The Joint action Committee of the BSNL Employees Unions & Associations is meeting today, 29th March 2011, to discuss about the recommendations of the BRPSEs with regard to VRS, reduction in retirement age etc and to plan out agitational programmes against the same.

The JAC will also plan the “Save BSNL” campaign to ensure its financial viability and the strategy to improve its services to the public.

More than 2 lakh workers marched through the streets of London, the capital city of U.K., protesting against the cuts in spending which is drastically resulting in huge job cuts. This is stated to be the biggest demonstration by workers in the recent past in Britain.

The Trade Union Congress, which organised the massive march warned the government of more agitations, if the government continued with the cuts.

It is reported that the BSNL has demanded additional Rs. 4,000 crore for installing the optical fibre network for the Defence, which is the pre-requirement for release of the additional spectrum by the Defence Services to the DOT. The project cost was calculated at Rs.9,175 crore earlier, but after Defence wanted superior quality optical fibre cable as also increase in warranty years, the cost will be more by Rs, 4,000 crores.

This project will help BSNL in the present circumstances if and when the order is given for it to execute.

A long aspiration of the Orissa people are now fulfilled. The Parliament on 24th March 2011 unanimously adopted the constitutional amendment bill, Orissa (the Alternation of Name) Bill changing the name of Orissa to Odisha and Oriya language to Odiya. Once the President approves, the name will be changed officially.

My congratulation to the Odisha people in their victory in getting the name changed.

Since 1990s, the Government has announced two New Telecom Policies, 1) New Telecom Policy 1994 and 2) New Telecom Policy 1999. Kapil Sibal, Communications Minister has announced a few weeks back that a third New Telecom Policy 2011 will be announced. What are the earlier NTPs and what is going to be the NTP 2011?

The New Telecom Policy 1994 (NTP 1994) was mainly intended to open the basic services to the private operators. This was after the licence for providing mobile services were granted to the private telecom companies in the four metros, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai for a meagre Licence Fee. For the first year, there was no licence fee, for the second year it was from Rs. one crore to three crore, for the second year Rs.two to six crore and the third year Rs. four to 12 crore. From the fourth year it was Rs. 6203 per subscribe per month till the 10th year of licence. The licence were allotted from 1994.

The New Telecom Policy 1999 (NTP 1999) brought by the NDA government brought new licence policies and also opened up the long distance ( STD & ISD) services to the private sector. The scams and irregularities during the NDA as well as UPA regimes are being exposed one after another now. In fact there was no open polciy. Every thing was being done to help the private companies at the same time for getting kick-backs also. The politicians, the bureacrats and the big business are all parties to these scams and cheating the nation.

Now Communications Minister Kapil Sibal has declared that a New Telecom Policy 2011 will be announced. There is not going to be much difference from the earlier ones if the many statements of Kail Sibal are gone through. It will be based only on the neo-liberal policies being continued with zeal by the Government.

What the common people and the workers want is an alternative policy which will help the nation and will benefit the people at large. The BSNL workers and their unions have the responsibility to prepare such an alternative policy and campaign for the same.

After continued demand by the unions and acceptance by the EPFO and later much grudgingly by the Finance Ministry, orders were issued for payment of 9.5% interest on EPF for the year 2011-12 by the Government. Now the private employers are refusing to pay 9.5% stating that they are not able to pay the higher %. While Indian Companies have been making huge profits every year and increasing the salary of top executives, they want to deny even this reasonable interest rate on EPF of the employees. This is not at all acceptable. The Government has to take stringent action to ensure that the 9.5% interest on EPF are paid to the employees.

Communications Minister Kapil Sibal has now accused NDA government of handing over the 773 acres of VSNL land for Tatas at the time of VSNL sale to Tata Telecommunications. BSNLEU had several times raised the issue of undervaluing the sale and in fact it was actually a ‘gift VSNL to Tata’. Now the skeletons in the cup board are exposed one after another. Though the 773 acre land was not given to the Tata, the latter was using it without any rent or anything all these years. If the issue of 2G scam had not come, gradually it would have gone to Tata and nobody will know. This is one instance where the Government was handing over property worth thousands of crores of rupees to the big business free.

DOT has now appointed a high power committee to look in to the matter and submit its report before 31st March 2011.

It is 34 years since the hated and draconian ‘Emergency’ was withdrawn in 1977. When a political crisis arose for the ruling Congress and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, instead of facing the same, Indira Gandhi declared the draconian ‘National Emergency’ on 25th June 1975. Thousands of leaders and workers of opposition political parties and trade unions were arrested and jailed. Left parties were specially targetted.Draconian orders were issued to silence the media and all democratic institutions. Many P&T Union leaders were arrested including Com.N.J.Iyer. I was taken in to custody twice, but released. In Calicut, where I was working two comrades were arrested and jailed for one year. It was the same in W.Bengal where about more than one dozen leaders of P&T and central government employees were arrested and jailed.

The government continued with suppression and terror but the democratic movement also resisted with all its force. The struggles, JP movement and international pressure all compelled the Congress rulers to declare election. A survey conducted by the government also suggested that the congress will win the election with thumping majority. The Emergency was withdrawn on 27th March 1977, but in the elections, the Congress was routed out. For the first time in India, a non-congress, Janata Government came in to power. The one party Congress Rule at the centre was over. The people defeated dictatorship. A new era came in Indian Politics.