Sunday Dec 15, 2024
Sunday Dec 15, 2024
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Introduction: Global context
Postal services play a central role in the productivity of any country. The services transport mail and small
packages to destinations around the world, and they are mostly public corporations. However, there has been increased privatisation of postal operators in the past 20 years, and government restrictions on private postal services have eased. Postal authorities are often also involved in telecommunications, logistics, financial services and other business areas.
Postal operations involve providing domestic and international postal services – receipt, transport and delivery of mail, specialised mailing services, operation of postal facilities and sale of postal and mailing supplies. The world postal network in 2009 was based on around 650,000 post offices and 5.5 million postal employees (one-third women and 20% part-time) providing postal services throughout the world. There are around eight million postal workers overall (including private and informal services, and parts of courier services). In recent days postal services adopting technological advances in the sector.
Local context
The vision of the postal department is to become the most distinctive institution in Asia to provide fully-productive and quality postal service based on modern technology as to customer delight. The mission is to provide an attractive postal service locally and internationally using resources efficiently in partnership with the private sector.
Moreover, the sector has been introduced modern technology, motivating the staff in a pleasing working environment while adhering to productivity concepts and winning the trust of customers by creating new products, services and improving existing services. Example: Elders’ allowance, public assistance monthly allowance, allowance for medical assistance, famers, fisheries and civil pension payments are being implemented through post office network channel, without charging any fees from the beneficiaries. Because it is the public services.
Major functions of department of posts
Becoming the best postal hub of South Asia by providing a more efficient services through proper study of work, income-based grading, and employee motivation.
Converting the postal service which has earned the confidence of the consumer by providing a door-to-door service into a high-quality and more efficient services by employing modern marketing strategies.
Expanding the postal service to satisfy the needs of the Sri Lankans living abroad.
With the dawn of peace, promoting postal services by effectively deploying the skilled workforce in communication and social welfare activities.
The postal service in Sri Lanka has a long history. It was the British who started and modernised the postal service. The objective of the Government of Sri Lanka is to make public services available to all ethnic groups in all parts of Sri Lanka without any discrimination. But as far as the postal service is concerned, there is still a plight among the plantation people that cannot be handed over or received by the government postal officer. This may indicate a continuing lack of concern for the postal service, especially for the plantation population, which has a population of about one million who are the backbone of Sri Lankan economy.
Postal service at plantation sector
The plantation sector in Sri Lanka has been playing an extremely important role in the country’s economy. There was 20% of total government revenue in 1975, and plantation crop exports accounted for over 90% of total export revenue in 1965, and over 70% in the late 1970s. As the sector’s international competitiveness has declined since 1977, its economic importance has decreased. Still, at the time of appraisal in 1996, the plantation sector contributed to approximately 4% of nominal GDP and approximately 18% of total exports, and employed approximately 16% of the working population, making it an important industry that earned foreign currency and created jobs.
In this regard, the postal service is found to have many shortcomings at the plantations sector in Sri Lanka. Various measures were taken to remove them. Deficiencies were pointed out in the early days when letters to the
gardeners were handed over to the plantation management and due to the lack of proper address to the plantation houses, letters were often received late or not received. Therefore, the main demand was that postal services should be provided directly to the people through the plantation administration.
Inefficiency of Agent Post Office system
In this context, the Agent Postal System was introduced in 2002. Accordingly, post offices were established in more than 125 estates. In addition, only one person from the estate was appointed as the Deputy Chief of Staff. How transparent was his appointment? Or was merit and skill taken into consideration? Or political? The influence of garden management? Is debatable. In the first year, Rs. 3,000, in the second year Rs. 2,000 and in the third year Rs. 1,000 was determined to be provided. He was also expected to be treated as a sub-postmaster. He was responsible for selling stamps, collecting mail, and collecting envelopes from the available post office. The responsibilities that had hitherto been with the estate management were in a sense replaced.
In 2005, the officers claimed that Rs. 1,000 was not enough and that they had no income at these post offices and demanded an increase in their allowances. However, it is unfortunate that they are discriminated against, especially in Sri Lanka, for not being paid the same monthly salary as other government postal officers. But, after discussions at the Ministry of Plantation Infrastructure, it was decided that this method was inappropriate and could not be continued and that alternative arrangements should be made.
Appointment of estate postman
A cabinet paper was submitted to the Cabinet in 2005 to restructure the postal service and a committee was appointed by the Secretary, Ministry of Communications and Posts to look into the matter and submit a report. The Treasury representative of the leadership and the Secretary to the Ministry of Plantation Infrastructure Housing and Community Development was also appointed. One of the recommendations of this committee is to appoint a section of the Estate Post Officer as per the requirements.
