Author Archives: VAN NAMBOODIRI

BSNL IS CAPABLE OF RESTORING TO ITS PAST GLORY. IT HAS GOT THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND MAN POWER

18 Thursday Jul 2019

Posted by in AIBDPA - BSNL DOT Pensioners, AUAB, BSNLEU

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BSNL IS CAPABLE OF RESTORING TO ITS PAST GLORY. IT HAS GOT THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND MAN POWER

The media reports are always mentioning BSNL with adjectives like sick, incipient, loss making etc. with the ill motive of denigrating it and also giving a wrong signal to the public that BSNL is going to be privatised or closed. The government also wants the same, though Communications Minister has some Revival plan.

But is BSNL so sick and incipient? No sir, it is still vibrant, got good infrastructure, committed employees and increasing number of mobile subscribers every month. Let us look in to the details:( as on 31-03-2019)

ASSETS:

12.68 crore subscribers – 11.56 crore Mobile 1.11 crore landline.( 3.94 crore rural including landline and GSM)
2.15 crore Broadband customers, including ADSL, FTTH, Wi-MAX, Wi-Fi etc.
32,760 Telephone Exchanges – 8,641 urban and 24,029 rural.
8.49 lakh Route Kms of OFC network
2,548 Microwave Route Kms and 95 Satellite Earth Stations
67,618 Towers.
GSM BTS – 1,46,065, including rural, urban (2G, 3G)
3G coverage in 6,383 cities.
1,32,229 villages connectivity
10.58% Market Share of both GSM & Landline combined.(4th position after Vodafone-Idea, Bharti Airtel and reliance Jio)

Number of employees 1,66,974
Reduction of employees in 2018-19 = 16,548

Approximate land and building will be worth several lakhs of crores of rupees
Staff Quarters in all important centres.
7 Telecom Factories in W.Bengal, M.P., Chhattisgarh and Mumbai.
2 Advanced Training centres at Ghaziabad and Jabalpur.
About 20 RTTCs and CTTCs (Training centres)

No other institution in India has got so much land and building assets, except Railways.

BSNL has been increasing its mobile connections every month, when all other telcos except Reliance Jio is losing customers.

What is the Revenue, Expenditure, Loss? Depreciation
2013- 14 Rs. 27,996 cr. 34,930 cr. Rs. 7020 cr. Rs. 6023cr
2014-15 Rs. 28,645 cr. 37,292 cr Rs. 8234 cr. Rs. 8,817cr
2015-16 Rs. 32,411 cr 37,270 cr. Rs. 4859 cr. Rs 7,206cr
2016-17 Rs. 31,533 cr 36,327 cr. Rs. 4,793 cr Rs. 6330cr
2017-18 Rs. 25,071 cr. 33,808 cr. Rs. 7993 cr Rs. 5832cr
The loss is mainly due to the amount of depreciation counted in the expenditure. This is not an actual expenditure, but the % of depreciation calculated for the building and other assets. If the depreciation is removed and only the actual expenditure is taken, the loss is minimal.

The wage bill has not increased, but was almost static, since almost 10,000 to 17,000 employees were retiring every year without substitute. The number of staff in 2000 was 3.5 lakhs which at present is only 1.6 lakhs.

The main reason for the loss is due to non- allotment of 4G Spectrum, non-refund of about Rs.14,000 crores by the DOT/Government including increased pension contribution taken from BSNL and not honouring the assurances on financial viability by the government at the time of corporatisation in 2000.

The debt of BSNL is about Rs. 14,000 crore, while that of each of the private telcos are more than Rs. one lakh crore. The predatory pricing and violation of rules by Reliance Jio is another reason for loss of all the companies.

This government’s policy is to privatise/close all the PSUs one after another as recommended by NITI Ayog. Privatisation or closure of a profitable PSU will naturally be questioned by the people, Hence BSNL has to be made loss making before privatisation/Closure. VRS is also another weapon to destroy the services and this is what the govt want to implement in BSNL. This has to be fought and defeated.

The public and the customers are not fully aware that the closure/privatisation of BSNL and MTNL will result in increased rent, charges etc. for telephone services. Just like the price of the petrol nowadays, the telephone charges also will increase almost daily. It will adversely affect all the 120 crore subscribers of all the telcos.

The workers also have to improve the services to the maximum possible, which will ensure public support for the PSU. BSNL employees are getting comparatively good wages and the work should be better. There are many genuine and fully justified demands of the workers including wage revision etc. and struggle has to take place for those. But immediate issue is the survival of BSNL and maximum effort form the part of the workers is very important.

