Category Archives: BSNLEU

Grand reception to Com.P.Abhimanyu, GS, BSNLEU

07 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by in BSNLEU

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

7th January 2014 was an extra-ordinary day for the BSNLEU comrades in T.Nadu and Chennai. They were organising a massive reception to Com.P.Abhimanyu, General Secretary, BSNLEU on his superannuation from service after a meritorious service of 39 years in DOT/BSNL.
The entire hall of Kamarajar Arangam, Chennai was full with many comrades standing outside eagerly awaiting to hear the speakers.The function was jointly organised by the Circle Unions of T.Nadu and Chennai.

There were two functions. The first was a Seminar on Revival of BSNL. it started at about 14.00 hours presided jointly by Com. K.Marimuthu and Com.S.Yogalingam, Presidents of the T.Nadu and Chennai Circles respectively. Com. S.Chellappa, Circle Secretary, BSNLEU, T.Nadu Circle welcomed all. Com.V.A.N.Namboodiri, President BSNLEU and Convener, Forum of BSNL Unions/Associations, inaugurated the Convention.S/Shri A.N.Rai, Director (HR) BSNL, M.Asraf Khan, CGM, T.Nadu,A.Balasubramanian, CGM, Chennai and Com.P.Abhimanyu addressed. All the speakers emphasised the need to strengthen BSNL and provide a better service to the customers.Com.K.Govindarajan, Circle Secretary, Chennai proposed vote of thanks.

The Second function was a Reception to Com.P.Abhimanyu, GS, BSNLEU, on his retirement from service. This was also presided over by the two Circle Presidents. Com. Abhimanyu was felicitated by Coms. A.K.Padmanabhan, President, CITU, P.S.Sampath, President, T.Nadu Theendamai Ozhippu Munnani, V.A.N.Namboodiri, President, BSNLEU, K.Vallinayagam (FNTO), R.K.(NFTE), V.Subburaman (TEPU), R.Ravindran (SEWA BSNL), R.Pattabhiraman (NFTE), M.Gobinathan (SNEA), Sunderarajan (SNEA), Swaminathan (AIIEA) Sivakumar (AIBSNLEA), V.P.Indira (BSNLEU), Punitha udayakumar, VP, BSNLEU, P.Andiappan (FNTOBEA) C.K.Narasimhan (AIBDPA), M.Murugaiah (BSNLCCWF), S.Chellappa, CS BSNLEU and K.Govondaraj, CS BSNLEU.
Com.P.Abhimanyu, GS BSNLEU replied to the felicitation. The family of Com. Abhimanyu was also felicited.
Com. Babu Radhakrishnan ACS proposed vote of thanks.
Both the programmes were organised in a very successful manner.

Coms. P.Abhimanyu, GS, R.L.Moudgil, AGS and P.V.Kandpal, CS, Uttarakhand retire today

31 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by in BSNLEU

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

Three senior leaders of BSNLEU are retiring today, 31st December 2013, from service on superannuation after, meritorious service of more than three and half decades. They are Com. P.Abhimanyu, General Secretary, R.L.Moudgil, AGS and Com. P.C.Kandpal, CS Uttarakhand.
All these three leaders have been in the forefront of the union activities for a very long period, strengthened the organisation, sacrificed themselves for the cause of the workers and are still in top positions in BSNLEU. They are the leading lights of the movement.

I wish all these three comrades a very Happy Family Life as also very active leadership role in the days to come, not only in BSNLEU but also in the movement of the toiling masses and the common people!

Red Salute Comrades, on this day when you retire from the service on superannuation!

