Postal service: A job that needs dedication or sophistication?

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But the postal workers cannot be superior than workers in other trades to refuse using the finger punching machine to record attendance. These demands are influenced by union workers

The recent postal service strike taught us many lessons. We know that postal workers are not the best paid employees. But the service they provide cannot be measured only with money. Hence do such workers always have to demand or call for a strike to earn a pay raise or enjoy more facilities at work? 

There are so many jobs in Sri Lanka which pay well. But when it comes to some of the essential services, the job revolves around dedication and not sophistication. Just look at workers employed in janitor service, hospitals and graves, the latter must be considered in the lines of working as a grave digger. Someone has to do their type of jobs! Or in other words, it has to be someone’s day job. And sadly the pay isn’t impressive for such work. 

This is why we see manual workers time and time again raising demands for better salaries. As is the case with the present postal workers, they were demanding higher overtime allowances, the resolving of issues within the transport system, increase of travel allowances, stopping delays in payment and salary increases for Grade One officers in three stages. Apart from that, postal workers were refusing to place their fingerprints to mark attendance; a demand which didn’t go well with the authorities -- and their critics, the general public. 

The postal service commenced way back during the Dutch period in the 17th century and was formalised by the British. The first fully fledged official post office was established by the British in 1882. The services of a General Post Office was begun in 1895 at a building in Janadhipathy Mawatha, in Colombo. The above reasons might suggest that this service, which began in colonial times, must be maintained at any cost for the sake of prestige. Nothing of the sort. We need the postal service because most of the official documentation and communiques are delivered through the post. 

The good news for the postal workers who went on strike is that the majority of their demands are likely to be considered for review. This assurance was given by the Minister of Media and Health Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa. For the record,  the postal service strike was called off on August 24 after the minister intervened on the issue.  

But the postal workers cannot be superior than workers in other trades to refuse using the finger punching machine to record attendance. These demands are influenced by union workers. Union members or unions in most work places don’t take into consideration the income that is lost due to strikes.

Postal Service sources state that the losses due to the strike calculated per day was around Rupees 30-35 million.  The total loss due to the strike was around Rs 120 million. At the end, tax payers who use the postal service were at the receiving end. Opinions are aired that these workers who went on strike will claim overtime to clear the backlog of work that was created due to their absence at work. 

This is an era where so many businesses are closing down due to digitalisation and modernisation. But the beauty of the postal service is that, given the nature and importance of some of the mail that’s delivered, this service stands stall like a colossuses. The post office in general is a feature that adds to the value of a city. For the record, there are 132 agency-post offices, 652 post offices and 3354 sub-post offices in this island.  

The postal service as an industry employs as many as 17,000 workers. And still, records reveal that another 6871 people need to be employed to make the postal service operate smoothly. It’s essential that the government follows up on their demands to make the postal service more efficient.