The P&T Department and DOT has a honourable past as one of the most efficient Department/s of the government of India.
While there was exploitation of Part-time, casual labour etc. , in stages they were promoted to Group D or regularised. Tens of thousands of workers thus reguarised are the backbones of the DOT/BSNL through whose continuous labour the telecom had spread over throughout the country passing hills and rivers, deserts and inaccessible regions. In installing the great telecom infrastructure all over the country, the Line/Sub-Inspector,Lineman and Casual Labour had a great role along with other officials. Thousands of these workers perished while erecting and maintaining lines on the sides of the Ganges in the high Himalayan ranges, in the expanding deserts of Rajasthan, the Kashmir valley and in the great plains of India. It is true that the new generation is not aware of the same and the old generation might have forgotten them in the changed circumstances.
The present Telecom Mechanics, the Regular Mazdoors, the casual labour and the contract labour belong to that great tradition. Some of them have risen up to the post of executives and higher posts in the non-executives, but most of them still continues in their early position.
BSNL Employees Union and United Forum since formation of BSNL havemade maximum efforts to improve their condition along with those of the higher level cadres, but as it is, the benefits will always be more at the top than at the lower levels.
The maximum sufferers at present in BSNL are the casual and contract labours engaged by the DOT/BSNL for the last many years. More than 4,000 casual labours who have been engaged in the DOT/BSNL for the last 15 to 20 years are still to be regularised though about 6000 similarly placed casual labour have been regularised till 2005. Only very few have been regularised/granted TSM status afterwards, that too only after contempt cases were filed against BSNL management.
There is no valid justification for regularising these casual labour who have been engaged on the basis that they will be regularised after certain condition like working for 240 days in a year with out break etc. Almost all these 4000 casual labour have fulfilled these conditions. As far as the 2770 casual labour in W.Bengal and others in other circles have full record of their work maintained by the management itself. They are performing the duties of the regular mazdoor, TM, Sr.TOA etc. but at the minimum wages, though they are to be given equal wages( minimum) of the postsin which they are working. The Laws of the country passed by the Parliament on Minimum Wages, Social Security etc. are flatly denied to them.
This inhuman exploitation in BSNL should be put to an end. It is a shame not only to the management, but to all the employees and unions/associations in BSNL. The casual labour should be regularised with out any further delay. The BSNL Management has to take immediate action for the same as other PSUs and government Departments have already done.
VAN Namboodiri's Blog 
Dont become a leader of causal employees only..BSNL is not in a position to pay salaries to its regular employees itslef. Why you want to increase the burden more on bsnl. If possible try to revert all its staff to DOT there by secure their future..
Dear Comrade,
All workers want to maintain their families and they put hard work for the same. It is with the Executives, non-executives and the casual and contract labour also. The regular employees decided to go on indefinite strike from 13th June for 78.2% IDA fixation, which also entails expenditure from BSNL. Though the casual and contract labour do not get any benefit, they also gave notice for strike in support of the demands of the regular employees. The regular employees have their demands as also the casual labour. Imagine yourself as a casual labour who has been working for the DOT/BSNL for 15-20 years, and you would understand his / her feelings. Even now a good portion of the BSNL work is being done by the Casual/Contract labour. We have to recognise the aspirations of each and everybody working in BSNL, instead of limiting to our cadre, non-executive or executive only.
I think you know that the Joint Forum had already demanded for repatriation of all BSNL employees to DOT, but it was not accepted by the government.
WHEN THERE IS CASE PENDING IN COURT CASE FOR REPATRIATION / ABSORPTION OF GROUP A ITS OFFICERS, TRANSFERS OF THESE ITS OFFICERS SEEM UNETHICAL …..JUST HAD TO SPEAK…
Dear Sir,
Thanks for the reply. Congrats for the achievement of getting ida merger. I am DR staff recruit after 2005. So there is no benefit for me. Instead of doing strikes for 78.2% IDA merger and for medical facilities let us do indefinite strike for absorption into DOT which will be permanent solution for BSNL employees issues. In future we may not get 7th PRC fruits due to BSNL financial position. So its better to fight early for our permanent solution of getting into DOT.