Do not sell Alipore Telecom Factory – BSNLEU writes letter to the CMD BSNL.
I am reproducing a post published in the BSNLEU website for information.
‘It is shocking to note that, The National Land Monetisation Corporation Ltd. has called for tenders for selling out 52,178 sq. metres of land and buildings of the Alipore Telecom Factory in West Bengal circle. It is a billion dollar question to whom the money from the sale of this property will go to. The employees of BSNL are the important stakeholders of the Company. However, the unions and associations are kept in the dark. The Alipore Telecom Factory is still operational and is manufacturing important components for BSNL’s networks. BSNLEU has written letter to the CMD BSNL, today, with copies to Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Hon’ble Minister of Communications and Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Secretary, Telecom. In it’s letter, BSNLEU has demanded that, the Telecom Factory at Alipore should not be sold out and it should continue to manufacture telecom equipments. BSNLEU has also stated that, the land lying idle could be sold out, but the money of this sale should come to BSNL and it should not be usurped by the government. BSNLEU has also demanded that, the entire matter should be discussed with the unions and associations. (BSNLEU )’
The Central government from the start was planning to sell the the Telecom Factories , which have got a lot of land. The first target was the The Telecom Factory, Kharagpur stating that there is no work there. The workers there went on struggle, the union took up the matter and it was agreed not to close the same but to manufacture towers as demanded by BSNLEU. This factory became the major manufacturer of towers. Now the government has targetted the Telecom factory Alipur, Kolkatta. It has got not only land, but also many beautiful heritage buildings. It is also the first Telecom Factory (Telephone Workshop) in India. As demanded by BSNLEU, the government should stop the sale of the Factory, which is still manufacturing items for BSNL.
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