclosed). 
Subsequently, another monthly non-monetary incentive was introduced wherein one employee from across all categories of employees of the level of Under Secretary & below was to be designated as 'Employee of the Month'. The awardee is given a certificate and his photograph is displayed under the relevant link in the intra-Departmental (employee) Portal of the Department. 
Under both the initiatives, nominations of eligible employees would be called for from all Wings of the Department and the work performance and outcomes achieved by such employees would be examined by a Committee Of Joint Secretaries in DoPT. The same Committee would meet once every month to assess the nominations received from various Wings to recommend award of 'Employee of the Month'. 
3. APPOINTMENT OF MENTORS FOR THE EMPLOYEES JOINING DoPT 
A process of mentoring of each 'newcomer' in the Department with a view to sensitize the incumbent about the Department and dealing with court cases, RFD, Parliamentary matters, etc., has been introduced in the Department. The mentoring process is for a period of six months. The mentor is to be an officer two levels above the incumbent. 
4. EMPLOYEES' INTERACTION WITH MOS (PP) AND SENIOR OFFICERS IN OPEN HOUSE SYSTEM 
An 'Open House' interaction of the Group 'B' (Non-Gazetted) employees and above was organized in October, 2013 which provided a platform to these employees to interact directly with MOS (PP) and other Senior Officers of the Department. 
5. APPOINTMENT OF GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL OFFICERS IN EACH DIVISION 
In each Division, two Grievance Redressal Officers (GRO) have been appointed at US/DS/Director level to redress the grievances of the employees of inter-personal nature. 
6. INSTALLATION OF 'IDEA BOXES' IN THE DEPARTMENT FOR SOLICITING 'OUT OF THE BOX' SOLUTIONS TO VARIOUS ISSUES 
The Department has installed 'Idea Boxes' to receive the innovative ideas from the employees to improve the functioning of the Department and to create a conducive work culture. 
7. TRAINING OF THE EMPLOYEES WITH SPECIFIC FOCUS ON DEPARTMENT RELATED FUNCTIONS 
A training plan for the employees at the level of Under Secretary & below (and equivalent) of DoPT has been chalked out in consultation with ISTM. The duration of the Training Programme is one week, inclusive of a field visit outside Delhi. 
8. RETREAT FOR OFFICERS OF THE LEVEL OF DS AND ABOVE IN THE DEPARTMENT 
The Department organized a two-day Retreat at LBSNAA, Mussoorie in October 2013 for the officers at the level of DS I Director & above in the Department. The objective of the Retreat was to discuss the stakeholders' perception about the Department and develop an action plan to positively change the orientation of the Department towards service delivery. 
9. INTRODUCTION OF INTERNSHIP SCHEME IN THE DEPARTMENT. 
The Department has introduced an 'Internship Scheme' under which applications are invited from students to work on selected topics relating to the functions of the Department. The duration of the internship is two months and they are given a stipend of Rs.10,000/- per month and a Certificate on successful completion of the internship and submission of report. The interns are selected by the Committee of Joint Secretaries. 
2.  The Ministries / Departments of the Government of India may consider adopting the above initiatives as a Human Resource Management Tool to motivate the industrious employees.
sd/- 
(Shri Prakash) 
Director (A) 
 

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