On 1st October 2011, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) completes 11 years of eventful life. It was on 1st October 2000 that this PSU was formed changing the government Departments DOT/DTS/DTO in to a corporation. The three Federations NFTE, FNTO and BTEF had gone on a strike earlier against corporatisation, but succumbed to the government pressure and on some assurances accepted the change. The National Action Council, consisting of the E(III), T.III, Admn. Union etc strongly opposed the proposal and went on strike during the period, but could not stop the corporatisation since the three federations agreed for the same. At this juncture it is still a question mark whether we could have stopped corporatisation if all the unions together have strongly opposed. I feel we could have stopped it. Any how it is only an opinion.
The government departments were corporatised in to BSNL as the first towards privatisation. Telecom was fast growing and there is real money in it. The private companies and MNCs wanted to grab it. The government knew that privatising a government department will not be accepted by the people. Hence it has got to be first corporatised, then disinvested and then only privatisatisation could be done.
During the last 11 years, the government proposed to disinvest BSNL at least twice. It was the strong opposition from the Joint Forum / Joint Action Committee consisting of all unions/associations in BSNL that stopped it till now. BSNL is in the list of PSUs to be disinvested in the next financial year. There is no other way but to fight it out.
But more than that, the government succeeded in bleeding its own company through dubious means. This company which had a cash reserve of about Rs. 40,000 crore and posting a profit of about Rs. 5,000 crore to Rs. 10,000 crore in a year has now been reduced to a loss of Rs. 1823 crore in 2009-10 and Rs.6384 (appx) in 201-11. Its committment to pay ADC to BSNL is withdrawn. Licence Fee reimbursement is stopped. In the name of equal field, the government has withdrawn from its commitments. Not only that. It took away all the surplus of the company in the name of spectrum charges,notional loan and so on. It was discriminated against the private companies, which are very dear to the government which is continuing with its neo-liberal policy aggressively.
JAC has been continuously trying to improve the services and expansion of the company. But the anti-PSU policy of the government, Inefficiency of the management or rather mismanagement, a certain casual attitude of the workers – all have resulted in negative growth of the company.
The JAC initiated the Customer Delight Year in May 2011 to ensure a better service to the people and expansion of services. During the last four months the negative direction has turned in to positive. But this is not sufficient. Massive growth should be there for which procurement of equipments are very much necessary.
In the name financial crunch management is trying to curtail the benefits of the workers. Bonus is denied. BSNL Board has decided for implementing VRS in its meeting today. The JAC has decided to fight against these attacks on workers.
The next year for BSNL is a period of difficulties. Workers have to be united to safe guard the their interest as well as those of the company. We have to ensure a better service to the people. Let us march ahead with commitment and determination!
Happy Birth Day BSNL! Wish many happy returns of the Day!

The Government has declared 78 days Bonus for the Railway employees on the maximum of Rs.3500 for a month. There are approximately 13 lakh employees in the Railways. The Unions had demanded for 80 days.
My congratulations to the Railway workers and their leadership

The insensitive BSNL Board has approved VRS for one lakh workers in the Board meeting held on 29th September (yesterday), according to unconfirmed reports. The JAC has already given notice for one day strike on 10th October 2011. Instead of discussing the matter with the unions and sorting put the issue, the management has taken a confrontationist attitude.
The management forgets that the workforce is an asset, instead of a liability. VRS has not helped any company. The VRS is a method to reduce the workforce in its policy for disinvestment and privatisation. The JAC and workforce will fight this decision with all its strenth.

As per data IDA has increased 4.8% for revised pay (w.e.f.2007) making the total to 52.0% from October 2011. Orders are yet to be issued.
The cost of essential commodities have increased manyfolds but it is not correctly reflected in the calculations.

The affidavit filed by the Planning Commission before the Supreme Court stating that Rs.26 in the rural and Rs. 32 in the urban are sufficient to be above poverty line has sparked off many angry comments from all over the country. Now Aruna Roy of the National Campaign for Peoples Information and other social activists have challenged the statement of the Planning Commission. In a letter addressed by more than 30 personalities and organisations, they have challenged the Chairman (Prime Minister), Dy Chairman (Montek Singh Ahluwalia) and other members to live on Rs.26 / Rs.32 as submitted in the affidavit failing which they should withdraw their affidavit.

The Fesival season is going to start with Puja Festival in September 2011. BSNL Employees for the last 11 years and earlier in DOT were getting Bonus/PLI every year except last. In the government service minimum bonus is given without any special consideration. Most of the present BSNL employees were government employees and if the government has not forcibly pushed them to the corporation, they would have been continuously getting the bonus as in Postal, Railway etc.
The plea of the management that there is no money to pay bonus has no credibility. This company was entrusted to you with a cash balance of Rs. 40,000 and with out any debt. It is only due to the anti-PSU polciy of the government and the utter mismanagement by the top management that the present situation has developed. The worker is not responsible for the present situation.
The holiday season is coming and I want to celebrate with my family. If you don’t give the bonus, you are cheating the workers. We will never agree to you anti-worker stand. Pay Bonus or face the consequences! Don’t complain later.
Bonus is my right. Don’t trample upon that.

The Planning Commission whose Chairman is Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh and Dy. Chairman Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia has submitted to the Supreme Court that those who are getting Rs. 26 in rural areas and Rs. 32 in urban areas are above the poverty line. Those who are getting less than that is Below Poverty Line (BPL) and hence eligibile for the government reliefs. This is not only cruel but an inhuman decision.
Everybody knows that these Planning Commission heads are not at all aware of the ground realities but are only basing their decisions of the IMF-World Bank- WTO wave length. They don’t know what poverty is. They don’t care how the poor people live.They are sitting in ivory towers.
I think it is appropriate to quote a sentence from an article published in a left weekly:
“Let Planning Commission chairman Manmohan Singh, deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and other members live on the food items purchasable in the above amounts and show they can survive more than three months. One can bet they will die.”

BSNL Board is meeting today, 29th September 2011. One of the major items for discussion is the VRS, ie. proposal for retrenchment of about one lakh workers through VRS, in fact CRS.
There is no justification for VRS in BSNL. All the arguments put down by the Sam Pitroda Committee and BRPSE are nothing but lame excuses to convert the PSU to a private company as per the neo-liberalisation policy of the government.If VRS helps improvement of company, what happened to MTNL where VRS was implemented thrice? If went further down.
If the Board decides for VRS, it can expect a strong and sustained struggle by the workers under the leadership of the JAC. The government could not implement VRS earlier and it will not be allowed in future also. The government can not play with the future of BSNL and its workers.
Let us be ready for a serious struggle to save BSNL and its workers.