Category Archives: BSNL – Better Service to the Nation

The BSNL Employees under the Forum of BSNL Unions/Associations are making all out efforts to ensure a better service to the customers. It has given a detailed Memorandum to the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Communications Minister, Secretary DOT, CMD BSNL etc. with proposals for improvement and strengthening the company. The issues coming in this category are connected with the same.

Don’t bury Telegram Services, it is still alive.

14 Sunday Jul 2013

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FORUM OF BSNL UNIONS / ASSOCIATIONS

D-7, Telegraph Place, Gole Market, New Delhi – 110001

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Press Release                                                                                                                                    14th July 2013

DO NOT BURY TELEGRAM SERVICES, IT IS STILL ALIVE

The decision of the BSNL Management and Communications Minister to stop the 163 year old telegram services is ill advised and anti-people. The Forum of BSNL Unions / Associations once again expresses its strong protest and demands the government and the BSNL Management to continue the services, which are still used by certain sections of the people.

The plea of the BSNL for taking this drastic decision is the so called loss to BSNL for running the telegram services. It is stated by the CMD BSNL that while there is about Rs. 100 crore expenditure per year, the revenue is less than Rs. One crore. The next argument is that there are better communication services available to the people, like SMS, mobile services, internet etc.

These are but only distortion of facts and reality. More than 50,000 telegrams are booked/ sent/delivered every month and lakhs of rupees received through the services. The so-called expenditure of Rs. 100 crore  per year is a myth. The staff of the BSNL is doing the telegram services also in the same Customer Service Centres. Out of many counters for internet, mobile etc. one more counter is there for telegrams. No extra staff is employed, nor anybody is going to be retrenched  after stopping the telegram services. There is not a single paise spent for the staff of telegram service alone. There is no extra maintenance charge, since it is part of the telecom services. All the telegram service centres are in departmental buildings and no rent is to be paid. In fact, more than Rs. One crore is received by the management without any major expenditure.

Further, there are responsible and recognised unions representing the two and half lakh executives and non-executive employees in BSNL. The Management took the decision without consulting or even discussing with these unions/associations, which have great stakes in the services.

The telegram services are provided as per the Indian Telegraph Act 1885. Any change like closure cannot be done without any amendment to the Act by the Parliament. The closure decision is completely in violation of the Indian Telegraph Act.

Telegram is a heritage service which is still used by the people. The rush to send telegrams in the last few days clearly shows their love and nostalgia for the telegram services. The service can be continued without any extra expenditure and some profit. The decision is nothing but backing out from providing service to the people.

The Forum of BSNL Unions/Associations demands the Government and the BSNL to rescind their decision and ensure continued telegram service to the people. Telegrams are not dead; Don’t bury the living. It will be an injustice to the nation.

V.A.N.Namboodiri

Convener, Forum

Mobile :  9868231431

BSNL for Better Service (10) – Modernise the Telecom Factories.

14 Sunday Jul 2013

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quipment crunch due to the inefficient management and the protracted procurement procedure is one of the most important factors which have paralysed the growth of BSNL. Further, the intervention of the government at crucial times to stop the management from purchasing materials was the worst reason.

It is in this context that the importance of Telecom Factories is to be considered. BSNL has got 7 telecom factories viz. Alipore, Gopalpur, Kharagpore  ( all in Kolkata Telecom Factory Circle), Jabalpore, Richai, Bhilai (  all in Jabalpur Telecom Factory Circle) and Mumbai. The Alipore factory was the first established shortly after the telegraph services started. At the time of II World War, a portion of the installations were transported and installed at Wright Town in Jabalpore to ensure that even if Japan attacks Kolkata, another telecom factory will be functioning. Other factories were established after the telephone services developed fast. These factories are spread over hundreds of acres with sufficient space for expansion to any extent.

