The result of the Membership Verification in BSNL is declared. Total voters are 1,63,820. Polled votes 1,53,840.. BSNLEU have received 81,195 votes with 49.56% of total votes (52.77% of polled votes). NFTE received 31.97 of total votes(34.03% of polled votes). FNTO 8,697 with 5.31% of total and 5.65 of polled votes. BTEU, 4,846 total votes and 2.96% of total and 3.15% of polled votes. BSNLEU and NFTE will get recognition as the Main and Second Union. Other two will get limited trade union facilities.
In the National, Circle and SSA Councils, BSNLEU will get 9 seats and NFTE 5 seats as per proportionate to the votes polled. No other union will be eligible for seats, since their percentage is less than the eligible 7%.Thus there is no change in the allocation of seats from the last Council. The recognition orders and number of seats in the councils are yet to be released by the BSNL Corporate Office.
There are certain immediate tasks to be attended to in connection with the Verification:
1. The recognised union/s represent the entire workers, whether members or non-members of any union. As such they are eligible to nominate any worker to the National/Circle/SSA Council. The present arbitrary condition put by the Management that the nomination should be from the members of the particular recognised union is in violation of this common principle. Whether it is in Parliament or State Assembly, the ruling party has the authority to nominate any M.P. or MLA as Minister. It is with other elected bodies also.This basic principle can not be violated by BSNL Management. Till VII Membership Verification, such nominations from other unions were made and accepted. This practice should be restored. The plea of the Management that there is a court case pending is not acceptable, since the court has not directed the management not to accept such nominations. The only thing that the management has to do is to intimate the Court that it want to continue the earlier practice.
2. The National Council should be headed by CMD and all the Directors should be Members. This will facilitate quick decisions on the spot. This is the system in the National Council of CG Employees and was the system in the National JCM of DOT, where the Secretary DOT will be Chairman and all Members of Telecom Commission as Members.
2. The Standing Committee, which is to be held every two months to review the issues discussed in the National Council and pending, should be held regularly. This Committee should be headed by the Director (HR) to ensure decisions.
3. Those issues on which agreement could not be reached should be referred to arbitration or some such arrangements to be made.
4. At least one of the Directors of BSNL Board should be from the recognised union/s. This is part of the Workers’ Participation in Management. In a company which has got priority for customer satisfaction, this is very much necessary. In Nepal Telecommunications, one Director is nominated by the recognised union.
5. The Leader and Secretary of the Councils should be elected democratically. The present arbitrary decision of management that Leader and Secretary should be from BSNLEU and NFTE respectively or vice-versa is against the democratic principle. No such arbitrary decision is in the National Council JCM. No such restrictions were in BSNL National/Circle/SSA councils also till the VI Membership Verification. The Leader and Secretary are to be elected by the Staff Side only and not by Management.
6. Recognition Rules should be changed so that the % of votes are calculated on the polled votes, as in the case of Parliament, Assembly, Corporation Councils etc., instead of total votes, as being wrongly calculated in BSNL Membership Verification.
The above issues need to be discussed and settled.
In addition, the important problems like Wage, Revision, Bonus, 5 Promotions, Stagnation, Issues of BSNL appointed employees etc. are to taken up for settlement on a priority basis.
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