18 Thursday Jun 2015
Posted in Uncategorized
I am sorry that I was not able to post any news in my blog for the last few days due to some technical problems. Just now only it was resolved. The posts will now continue as usual.
18 Thursday Jun 2015
Posted in Uncategorized
Hundreds of relatives, friends and comrades of BSNLEU from Gujarat were present at the premises of the residence when body of Com.A.M.Patil, Circle Secretary, BSNLEU, Gujarat Circle was taken for the last journey. Coms.P.Abhimanyu, GS, Swapan Chakraborty and myself from CHQ BSNLEU attended. We spoke with the family members and consoled them. We attended the funeral and also addressed the brief condolence meeting held there.
15 Monday Jun 2015
Posted in BSNL - Better Service to the Nation, Forum
Move to impose Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS)
Shri A.K.Sinha, then outgoing CMD BSNL, told to the media on 31-07-2007 that the management is proposing to bring in VRS to send out 20,000 employees. This was strongly opposed by the Joint Forum and a protest letter was sent to the CMD against the proposal.
Protest Demonstration on 9th August 2007 against VRS
The BSNL employees organized massive demonstrations on 09-08-2007 protesting against the proposed VRS and demanding that the proposal be scrapped.
Meeting with CMD on 10-08-2007
The newly appointed CMD, Shri Kuldeep Goyal met the leaders of the Joint Forum on 10-08-2007. The main issue was the proposal for VRS for 20,000 employees, which the Unions strongly opposed. The CMD assured that no VRS will be implemented without discussing with the unions.
Issues taken with DOT
The following issues were taken up by the Joint Forum with DOT/ Government during the period:
National Seminar of BSNL Employees on 7th September 2007
As per the decision of the Joint Forum of BSNL Unions/Associations, a successful National Convention of BSNL employees was organized on 7th September 2007 at a large pandal erected at the Eastern Court premises, New Delhi. More than 600 delegates from all parts of the country participated.
A presidium consisting of Coms. K.Vallinayagam (FNTO), J.N.Mishra(BSNLEU), R.N.Pande (NFTE), A.A.Khan (SNEA), K.Satyanarayana (AIBSNLEA), S.S.Tomar (BSNLMS), S.P.Shrivastava (TEPU), M.C.Sharma(BSNLWRU), Hari Singh (BTU BSNL), D.P.Patwa(AIBCTES), R.S.Yadav(BSNLATM) and Dhiraj Choudhary (SNATTA) conducted the proceedings.
Com. V.A.N.Namboodiri, GS BSNLEU and Convener, Joint Forum, welcomed all, especially the delegation of Confederation of South Korean Trade Unions, which was visiting India and attended the Convention. The leader of the delegation Com. Lee Sukhaeng greeted and congratulated the unions for the sustained fight against privatization. Convener spoke about the present situation of BSNL and the tasks ahead.
Coms. M.K.Pandhe, President, CITU, Sitaram Yechury, M.P., Gurudas Dasgupta, M.P & General Secretary AITUC, Harish Rawat, M.P., C.Kuppusamy, M.P. and other trade union leaders addressed the convention and congratulated the BSNL workers for their struggle to save BSNL and conveyed their support and solidarity for the struggle.
Comrades M.B.Vichare (NFTE), M.R.Vasisht (FNTO), Swapan Chakraborty (BSNLEU), S.L.Reddy(SNEA), Prahlad Rai (AIBSNLEA), Suresh Kumar (BSNLMS), V.Subburaman (TEPU), Raj Kishore (BSNLWRU), Hari Singh (BTU BSNL) and A.D.Patil (AIBCTES) also addressed the Convention.
The Declaration of the National Convention on the demands and agitational programmes to strengthen the BSNL and provide a better service to the people was presented by Convener Com. V.A.N.Namboodiri and unanimously adopted by the house. The Convention called upon the workers to continue the struggle and to organize effective campaign and also to organize one day long dharna at circle level on 11th October 2007.