The bolt from the blue came in 1997-98, when the report of the V Central Pay Commission was submitted. It recommended closure or privatisation of the telecom factories. Though not a recognised union then, All India Telecom Employees Union Class III (Namboodiri) took up the matter with the Parliamentary Consultative Committee chaired by Com. Somnath Chatterjee, who called a meeting of the DOT and Unions. After hearing both, the Committee recommended that the factories are not to be closed, but modernised and strengthened as the union had demanded. Due to this recommendation, the telecom factories continue even now. Another effort was made by BSNL to close the factory at Kharagpore stating that the items like posts being manufactured in that factory are no more required and hence it can be closed. BSNL Employees Union went on strike and as per its suggestions, the manufacturing of towers started there.

But the management was least interested in modernisation. It was interested in purchasing items from outside. But on the sustained pressure from the union, items like towers, Optical fibre MDF etc. are still manufactured in the telecom factories.

What is required is modernisation. The Broadband Modem, cables, telephone instruments, Optical Fibre Cables etc. are in large demand and the same can be manufactured in addition to the towers.(Thousands of completed towers are lying in the factories, but the circles are purchasing towers from outside. This practice should be completely stopped). For this, expert Engineers trained in the manufacturing should be specially  appointed in all the factories and the workers trained suitably.

The Telecom Factories and C-DOT should be developed so that they can be utilised for R&D and also  for manufacturing as was done earlier. And according to the new directives of the government R&D is to be increased and local manufacturing should be ensured at least up to 30%. If these directions are implemented by DOT and BSNL,  a lot of equipment crunch could be avoided to a certain extent.

Don’t close telegram services – Forum of BSNL Unions/Associations

13 Saturday Jul 2013

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A report in ” Hindu ” reproduced below:

“Even as the Union government gears to give the iconic telegram service a grand farewell on July 15, BSNL employees have condemned the move, arguing that it is still being used by government departments and organisations and those in rural and remote areas.

Rejecting BSNL’s contention that mounting losses made the service unsustainable, unions have urged Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal to try to make it profitable. “It is a valued service and should be kept as a skeleton service and preserved as a heritage,” says the Forum of BSNL Unions/Associations, which represents more than 2.5 lakh employees of the state telecom major.

‘Most authentic’

“Even after the introduction of… Internet, STD and e-mail, telegrams are still used by military personnel for official use and also for contacting their families from remote locations… Many banks and State governments are still utilising the service. Telegrams are also treated as most authentic… in legal matters and official records. At least, minimum service should be maintained in the interests of the people who are still using it,” Forum convener V.A.N. Namboodiri has said. He urged Mr. Sibal to hold discussions with unions before taking a final decision.

Mr. Sibal has said the telegram service will get a “ceremonial farewell.” “We will bid it a very warm farewell, and maybe the last telegram sent should be a museum piece. That is the way in which we can bid it a warm farewell,” he said on Thursday.

In India, the first telegraph message was transmitted live between Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Diamond Harbour, a distance of 50 km, on November 5, 1850; and the service was opened for the public in February 1855. Over the years, BSNL made several upgrades, the latest being the web-based messaging system introduced in 2010.”

 

National Convention on ” Revival of BSNL” on 3rd August 2013

12 Friday Jul 2013

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A National Convention of BSNL Employees will be held at Mavalankar Hall on 3rd August 2013 under the auspices of the Forum of BSNL Unions / Associations, the umbrella organisation of the unions and associations of Non-Executives and Executives in BSNL. About 1,000 delegates from the unions/associations from all parts of the country will participate.

Senior Members of Parliament, Trade Union leaders and other important personalities will participate and address the convention. On the basis of the Memorandum given by the Forum to the Prime Minister and Finance Minister who is also the Chairman of the GoM constituted for the purpose of revival of BSNL, further programmes, including action programmes, will be finalised  by the Convention.

After the National convention is held similar conventions will be organised at Circle and District levels.

BSNL FOR BETTER SERVICE !