As shown above BSNL is neither weak nor to be written off. Once the 7th biggest telecom company in the world, it can come back again to the glorious position that it held earlier.

We seek full support of the people in making BSNL strong and an efficient organisation to give the best service to the customers.

Com.K.G.Bose remembered

11 Thursday Jul 2019

Posted by in General, Obituary, Tributes, P&T TU Movement, Uncategorized

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7th July 2019 is the 98th birth anniversary of the great revolutionary leader Com.K.G.Bose. He was born in 1921 and passed away at the comparatively  young age of 54, on 11-12-1974.

Com.K.G. Bose is the inspiration of thousands and thousands of Central employees and in particular that of P and T employees. He fought with the government for the rights of the workers and also fought against the revisionism in the organisation. His life and work is a saga of struggle, sacrifice and achievement.

I fondly remember the many times when I got the opportunity to be with him in the Conferences, in tours and in discussions. He was simple and friendly to all.

On his birth anniversary, I pay respectful homage! Red Salute  to Com.K.G.Bose!

Telecom Officers on trial in France after privatisation.

11 Thursday Jul 2019

Posted by in BSNL, BSNLEU

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Former top Executives of France Telecom, including the company’s CEO, Director (HR) and Deputy Executive Director are undergoing trial in France. The charge against them is that, they created a hostile work environment, as a result of which 35 telecom employees committed suicide between 2007 and 2010. France Telecom was privatised in 2003. In 2007, an aggressive plan was implemented to cut down the strength of the employees. Accordingly, 22,000 employees, out of the total 1,30,000 workforce, were retrenched. Consequent to this, the workload of the employees increased tremendously. Further, the employees were also subjected to humiliation, accuses Solidaires Unitaires Democratiques, a French trade union. For example, a 28 year old employee hanged himself in 2009, after being transferred. The day before he killed himself, the employee had worked a 12 hour shift, with a single 30 minute break. In 2013 France Telecom was re-branded as Orange. If found guilty, the top Executives will get jail term upto one year and a fine of 15,000 euros as fine.

Whatever happened in France Telecom appears to be repeating in BSNL. As a cost cutting measure, the government wants to retrench 40,000 employees through VRS and by rolling back the retirement age from 60 to 58. The young employees of BSNL are welcoming the government’s move to implement VRS and reduction of retirement age. But they do not know what will happen in BSNL thereafter. What exactly happened in France Telecom, between 2007 and 2010 is likely to repeat. The youngsters have to think about it. (BSNLEU Website)[Source: Business Insider – 10th July, 2019]

 

59th Anniversary of the Epic Strike of July 1960 – Homage to the Martyrs!

10 Wednesday Jul 2019

Posted by in CG Employees

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July 11th, 2019 is the 59th anniversary of the Historic Five Days Strike of the Central Government employees.

The strike was against the retrograde recommendations of the II Central Pay Commission, which did not recommend  minimum wage as per the 15th Indian Labour Conference approved formula as also no automatic DA whenever the cost of living was increased, as demanded by the unions. The increase in the wage was minimal.

Under the Joint Council of Action of the Central Government employees Federations  (AIRF, AIDEF, Confederation and NFPTE), the biggest Indefinite strike in independent India started on the night of 11/12th July 1960. The government refused to negotiate despite continued efforts of the JCA as also many Members of Parliament including Feroze Gandhi ( Husband of Indira Gandhi). The government was adamant. Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru called the strike as ‘Civil Rebellion’ and utilised the entire government machinery to crush it. Essential Service Maintenance Ordinance (ESMO) was promulgated and thousands of workers were arrested, convicted, dismissed, suspended, terminated and charge sheeted. All India leaders were arrested and put in Tihar Jail. Never before India has seen such brutal attack on any strike in the country.

It is to the credit of the workers and their loyalty to their organisation that the strike continued for five days. The entire train running system, the postal and telecom services were all badly affected. Unable to continue against the brutal attack of the government machinery and victimisation, the strike was called of on the fifth day.

5 Railways workers in Dohad were killed by police firing. 2 comrades in Kerala (one from postal and one from telephones) committed suicide unable to face the termination from service. Many were punished with rigorous imprisonment. Public, trade union leaders and outsiders were arrested for supporting the strike. Recognition of the striking federations/unions were withdrawn.