BSNLEU Meeting at Salem

31 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by in BSNLEU

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

A well attended meeting of BSNLEU was held at Telephone Exchange premises,Salem on 30th December 2013. The meeting was presided over by Com. Tamil Mani,President of the District Union. Comrade E.Gopal, District Secretary, BSNLEU,welcomed all. Coms. V.Narayanasamy, Asst. Circle secretry, BSNLEU, Com.Alagiri, District Secretary, Dharmapuri, Com. Baskar, District Secretary, BSNLCCWF, Com. P.Krishnamurthy, District Secretary TEPU, Com. Madusamy District President SEWA BSNL and other leaders addressed. Com. P.Ramasamy, senior leader of the P and T TU movement was present on the dais.
The meeting was held at short notice to utilise the opportunity of the family visit of Com. V.A.N.Namboodiri, President, BSNLEU and BSNLCCWF at Yercaud, near Salem. Com. VAN, before his speech, inaugurated the website, bsnleusalem@blogspot.in, of the District Union in the Union office. Com. VAN was given a hearty welcome by the house. The District Union handed over Rs.15,000 to Com.Namboodiri towards Donation to KG Bose Bhawan Fund.
Com. Namboodiri paid homage to the memory of the recently departed senior BSNLEU leaders Com. S.R.Nayak, Circle Secretary, MP Circle, T.S.Rajan, former Dy. General Secretary and Circle Secretary T.Nadu of T.III Union and Com. D.Purkayastha, AGS of BSNLEU. Since the time was short, he answered the questions raised and clarifications sought for by the participants with regard to stagnation of pay of RMs, wage deduction of post-2007 recruitees, the retirement benefits of BSNL recruited employees, 78.2% for pensioners, modifications to NEPP, declaration of results of JTO in T.Nadu Circle, next wage revision and many other points and the action taken by BSNLEU to settle the issues.
He explained in detail about the issues of the casual and contract workers and the action taken by the BSNLEU and BSNLCCWF. It was reported by the District Secretaries that the minimum wage on the basis of the unskilled, semiskilled, skilled etc. are not being paid. President assured that this will be taken up with the management.
The problems of the Pensioners and the need to fight against the anti-worker PFRDA Act were explained.
The urgent need to strengthen BSNL and to provide a better service to the Nation and the efforts made by BSNLEU and the Forum of BSNL Unions/Associations in this connection was pointed out. He congratulated the management and workers for making the Salem district a profitable one. He thanked the workers and leaders of Salem for the hearty reception. Com. M. Narayanasamy, gave a brief account of the speech in Tamil.

Reception Committee formed to conduct BSNLEU CEC meeting at Rajkot.

27 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by in BSNLEU

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

The Central Executive Committee meeting of BSNLEU is being held Rajkot (Gujarat) on 7th 8th and 9th February, 2014. The Gujarat Circle Union and the Rajkot District Union are taking all out efforts to conduct the CEC meeting successfully. To effectively plan and conduct the meeting, a reception Committee has been formed, of which com.P.K.Thakkar is the Chairman, com.D.K.Bakutra is the General Secretary and com.N.J.Desai is the Treasurer. All CEC members are requested to attend the meeting without fail. (Courtesy: BSNLEU website)

2014 will be the year of sustained struggle for the cause of the Casual/Contract workers in BSNL

26 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by in BSNLCCWF - Casual and Contract workers, BSNLEU

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

The Central Executive Committee Meeting of the BSNL Casual and Contract Workers Federation is going to be held at Bhubaneswar on 18-19 January 2014. The Reception Committee is making all out efforts to make the CEC Meeting a big success.
During the last few years, BSNLEU and BSNLCCWF has been on the campaign all over India for strengthening the union as also making maximum efforts for settling the issues of casual and contract workers. While there is improvement in the payment of minimum wage etc. in many places, the condition is not at all satisfactory in may centres. While the Corporate office of BSNL issued clear cut circulars and many reminders for the implementation of minimum wage and social security measures like EPF/ESI at the field level there is stiff opposition from the part of contractors and some times management for implementing them. Struggles are taking place in many places even at this moment.
The Regularisation of the Casual workers who are toiling for the BSNL for the last so many years still are pending due to the adamant attitude of the BSNL Management that regularisation can not be given in view of the Supreme Court judgement. The fact that as per the instructions of DOPT many departments have already regularised many casual workers despite the SC judgement is well known to the BSNL management. The fact is that the management does not want to regularise. The payscale of casual labours are still based on the minimum scale of the DOT Group D employees. It has not been brought on par with the minimum pay of the BSNL employees.
Many of the leaders, circle secretaries and District Secretaries are retrenched for union activities. The Management is taking a negative attitude in this matter.
These and other crucial issues are still pending causing innumerable loss to the casual and contract workers.
This issue will be foremost in the discussions at Bhubaneswar CEC meeting. Certain agitational programmes like Corporate Office March, Strike etc will have to be organised.
For the above, the BSNLCCWF has to be strengthened and expanded. The organisation has not been formed in some circles till now. BSNLEU Circle Secretaries and District Secretaries are requested to take special interest in the matter. The CEC meeting of BSNLEU had already decided that BSNLCCWF should be formed in all circles, where it has not been formed, before the next CEC. THIS HAS GOT TO BE DONE. THIS IS THE IMMEDIATE TARGET.