Stop this closure of telegram services

12 Friday Jul 2013

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Protests are mounting against the anti-people decision of BSNL to close its one and half century telegram services from 15th July 2013, citing loss as the reason. Of course, telegram service as well telephone service in the rural areas are in loss, but it is a service to the ordinary people and on the plea of loss it can not be closed. BSNL is implementing the universal service access policy of the government and it can not cut the service to the ordinary people. If there is loss, it should demand and get sufficient money from the government. Most of the rural telephone service in loss. Does it mean that all those exchanges are to be closed.

And the loss factor itself is in scanner. The telegram services are part of the customer services and there is no special expenditure for the same. The available staff is attending to the telegrams also. More than 50,000 telegrams are dealt by the BSNL every month and more than 15 crores earned per year. The loss of Rs. 135 crore calculated by the BSNL is imaginary and include the salaries of employees, maintenance etc. which in any way will be there whether the telegram services are closed or not.

Many sections of the people are still using the services, though the number has come down due to the advanced technology gadgets like mobile, internet etc. The trams are still running in Kolkata. When a new product is released, all the old products are also on sale. Along with other communication services, telegram service also can continue. There is no separate expenditure for he same.

It is a heritage service and accommodated in heritage buildings in the big cities. CTO buildings in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata etc. are heritage buildings, which have to be maintained as such. Lakhs and lakhs of documents connected with the history of the Mughal, British rule etc. are there in the old documents of the telegraph offices. Just like Western Court building in Delhi is occupied by a hotel, there are proposals to turn these heritage buildings also in to such posh hotels. You can see that many of the historic palaces have already been converted in to hotels.

The BSNL employees are completely against the closure of the telegram services. They have already strongly protested against the decision. Their unions have not been even consulted before taking such a drastic decision.

Today, as per the call of the BSNL Employees Unions, protest dharnas are being held at the SSA/Circle levels as also in front of the BSNL Corporate Office in Delhi. A PLI case has been filed in the Chennai High Court against closure of telegram services and may be heard today. It can only be said that the BSNL management has taken an unwise anti-people decision as also without taking in to confidence of the unions, which are trying to improve the services and make the company financially viable.

The BSNL Management should revisit their decision and drop the decision to close the telegram services  in the interest of the people and the company itself.

The BSNL Management should back out from this controversial and anti-people measure.

 

BSNLEU demands Recruitment of Staff

09 Tuesday Jul 2013

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The Central Executive Committee meeting of BSNL Employees Union has demanded recruitment of required staff in BSNL. Since formation of BSNL, during the last 12 years, about 1,30,000 employees have retired. If you count about the 30,000 new recruitment in certain limited cadres, then the reduction of staff comes to 1,00,000. Most of the retired belong to the lowest non-executive staff.

There is acute shortage of staff and the work is suffering due to the same. The management not only are against recruitment, but is also trying to retrench the staff through VRS. Yes this is a method of destabilising the company and making if in-efficient.

Hence the decision of BSNLEU is correct and the same should be strongly persued.

 

 

BSNL for Better Service (9) – Mandate to be given for Govt. and PSUs to use BSNL/MTNL services

05 Friday Jul 2013

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BSNL is a government owned company which implements the policy of the government for  providing universal service and communications all over the country.  It is not working on profit basis, but on service basis. BSNL mainly deals with other PSUs on many impotant issues. On the insistence of BSNLEU, the Group Insurance Scheme  and  EPF funds were entrusted with the LIC, Bank Loans Scheme was signed with  the PSU Banks, watches for employees were purchased from HMT  etc. In the case of Air India, government  have mandated  that all central government and PSUs should travel by Air India alone to ensure the viability of the company. In the same way, the government should issue instructions that all the government and PSUs should take BSNL connections, both mobile and landlines.

Of course, there is necessity to improve the services.  The management and the workers should take the responsibility for a better service. If the services are improved, naturally the subscribers will prefer a PSU instead of a private company.

