PAME, the biggest organisation of the workers in Greece, is going on struggle, including strike, against the anti-workers actions of the SYRIZA government. The government is implementing austerity measures as dictated by the EU-IMF-ECB, which are demanded by
the industrialists, ship-owners, the bankers etc, since they serve their competitiveness and
profits. But it is loss of wages to employees. Government is trying to restrict trade union activities and agitations. It is trying to ban strikes!

We fully support and express our solidarity with the PAME and the working class of Greece and in their just struggle.

The BSNL workers are compelled to continue agitation in the start of the new year itself due to the negative and anti-worker attitude of the Department of Telecommunications, Government and the BSNL Management on the issue of wage revision of the employees, as also against the formation of a separate Tower Company by bifurcating the BSNL Towers. The government has already appointed an IAS officer as the CMD of the newly to be formed company. So far there is no IAS officer in BSNL, according to our information. This means that Tower company will not be under BSNL, but a separate company and once formed, even BSNL will have to pay rent for the use of towers. This has happened earlier in the case of underwater international cables. Further, the government may be thinking that with  less staff in the new company, it can be  privatised without delay, ignoring the opposition from the staff.

The double-talk of government  is well known. On the one side issue statements and replies in the Parliament about the government’s intention of improving and assisting BSNL, but on the contrary making all  steps to either privatise or close it.

It is against all these attacks that the ‘All Unions and Associations in BSNL’ has called for a Protest day on 8th January 2018 by organising lunch hour  demonstrations. AIBDPA, the mighty organisation of the DOT  BSNL Pensioners, has called upon its members to fully participate in the demonstrations along with the workers.

Fully participate demanding wage revision and for dropping the move to form Tower Company. Send reports and photos to AIBDPA HQ,

OBSERVE NATIONAL PENSIONERS DAY ON 17-12-2017.
It was on 17th December, 1982, the Supreme Court chaired by Chief Justice Y.B.Chandrachood pronounced the historical verdict on D.S.Nakara’s case. The judgment asserted and affirmed that pension is the right of an employee and not a bounty of the government. It also declared that there cannot be any discrimination in extending pensionary benefits on the basis of the date of retirement. The judgment is considered as the ‘Magna Karta ‘ of pensioners. December 17 is being observed as the National Pensioners Day.

CHQ requests all the AIBDPA units to observe the day in a befitting manner on 17-12-2017, jointly with other pensioners organisations, where ever possible. (Courtesy: AIBDPA website)