Declaration of National Convention (to be typed/pasted)
The Reception Committee headed by Coms. A.A.Khan and R.S.Chouhan etc. made all the arrangements in a very effective manner.
Dharna by BSNL Workers on 11-10-2007
As per the call of the Joint Forum, massive dharnas were organized on 11th October 2007 in all SSAs protesting against the undue delay in procuring GSM lines, Non-grant of Navaratna status to BSNL, Absorption of Group A/ITS officers and pension issues.
In Delhi, the dharna was organized in front of Corporate Office, Bharat Sanchar Bhawan, participated by hundreds of workers. Coms. V.A.N.Namboodiri, Convener, Forum & GS BSNLEU, K.Vallinayagam (FNTO), M.B.Vichare (NFTE), Prahlad Rai (AIBSNLEA), Thomas John(FNTO), A.A.Khan(SNEA), V.Subburaman (TEPU) and other leaders addressed. Thousands of workers participated in the dharnas at Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Patna etc.
Joint Forum protests proposal of 20% IPO/ Disinvestment in BSNL
Reacting to the proposal of 20% IPO /Disinvestment in BSNL by the Government, the Joint Forum immediately issued a Press Statement on 25-11-2007, opposing the same and cautioning the government that the workers will go on agitation, if any such move is initiated.
Joint Forum meets Secretary DOT on 26th November 2007
Leaders of the Joint Forum met Shri D.S.Mathur, Secretary, DOT on 26-11-2007 and discussed important issues like ITS Absorption, Allotment of additional 2G spectrum as well as 3G spectrum, grant of Navaratna status to BSNL, opposition to 20% IPO in BSNL and bonus for DOT employees. Coms. V.A.N.Namboodiri, Convener, JF and representatives of BSNLEU, SNEA, FNTO, AIBSNLEA, NFTE, BSNLMS and TEPU participated.
Since the government was moving with the disinvestment ( IPO)proposal of BSNL , the Joint Forum urgently met on 15th January 2008 and decided to organize agitational programmes against the same. It was decided to observe an All India Protest Day on 21st January 2008 by wearing black badges and conducting demonstrations at Circle/District /Branch levels. (To be continued)
15 Monday Jun 2015
Posted in Uncategorized
14 Sunday Jun 2015
Posted in General, WORLD NEWS
Tags
The Left is making inroad in Europe also. After the victory in Greece by the Left, it is now the two important cities in Spain, that has elected Left Party Mayors.
Com. Manuela Carmena has been elected as the Mayor of Madrid, the capital city of Spain. She is a retired Judge. Comrade Ada Colau is elected as the Mayor of the second biggest city in Spain, Barcelona. She is Left and a Social activist. Both are against the austerity measures being implemented by the government.
Our Hearty Congratulations to both the elected Mayors and also the people of mMadrid and Barcelona, who have elected them.
14 Sunday Jun 2015
Posted in General, Obituary, Tributes
Tags
14th June 1928 is the birthday of Comrade Che Guevara, the eternal revolutionary and comrade-in-arms of Com. Fidel Castro in the Cuban Revolution. His entire life was a continuous struggle for the emancipation of the toiling masses and for the freedom of the Latin American Countries.
Che Guevara was brutally murdered in the forests of Bolivia on 9th October 1967 at the comparable young age of 39 , while he was waging a revolutionary guerrilla war against the then Bolivian dictator.
Red Salute to Comrade Che Guevara!
14 Sunday Jun 2015
Posted in BSNL - Better Service to the Nation, General
Tags
Negotiation fails
The meeting of the union leaders with BSNL Management and the Secretary DOT could not result in any fruitful decision. The Minister, Shri A.Raja, held meetings 9th and 10th July 2007 with representatives of the Joint Forum. The Secretary DOT and BSNL Management were present in the meeting on 10th July. The Minister gave certain assurances, and it was assured that it will be conveyed to the Convener, JF. But the letter given to the Joint Forum was very vague as can be seen below:
Govt. of India, Ministry of Communications & IT, Department of Telecommunications 20, Ashoka Road, Sanchar Bhawan New Delhi dated 10th July 2007.