Increase the Membership – Strengthen BSNLEU

21 Saturday Dec 2013

Posted by in BSNLEU

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

,

The period between 15th December and 15th January and also 15th June to 15th July every year is the time when new members are got enrolled and submitted to the BSNL Management for the purpose of deduction of membership from the salary of the official and remitted to the union. This practice has been going through the last 11 years, after the Membership Verification in BSNL has started 11 years back.
The deduction of subscription was only limited to the recognised union at the initial stage. Later on the demand of certain unions, the then Communications Minister directed that deduction be done in the case of all applicant unions. So, at present all the 18 applicant unions in the VI Membership Verification are granted the facility of deduction of membership from the salary.
When only the recognised union was allowed this facility, there was undue compulsion on the workers to subscribe to it. The United Forum of BSNL Unions constituted under the initiative of BSNLEU and faced the membership verification together and got recognition from the II Verification in 2004, the deduction of membership of these unions were done through BSNLEU, which remitted the same to the concerned unions. However, there were a few disputes at the local levels between BSNLEU and its allies on the calculation of the membership, but they were smoothly settled at the all Indi level. Once the applicant unions were allowed the deduction from salary, this problem was settled.
The Membership of a Union and the votes it gets in the verification varies. Sometimes you get fewer votes than membership and sometimes more. It depends on so many factors, mainly on the performance of the concerned union. Another factor is the % of members who vote.
Increasing the membership is an important factor for each and every union. The one month period during June-July and December-January is maximum utilised by the unions for this purpose. BSNLEU is not different.
BSNLEU had a tradition of increasing its membership, even when the number of non-executives were being reduced through retirement and no recruitment. BSNLEU which had only about 60,000 members at the time of formation in 2001, gradually increased the membership to about 1,40,000 – 1,45,000 at its peak. But the drastic retirement of about 10,000 – 15,000 employees in every year for the last few years also saw a reduction in membership, which at present is about 1,00,000 to 1,10,000. The membership of all the unions has been reduced similarly.
BSNL Employees Union, whether it was recognised or not recognised, has done yeomen service to the cause of the workers all along. The Unions, which merged and formed BSNLEU after formation of BSNL, were the progressive section of workers, which fought against privatization of services, corporatisation and anti-worker policies of the government. The struggles organised under the National Action Committee in the 1990s were historic. While the then recognised unions, NFTE and FNTO, compromised with the DoT on many issues, including restructuring, reduction of staff, ban on recruitment etc. the correct trade union path was displayed by the NAC.
After the formation of BSNL, BSNLEU took a pivotal role and ensured a beneficial wage conversion from the CDA to IDA w.e.f. from 01-10-2000. After getting recognition from 2004 onwards, BSNLEU through discussion and also struggles settled a list of long pending demands. The Wage Revision Agreement from 01-01-2007 was a record itself, which benefitted the workers in a big way and brought the pay scales to equal or more than many profit making PSUs. The NEPP, ensuring 4 time bound promotions to every non-executives in their service, was another historical achievement. The achievement of BSNLEU and United Forum is well known to the workers and need no elaboration at this stage.
Of course, there are still many urgent problems to be settled like the stagnation of pay, reduction of pay to those appointed after 01-01-2007, retirement / pension benefits of BSNL appointed employees, wage revision anomalies etc. The recent notice for strike by BSNLEU and the resultant negotiation has opened the door for the settlement of some of these issues. Maximum effort is being made by BSNLEU for early settlement of these.
The sustained struggle under the Joint Action Committee, Joint Forum/Forum of BSNL Unions Associations against privatisation, disinvestment, VRS and also for strengthening BSNL and improving its services have been appreciated by not only BSNL workers, but workers in other PSUs also. BSNLEU can take pride that it has taken a pivotal role in forming the JAC as also in the sustained struggles.`
BSNLEU is approaching the workers with these achievements made already and the demands it has put forward for settlement. Leaders and workers of BSNLEU at all levels have to take the Membership Campaign in a serious way and meet all the workers and try to get more and more membership. We have to remember that a strong and united organization alone can bring benefits to the workers.
Let us make the Membership Campaign a great success! BSNLEU Zindabad!

Statue of Com.KG Bose will be installed at KG Bose Bhawan on 11th December 2013

10 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by in BSNLEU

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

A statue of Com. K.G.Bose, the Revolutionary Leader of the Central Govt. and P and T employees, will be installed at KG Bose Bhawan, New Delhi on 11th December 2013, on his 39th Death Anniversary. The Statue is being donated by the W.Bengal Circle, BSNLEU.

BSNLEU has shown that it implements what it preaches. The All India Conference at Thiruvananthapuram in 2010 decided to have own building for BSNLEU CHQ at New Delhi and within the next AIC at Ludhiana in 2012, a suitable building was purchased and inaugurated in the presence of a large number of leaders and workers. A meeting of the Central Secretariat was also held there.

Now the statue of Com. K.G.Bose is being installed at KG Bose Bhawan. It is only appropriate that W.Bengal Circle union has taken the responsibility to donate the same. This will be inaugurated on 11th December 2013, on the 39th death anniversary of Com.KG.
Leaders and workers in large numbers are expected to be present.