The Forum demands the GoM  that a mandate as stated above should be given to all  government departments and PSUs which will have immediate impact on the workers and for efforts for a Better Service.

 

 

 

Meeting with Secretary,DOT

03 Wednesday Jul 2013

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Meeting with Secretary, DOT

Com. V.A.N.Namboodiri, Convener, Forum  & Advisor AIBDPA and Com.K.G.Jayaraj, General Secretary, AIBDPA had a fruitful discussion with Shri M.F.Farooqui, Secretary, DOT today, 3rd July 2013. They mainly brought to his notice the issue of 78.2% IDA fixation for pensioners, both pre-2007 and post-2007, acute shortage of staff in CCA units, Grant of Minimum Pension of Rs. 3,880 (instead of Rs. 3,500), Undue delay in settlement of Anomaly in Pension for those retired within 10 months of formation of BSNL and Extension of Concession for Broad band connection to the DOT Retirees. The Secretary, DOT had a patient and positive hearing and assured that he will examine the issues and do the needful.

The representatives also pointed out about the move of the management to close the telegram services with effect from 15th July 2013 and requested his intervention.  The delay in the release of Rs. 1,500 crore from USOF to BSNL was also raised. (Later it was informed that Gazette Notification has already been issued to release the Fund). Com. Namboodiri  requested that the Memorandum given by the Forum on the revival of  BSNL to the GoM (with copy to Secretary, DOT) be given due priority.

 

Rs. 1,500 crore to BSNL from USO Fund

03 Wednesday Jul 2013

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The amount of Rs. 1,500 crore allotted from the USO Fund in lieu of the withdrawn ADC to be paid to BSNL for the year 2012-13 has now been approved and Gazette Notification issued for the same on 17th June 2013. The amount will be shortly paid to BSNL.

Forum of BSNL Unions / Associations has taken up the matter with the Secretary, DOT,  Addl. Secretary, Member (Services), Member (Finance) and also USO Fund Administrator during the last few months for getting early orders to release the same. The release was delayed due to the Finance Dept. keeping the amount with it due to the presentation of the budget etc. Now we are happy that the amount has been released. BSNL should effectively utilise  the fund.

BSNL for Better Service (9) – Refund the Spectrum charges

30 Sunday Jun 2013

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In the case of allotment of spectrum, the government discriminated BSNL in more than one way.

  1. The 3G Spectrum was allotted to private companies through auction circle by circle, which helped them to select the circle of their choice and bid. Thus they reduced the charges to be paid to the government. In the case of BSNL, it was not allowed to bid for any circle, but was compelled to pay charges for all the circles at the highest bid in each circle.
  2. Though the private companies like Airtel, Reliance, Vodafone etc. did bid for only few circles each, by an agreement/understanding they started providing 3G services in all the circles, without licence. Thus by paying a small amount for spectrum, they provided services through out the country. BSNL had to pay for all circles.
  3. In the case of BWA spectrum, private companies were allotted better spectrum which was suitable for latest and future technologies like Long Term Evolution(LTE), TDD etc. But in the case of BSNL a lower spectrum was allotted which was not suited to LTE, TDD and other advanced technologies.  This discrimination compelled BSNL to surrender BWA spectrum,  except in four circles. BSNL has paid a whooping Rs. 8,313 crores for BWA spectrum. At least Rs. 7,000 crore is to be paid back to BSNL for the surrendered spectrum. While the government is negotiating with Vodafone for reducing its due tax of Rs.. 14,000 crore to help the MNC,  it has no time to refund the money for the surrendered spectrum to BSNL.

In fact, being a government company, BSNL should be exempted from paying the spectrum charges. BSNL was compelled to pay Rs. 18,500 crores to government together for 3G and BWA Spectrum, thus taking away all the cash reserves of the PSU. This full amount should be refunded to BSNL to help it to continue its expansion and development.