To Shri V.A.N.Namboodiri, Convener of joint Forum of BSNL Unions & Associations of Non-Executives & Executives and General Secretary BSNL Employees Union, New Delhi.
Sub: Notice for dharna on 9th and 10th July 2007 before offices/exchangesat all levels and one day strike on 11th July 2007
(Sd) D.S.Mathur, Secretary, DOT
The Forum was not satisfied with the letter, since no concrete decision was given to purchase the equipment on the basis of the tender and conveyed the same to the Minister.
The Minister had another meeting with the Joint Forum in the night of 10th July 2007 only hours before the proposed strike in an effort to resolve the issue. While the Minister stood by what was stated in the earlier meeting, he was not prepared to put it in writing.
Joint Forum meets and decides for strike.
The Joint Forum met immediately in the late night and discussed the developments in detail. The Joint Forum decided to go ahead with the strike decision, since the demands have not been accepted. A number of circulars and press releases were issued by the JF, which gave wide publicity to the strike.
The Historic Strike of 11th July 2007.
As per the call of the Joint Forum, the strike started at 00.00 hours on 11th July 2007. The strike scored an unprecedented success with close to 100 % success participation by workers and officers. The entire work force rose as one man to ensure that BSNL survives. It was a wakeup call to the BSNL Management and government. The 11th July Strike by nearly 3,40,000 executives and non-executive employees of BSNL was virtually total, with most of the telephone exchanges and offices remaining closed with employees on strike. It was for the first time since the formation of BSNL in October 2000 that such a total strike has taken place. It was also a complete strike in the Corporate Office in Delhi, which was housed in the Statesman Building at that time. It was also the first time that all the executives, except the Group A / ITS officers ( most of whom continued as Govt. officers on deputation to BSNL) plunged in to direct action. The fact that the strike was called at short notice did not have any adverse impact on the strike. It was as if the workers were mentally prepared for a serious action on the issue, which is widely perceived as a life and death question for the existence of BSNL and its workers.
The Joint Forum met on the evening of July 11th 2007 and decided to defer the strike for 15 days and watch the developments and implementation of the assurances already given. In case of non-settlement, the unions decided to meet again and decide the future course of action.
After the Strike
All the news papers and TV channels prominently focused the BSNL strike. The cancellation of the 4.5 million mobile lines tender was criticized severely. The government was in the dock. News of the strike was published prominently in Political & Business Daily, Hindu, National Herald, Indian Express, Times of India, Business Line, Economic Times and many other papers. The Economic Times wrote an editorial supporting the cause. The Times of India in its report dated 18-07-2007 appreciated the BSNL Unions for their constructive activism as follows:
“BSNL Unions, working to pull BSNL out of the grip of political pressures are attracting growing respect for their constructive activism”.
A letter from Shri S.Rajagopalan, former CMD MTNL published in the Business Line dated 12-07-2007 stated: “ Heartening is the principled stand taken by the BSNL Employees Union which has realized the danger to the future if the tender gets delayed”.
The strike had its own impact. Matters moved fast. While it was to take much time to furnish the report to the Communications Minister and decision by him, the entire process was done within one week and the Advance Purchase Order (APO) issued. However, the APO was only for 22.75 million (50% of the tender) and the higher technology 3G portion not included. The Joint Forum protested strongly.
The Communications Minister, Shri A.Raja, once again met the Joint Forum and assured that action will be taken immediately to purchase GSM lines as also additional orders will be issued as soon as spectrum policy is announced and bandwidth allotted to BSNL.
