New Delhi, November 29: A “sudden strike” by members of All India Passport Employees Association (AIPEA) on Monday left visitors to the Regional Passport Office in South Delhi in a lurch.
According to sources, the “immediate cause” of the strike “appeared” to be the two-day All India Regional Passport Officers conference to be held in the Capital starting Tuesday. “The members of AIPEA want to attend the conference, which will be inaugurated by the External Affairs Minister S M Krishna. We had not invited them, and thus, they went on a strike,” a senior official said.
The strike was called off in the evening with both sides resolving their “immediate difference”, an official said.
“We have allowed them to participate in a few sessions (of the conference). However, the officials have only addressed the immediate cause of the strike for now. The RPO is gearing up for tomorrow’s conference, and other issues will be discussed later. The office, meanwhile, will be operational from tomorrow,” the official said.
Confirming this, Ministry of External Affairs Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Vishnu Prakash said there was a “temporary disruption of work” on Monday. “There are passport seva kendras being operated by the Tata Consultancy Services, and all of them are functional. There has been a partial strike and MEA is in close touch with union leaders to resolve the issue,” he said.
Ministry sources, however, attributed the strike to the changes being introduced in the passport system. “The whole passport system is undergoing a transformation. From the discretionary style, it is becoming more transparent and certain sections are unhappy about it. Thus, they are agitating now. Another reason is that they wanted to attend the conference, which Krishna will be addressing,” a source said.
Meanwhile, residents who had left home early in the morning to avoid long queues at the RPO at Bikhaji Cama Place, found themselves stranded as around 11.45 am a notice was put up on the gates saying the office was closed as the employees had gone on a “sudden strike”.
“A minor correction is required in my daughter-in-law’s passport. I came all the way over from Pitampura. But the guards here did not allow me to enter. It is their negligent attitude that has caused us so much inconvenience. I’ll go back now,” said S A Narang (66), a retired government servant.
Meena Sharma, who had come from Palam, said she had been waiting since 10 am. “My cousin in Australia is getting married; I need my passport urgently. But the officials are not telling us whether the office will open or not; they just asked us to go away,” she said.
The RPO authorities termed the disruption in services as “unfortunate” saying they had no information that a strike was planned. “We were not given any notice. The officers will be working tomorrow,” they said.
–Agencies