The workers faced these attacks with full confidence in their organisation and leaders. They knew there is no other way to defend their rights and justified demands. They saw the most cruel face of the so called ‘democratic government’.

PTTI and many international and foreign trade unions supported the strike and demanded the government to vacate victimisation.   In the Parliament, Nehru government was put on the dock by eminent Members of Parliament like A.K.Gopalan, S.M.Banerjee, Nath Pai and many others, who demanded vacation of all victimisation.

It took more than three years for the vacation of victimisation and re-recognition of the unions and federations. But the scars remained for a long time.

Though crushed, the 1960 strike was not in vain. For that matter, no struggle is in vain. The government was compelled to act against the price rise, appoint two committees one after another on the issue of DA and has to start discussion with the unions on the constitution of negotiating machinery, which later became the Joint Consultative Machinery(JCM).

As a participant of the historic strike, I have my own hard experience, which I may narrate some time  later.

The 1960 strike has many lessons for the working class. The determination, dedication and sacrifice of the leaders and workers who were part  of the great struggle will ever be remembered.

The Central Govt. employees are once again on the struggle path. The struggle against the retrograde recommendations of the VII CPC will continue. The workers are waiting for decisions of the Modi Government.

On this 59th anniversary of the epic strike of 1960, we pay homage to all the participants of the strike and especially to those who sacrificed their lives in the struggle!

BSNL issues raised in Parliament

04 Thursday Jul 2019

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The issues connected with the BSNL are raised in the Parliament by many M.P.s. Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad assures of Revival Plans, but nothing is done. Despite assurance regarding allotment of 4 G Spectrum, which is most important, no action has been taken. Delay is denial. The govt is waiting for all the private telcos to catch maximum subscribers before granting  spectrum to BSNL.

Further. whenever the name of BSNL is mentioned some adjective like cash strapped / loss making / incipient / ailing etc. are added to show that there is no future to the company. It is the same with many media. An impression is being tried to be created that BSNL is not going to last and it is better to shift to some other company. The debt of the other companies are many times more than BSNL, but neither government, nor the media call them, sick/incipient/loss making/ ailing etc. It can be seen that this is a campaign by the government and the private companies to show BSNL in a bad light.

What is the truth? Despite government not allotting 4G Spectrum, not allowing to take loans, not allowing to monetise its buildings and lands, reduced staff from its earlier position, bad propaganda, BSNL is giving lakhs of fresh connections, increasing its market share and trying to give a better service.

What is required by the government is to immediately agree to the very reasonable demands raised by the unions and associations of BSNL, including immediate allotment of 4G and 5G spectrums, allow the company to take loans, drop the proposals of VRS and Retrenchment (which are the initial steps for privatisation), honour the commitments given at the time of formation of BSNL in 2000 by the Vajpayee Government and ensure that BSNL is strengthened.

It is not the workers or the customers who are responsible for the weakening of BSNL. It is the same workers, that too with a number of 3.5 lakhs, who made the company profitable for many years till the govt. blocked its development by stopping purchasing of 5 crore / 9 crore mobile connections and other such anti-BSNL actions.

Let the government not kill its own child BSNL, but help it restore to its former glory!

Decisions of the AUAB meeting held on 03.07.2019

04 Thursday Jul 2019

Posted by in BSNL

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A meeting of the AUAB was held yesterday. Com.K. Sebastin, GS, SNEA, presided over. General Secretaries / representatives of BSNLEU, SNEA, AIBSNLEA, BSNL MS and ATM attended the meeting. The meeting expressed it’s severe protest over the taking over of the ALTTC and other properties of BSNL, by the DoT. The meeting also discussed about the developments related to the monetisation of BSNL’s vacant lands, towers and fibre. After in-depth discussions, the following decisions are taken unanimously:-

1. To meet the new CMD BSNL and to discuss about revival of BSNL and certain other issues.
2. To call upon the Executives and Non-Executives of BSNL, to intensify the implementation of the “BSNL At Your Door Steps” movement, with the view to increase BSNL’s revenue collections.
3. To write letter to the DoT, opposing the taking away of BBNL’s maintenance works from BSNL.
4. To write reminders to the Hon’ble MoC & IT and to the Secretary, Telecom, for granting meeting to the AUAB.
(BSNLEU Website)

Fake posts in the name of V.A.N.Namboodiri

01 Monday Jul 2019

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Some of our comrades have informed me that some fake posts in my name is being circulated, stating that BSNL will not survive, BSNL has no chance and other rubbish things. Kindly ignore these fake posts. Probably the authors of these fake posts are worried about the massive propaganda we are making against the policy of the government, the danger of privatisation and closure etc. It means that our posts are hitting the target.