CLC Conciliation on Ghaziabad issue on 18th November 2013.

17 Sunday Nov 2013

Posted by in BSNLEU, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, ,

The Chief Labour Commissioner has called the concerned Unions and the BSNL authorities for conciliation on the agitation declared by the unions demanding that the culprits in the murder of Sukhendra Pal Singh, DS, BSNLEU, be arrested and suspended etc. The next meeting is fixed on 18th November at 1100 in the office of the CLC.
In the last meeting of the Conciliation, it was stated by the Unions that the culprit, GM Ghaziabad, is not even attending the office and is sitting some where and doing a mockery of work. Evidence was also given for the same. Anyhow, the GM has now been transferred out of Ghaziabad.
The government / BSNL should take immediate further action against the GM and other culprits.

Two Comrades who contributed their mite to the Union – Coms. JR and AR Tak

11 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by in BSNLEU

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, ,

Yesterday, 10th November 2013, I received calls from two senior comrades who have contributed a lot to the P and T / Telecom Trade union movement. They called to enquire about my health after hearing about my hospitalisation and treatment.

One was Com. J.Renganathan, Senior Comrade from Chennai, who was formerly the All India Vice-President of AITE Union Class III, Circle Secretary of AITE Union Class III, Chennai and a leader who was always in the forefront fighting against the revisionist leadership in NFPTE/NFTE. He had to face severe victimisation in connection with the various struggles/strikes that had taken place since 1960 Indefinite strike. After voluntary retirement, he continued the trade union and political tasks assigned to him. He was the editor of the ‘Uzhaikkum Varkem'(Working Class), the monthly magazine of the Trade Unions in T.Nadu. Still he is very active in the political and TU activities.

Comrade JR, as he is fondly called, Com M.N.Reddy, formerly Circle Secretary of AITE Union Class III, Hyderabad and later AGS of E.III Union elected at Bhopal AIC in 1991 and myself were a team which actively propagated against the revisionist policy of the OP Gupta leadership for years continuously, till at last OPG and team were defeated in Bhopal AIC. The leader was of course Com. K.G.Bose and after his death Com. Moni Bose. There were thousands of active workers who fought and sacrificed for the correct policy in the union. In all the AICs and by tour we worked hard to bring the workers to the correct approach and won at last at Bhopal AIC.

The second Comrade who contacted me was Com. A.R.Tak from Jammu and Kashmir. I met him after Bhopal AIC and when AITEU Class III (N) was formed. We had no connection in J and K. But during one of the AIC we met and he was fully in agreement that we should form AITEU III (N) in Kashmir. Accordingly meeting was held in Srinagar and our union was formed. He was the Circle Secretary and also was an office-bearer at All India. A very mature person with good relations with all the workers, he is liked by all. After a few years as Circle Secretary, he handed over the post to the present Circle Secretary, stating that he is a very capable and active leader. Even after vacating the post, he is continuously in touch with the movement. Our families are also very close having visited at Srinagar and at New Delhi.

I am thankful to both the comrades for contacting and enquiring about my health. Their calls made me remember the old days when we worked together to strengthen the organisation. Thank you comrades.

Kerala Circle Conference of BSNLEU

04 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by in BSNLEU

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

,

The Circle Conference of BSNL Employees Union, Kerala Circle will be held from 6th to 8th November 2013 at Kottayam. This time, due to ill-health, I am not in a position to attend the same.
It is for the first time since 1961 that I am missing the Kerala circle Conference. As many old comrades may remember, the Kerala Circle unions of NFPTE were formed in 1960, bifurcated from Madras Circle. The first conference of the P and T Unions was jointly held at Trivandrum. I was a delegate both to the E.III Union as Branch Secretary and E.IV Union as President. The first Conference was a historical one with the very important decisions taken in the Conference.
The three most important decisions taken were: 1) The NFPTE Unions in Kerala will hold the Circle Conferences jointly at the same place. 2) The Circle Union Offices of all the unions will function together and 3) A Joint journal for the P and T Unions will be published. Accordingly P and T House functioned as the Circle HQ, Kampithapal was the organ of the P and T Co-ordinating Committee and the Circle Conference were jointly held. This system continued till BSNL was formed in 2000.
It was a pleasure to meet hundreds of leading comrades together who built up the strong P and T movement in Kerala. After formation of BSNL Employees Union also, I used to attend all the Circle Conferences. This time I will be missing all the comrades who attend the Conference, since i will not be able to attend. I now remember that I was elected as the Circle Secretary of the AITEU Class III, Kerala in the Circle Conference held at Kottayam in 1978.
All my Best Wishes for the success of the Conference. My Fraternal greetings to all the delegates and Comrades present.