The Punjab Circle Conference of the BSNL Casual and Contract Workers Union was held at Amritsar on 29th December 2012. This city is famous for its Golden Temple, which is the most holiest Gurudwara of the Sikhs. Jhalianwala Bagh is also here, where in 1919, hundreds of people, who had gathered there for a protest meting were murdered by the British.
This is also the district in which lies the Wagha border with pakistan, where many people throng in the evenings to see the border force on both sides show their military salutes etc.
Amritsar is one of the cities in the north, where the temperature is very low during winter. In fact it was very cold on the day of the conference also.
The Conference was held in a hall near the BSNL office. About 300 comrades participated, who have come from all the ditricts of Punjab. Com. R.L.Moudgil, AGS and Circle President BSNLEU presided. Coms. Balbir Singh, Circle secretary, BSNLEU, H.S.Dhillon, Dist. Secretary, Chandigarh, Sarbajit Singh, District Secretary, Amritsar,Tarsem Singh, District Secretary, Ferozpur, Kamaljit Singh, Vice-President, Baljinder Singh, Darshan Singh, Circle Secretary, BSNLCCWU, Iqbal Singh Dhillon, Bhoglal, S.S.bedi and other leaders addressed the Conference. Com.V.A.N.Namboodiri, President BSNLEU and BSNLCCWF spoke in detail about the issues of the casual and contract workers, the efforts made by the union to settle the issues, the formation of BSNLCCWF, the agitational activities etc. he also briefed the house about the deliberations in the Parliamentary Standing Committee on labour on the issues of the casual and contract worklers in BSNL. Some of the delegates also spoke, explaining the non-implementation of the orders on minimum wage etc. in their districts.
The Conference decided to strengthen the union by bringing maximum workers to its fold.The conference decided to organise the CGM Office March in January 2013 as called by the CEC meeting of BSNLCCWF.
Circle Union office-bearers were unanimously elected with Coms. Darshan Singh Ludhiana as President, Baljinder Singh Patiala as Circle secretary and Surinder Singh (Samana) Patiala as Treasurer.