According to this requirement the district level and the educated youth were to be selected and appointed through interview. The Cabinet decision in 2007 to appoint 500 postmasters to the plantation postal service approved only 400 by the Treasury even though only 344 plantation youths were appointed. But it was not meet the real requirement for the service there.
In other side, while the approved cadre was 22,012 and the existing cadre was 20,830. So, the actual vacancies gape was 1,182 according to the performance report of department of postal 2018. Government could take the necessary action to fulfil the vacancies.
According to the vision and mission statement, they provide quality service to every citizen’s doorstep in Sri Lanka. The Department of Posts has been the strongest network channel throughout the country. The modern technology has still not been reached at the remote rural areas. However, Department of Posts has a plan to bring basic communication modern technology to the remote areas and provide online service to rural folk, through postal network channels. Already 653 post offices have connected with online facility successfully and provided services to the general public.
Postal services measuring indicators
Number of people supplying the service from each post office – 4,791
Land extent supplying the service from each post office (sq. km.) – 15.4
Land extent supplying the service by one postman (sq. km) – 8.4
Number of people supplying the service by one postman – 2,842
Services of the Postal Department
Business mail services was introduced in the year 2013 with a view to retain the public and private business community who make more effect to the national income further with the post and contributes for 70% of total postal articles capacity and the revenue progress achieved by the business letters postal service by now has been clearly affected to the whole revenue growth of the postal department.
Postal services
The post offices deliver services for the public; such as, letters post service (local/foreign), delivery of parcels (local/foreign), speed post/International Expedited Mail Service (EMS), special service on other postal articles – registered – value payable post, business letters postal service, domestic speed post, bulk mail service, be post – e-business service. According to Figure 3, delivering letters has been rapidly increasing in the last five years. At the same time, the importance of the letters and communication between each and other of the community was increased.
Especially, students who are living in the plantation sector can easily receive their exam admission and identity cards. On the other hand, people interacting with the public and private sector through the letters, it will increase the revenue for the Government.
Agency services
Agency post-offices are providing more services to the public, such as money order services, electric money order service, national savings banking, western union money transfer, paying utility bills (Sri Lanka Telecom/Mobitel phone bills/electricity bills/water bills), collecting motor traffic fines, acceptance of insurance premium (Ceylinco general/Ceylinco life/Sri Lanka Insurance/Cooperative insurance/Fair first insurance), examination fees and social security funds.
Normally, people are living a long distance from the town or urban areas. Electricity boards, water boards, banks, food cities, and post offices are in town because of that, customers facing many difficulties paying their utility bills. If the post office service comes close to the estate more Government revenue could be increased. Figure 4 shows the number of payment and revenue in 2017 and 2018 has comparatively.
Social welfare services
There are many services provided by the department of postal such as payments of pensions, payments of elders’ allowances, public assistance monthly allowances, diseases allowances (tuberculosis/cancer/leprosy), pensions of farmers and fishers and laborers. The plantation communities are gradually improving their working culture into Government jobs. Therefore, If the Government establishes or reboots the sub-post office system in the plantation sector it would mobilise the youth to find Government and private sector careers.
There are so many Government circulars displaying and distributing on public awareness through the post office. The Government’s vacancies publishing Gazette would help the society to change their livelihood.
Way forward
A requirement for efficient operation in plantations should be assessed (need assessments).
Study on the current utilisation of 120 Sub-Post Officers constructed by the Ministry of Plantation Housing and Infrastructure and look at how it can be effectively implemented.
Garden houses should be addressed and garden paths should be published in the Gazette.
Addressing the houses in the estates can be done in consultation with the companies in collaboration with the existing Ministry of Estate Housing and New Villages Development.
The Government should take steps to appoint postal officers in the plantations as well.
The estate post officers should be paid the same as other post officers in Sri Lanka.
Steps can be taken to develop the post office on a PPP model with the participation of plantation management and plantation companies.
Civil society, intellectuals, and trade unions should continue to monitor this process.
Ministers and members of the hill tracts should take necessary steps to bring the postal service to the plantations by appointing the necessary postal officers who have taken this to the Government.
Fulfil the vacancies in Postal Department.
Conclusion
The Government could take the necessary action to fulfil the vacancies. Department of Posts’ vision and mission statement said that they provide quality service to every citizen’s doorstep in Sri Lanka. Therefore, every citizen of Sri Lanka should be getting Government service and treated equally. As per the advocacy of this article, the Government looks after their citizens in their territory. It would be to win citizens’ mindset and building statehood among the ethnic groups in Sri Lanka.
Reference:
Field Survey: July-August 2003 https://www.jica.go.jp/english/our_work/evaluation/oda_loan/post/2004/pdf/2-35_full.pdf
Performance report of department of Postal 2018