Very sad news – Suicide by BSNL Contract workers in W.Bengal, Kolkata

01 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by in BSNLCCWF - Casual and Contract workers, Obituary, Tributes

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BSNL contract workers are not being paid salary for the past 6 months and the families of these contract workers are in starvation. Despite BSNLEU and BSNLCCWF are continuously taking up this issue with the Management, no improvement has come. In the meanwhile, news has come that 5 contract workers have so far committed suicide in West Bengal and Kolkata circles, unable to face the crisis created due to non-payment of wages. BSNLEU has written to the CMD BSNL, communicating these tragedies and demanding immediate action for payment of wage arrears. (BSNLEU Website).

We express our deep condolence at the sad demise of the workers who have contributed much for the revival of BSNL. BSNL would immediately ensure that the wages are paid so that such sad occurrences do not take place. The government and BSNL management is fully responsible for the suicides. The families should be given compensation.

Do not destroy ALTTC, the prime training centre and centre of excellence of BSNL

30 Sunday Jun 2019

Posted by in BSNL - Better Service to the Nation, Uncategorized

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One more attack on BSNL from the Government.

The DOT has issued orders on 21st June 2019 intimating its decision to take over Advanced Level Telecom Training Centre (ALTTC) campus,Ghaziabad, the prime institution for telecom advanced training and also an institution declared as “Centre of Excellence” by International Telecom Union (ITU). This is being done on the plea of establishing National Telecommunication Institute for Policy Research, Innovation and Training (NTIPRIT). The take over process is on the line.

The first point is that NTIPRIT is already working in the ALTTC campus and two floors in the Administrative building in the campus are allotted to it. Other critical installations like INMARSAT, ISRO GSAT Gateway, ERP Center etc. are also working in the campus. For the functioning of NTIPRIT, it is not at all necessary to take over the entire campus, which is the property of BSNL and which is utilised by ALTTC and other prime institutions. This is only a carefully devised plan to divest BSNL of this prime asset.

Let us understand what is ALTTC? It is one of the two advanced level telecom training centres of BSNL, the other being the BRABRAIT at Jabalpur. ALTTC gives various training to the top officers and Engineers of BSNL. It is also conducting special courses for various institutions regularly and earning money for BSNL. In the Financial year 2017-18, it organised 595 courses with a total number of 8078 trainees with a total number of 68538 dys. In 2018-19, the courses increased to 595, trainees to 11145 and the days to 96405. BSNL is earning good amount through these training courses.

Why the government is taking over this prime campus, which has been functioning extremely well all these years? It is mainly to capture the assets of BSNL. The entire campus is about 80 acres which will be worth about Rs. 4,856 crores @ moderate rate of Rs. 1,50,000 per sqm, in the heart of Ghaziabad-Delhi. The cost of the several buildings in the campus including the three hostels etc will come to about Rs. 190 crore. Cost of laboratories, movable assets etc. will come to many crores. It is these valuable assets that the government want to take over arbitrarily.

It is to be mentioned that most of the assets throughout the country have not been transferred to BSNL, despite decision for the same in 2000 at the time of formation of BSNL. Inspite of strong demand from the BSNL and the Unions in BSNL, this is not implemented. In the meanwhile, government is taking over many buildings, which are with BSNL. The heritage CTO building in Bengaluru is already taken by Govt. for accommodation of TRAI, Many such buildings have been confiscated by the govt. The latest is the ALTTC.

BSNL is struggling to survive and improve. The stiff competition and the favouritism to the private companies, pro-PSU policy are some of the reasons. Now BSNL has requested DOT to hand over all the assets due to it from the government for monetisation etc. for improving financial position. It is at this time, that even the existing assets are forcibly taken over by Govt.

We express our strong protest against this attack on the BSNL and demand that the decision to take over the ALTTC campus by govt should be withdrawn.

Com.N.T.Sajwani, former SG, NFTE, no more

29 Saturday Jun 2019

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With great sorrow it is intimated that Com. N.T. Sajwani, former Secretary General of NFTE (BSNL), and former circle secretary, E.III and NFTE, M.P. Circle, passed away today at Bhopal. He was a veteran leader of the telecom workers. He was the General Convener of the Reception Committee of E.III Bhopal AIC in 1991, where Com. Moni Bose was elected as the General Secretary.
Our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, friends and comrades!