Provision of Leave Without Allowance (LWA) Beyond 180 Days for Office Bearers of Recognized Unions of Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS)
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The Government of India, Ministry of Communications, Department of Posts, has issued an office memorandum (OM) to revise and streamline the process for granting Leave Without Allowance (LWA) beyond 180 days to office bearers of recognized Unions of Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) at the national level.
As per existing guidelines, any request for LWA beyond 180 days for two office bearers of recognized GDS unions must be considered by the Director General (Postal Services). However, to expedite this process and ensure timely sanctioning of leave, the power to sanction LWA beyond 180 days has now been delegated to the Chief Postmaster General (CPMG), under specific terms and conditions:
Key Terms and Conditions:
Limitation of Leave Grants: Only two union functionaries from any recognized GDS Union will be granted LWA beyond 180 days at any time. The names of such office bearers will be communicated by the Union’s Secretary General to the Directorate, which will circulate these names to the concerned Circles for approval.
Leave for Less Than 180 Days: LWA requests for periods shorter than 180 days will be sanctioned by the Divisional Head or unit head (in case of independent units). For any Union functionary exceeding 180 days of LWA, the Chief Postmaster General will take over the sanctioning responsibility. Records of the LWA will be maintained separately for each functionary.
Transfer of Leave Records: In case of a transfer, the leave records of the concerned union functionary will be promptly transferred to the new Division or Circle.
Leave Duration: LWA may only be granted in multiples of one month, beginning on the first day of a calendar month. In case of extended leave, the Union functionary may be required to arrange a substitute or change their current substitute, as per existing rules.
Denial of Leave: Leave requests may only be denied due to official exigencies. If the leave is denied, the reasons must be provided in writing by the sanctioning authority.
Impact on Benefits: Absence during the LWA period will not be considered for calculating GDS Gratuity, Severance Allowance, or any other terminal benefits. Additionally, during the LWA, no contributions to the Service Discharge Benefit Scheme (SDBS) will be made, and Time-Related Continuity Allowance (TRCA) will not be paid.
This OM aims to facilitate smoother operations and timely processing of leave requests for union office bearers while ensuring proper records and compliance with the guidelines.
Approval: This memorandum has been issued with the approval of the competent authority.
For Further Information:
- Recognized GDS Unions and concerned officials can refer to the full details of the guidelines and process provided by the Directorate.
- For any queries, union representatives are advised to contact the respective Chief Postmaster General.