Struggle to continue
The strike was not only for getting more GSM lines and higher technology. It was a fight for the survival of BSNL as a PSU. There are vested interests and MNCs who want BSNL to be made a loss making concern and then disinvest/privatise it. Not only the government has gone back on the assurances given to BSNL like payment of ADC, reimbursement of licence fee, liberal grant of funds from USOF etc. , it was supporting the private sector against the interest of BSNL. Navaratna status was not given despite full justification. The new liberalization policy wants the much profitable telecom sector to be handed over to the private for which the telecom PSU, BSNL, is a hindrance. They want BSNL to be finished. It is against this anti-PSU, anti-BSNL policy that the workers fought. (To be continued)
13 Saturday Jun 2015
BSNLCCWF CHQ letter dated 21st May 2015 to Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, about the brutal exploitation of contract workers in UP Circle, BSNL, had immediate effect. The PMO has asked the CLC ‘to take appropriate action to redress the grievance of the complainant’. Now the Dy.CLC, Kanpur has directed the ALC(C), Allahabad through order dated 05-06-2015, to take appropriate action, with copy to Shri V.A.N.Namboodiri, President, BSNLCCWF, New Delhi.
CHQ has directed Circle Secretary BSNLCCWF UP(E) to meet the ALC(C) Allahabad and submit all the details of the case. We thank the PMO for the quick response.
13 Saturday Jun 2015
Posted in Obituary, Tributes
13th June 2015 is the 116th Birth Anniversary of Com. EMS. A life sketch by CPI(M) about EMS is given below:
“Comrade E.M.S. Namboodiripad was one of the foremost leaders of the Communist movement in India and one of the founding leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
In his nearly seven decades of public life and revolutionary activities, E.M.S. Namboodiripad left an indelible imprint on the progressive and working class movement of the country. As a young man, he became active in the social reform movement against caste. He left college in 1931 to join the freedom struggle and was jailed in the satyagraha movement. From then on wards, he played an important role in the Congress movement and was one of the founders of the Congress Socialist Party in Kerala. In 1934 he became the all India joint secretary of the Congress Socialist Party. It is in this period that E.M.S. while leading the Congress Party as General Secretary of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Party became acquainted with Marxism. He was one of the five members who formed the founding group of the Communist Party in Kerala in 1936. E.M.S. Namboodiripad represented the coming together of the two streams, the anti-imperialist and the anti-feudal struggles, which laid the foundations for the development of a powerful communist movement in Kerala. He was one of the key proponents of Aikya Kerala which led to the formation of Kerala as a unified linguistic state.
13 Saturday Jun 2015
Posted in Uncategorized
BSNL Casual and Contract Workers in Kerala has decided to organise two days dharna on 13th and 14th June 2015 in front of CGM and GM offices. The demands are given below:
1. Regularize all Casual Labors/TSMs. 2. Regularize all contract labors. 3. Enhance the wages. 4. Higher wages to the external plant maintenance workers carrying out cable jointing work. 5. Payment of wages to all laborers latest by 7th of every month as agreed. 6. Equal wages for equal work. 7. Sweeping workers should be paid minimum 4 hour wages. 8. Engage sweeping/cleaning workers for eight hours and the working hours should not be reduced. 9. Implement EPF/ESI to left out laborers. 10. Supply of Identity Card by the management and a uniform procedure be adopted in our Circle. 11. Payment of charges for material transportation. 12. Payment of Bonus to contract laborers. 13. Payment of conveyance charges in lieu of weekly off. 14. Stop petty contract system. 15. Engage laborers in the sanctioned vacancies caused due to retirement of regular staff based on the justification sent by SSA heads and pay equal wages for equal work. 16. Supply adequate store materials for improving service. 17. Engage the laborers for marketing jobs. 18. Payment of EPF by the management w.e.f. 2000.
BSNLCCWF CHQ fully supports the demands and struggle and demands the Kerala Circle Management to discuss with the union and settle the issues.
VAN Namboodiri's Blog 