Category Archives: Sustained struggles

Sustained Struggles to save BSNL -16 Indefinite Strike from 26th February 2008 deferred after discussion with DOT

27 Wednesday May 2020

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Indefinite Strike from 26th February 2008 deferred after discussion with DOT

Consequent to the serving of notice for indefinite strike wef 26th February, a meeting was called by DOT Secretary Shri Sidharth Behura on 19-02-2008, in which CMD BSNL Shri Kuldeep Goyal was also present. Com.V.A.N.Namboodiri, Convener JF and other leaders explained the demands of the strike and asked to settle the same.

The outcome of the discussion, as given in writing,  is narrated below:

  1. Disinvestment of BSNL: There is no immediate proposal for IPO/Disinvestment. Minister has also issued a press release on this.
  2. VRS Proposal: If the BSNL employees do not want VRS, no such scheme will be introduced.
  3. Withdrawal of DOT’s arbitrary orders on pension ( 60% – 40% ): The matter will be taken with the Cabinet.
  4. Uninterrupted supply of 2G, 3G Spectrum: This will be given preference. BSNL will be allotted 3G Spectrum.
  5. Ensure BSNL’s Financial viability: DOT Secretary stated that cabinet Note is under circulation and assured discussion with Minister and appropriate action will be taken for the same.
  6. Navaratna Status to BSNL: DPE shall forward the case for grant of Navaratna status to BSNL for consideration by apex body.
  7. Immediate absorption of Group A Officers: Matter is under active consideration of DOT. Draft Cabinet Note is under preparation and the final note will be prepared with 15-20 days.

To a question in the Parliament, the Minister of State for Communications and IT Shri Shakeel Ahmed stated that the government is not considering disinvestment of BSNL.

Strike postponed.

After the discussion with the Secretary DOT and CMD BSNL who assured immediate action on all the above matters, the joint Forum met and decided to defer the strike. ( ( To be continued )

Sustained Struggles to save BSNL -15 All India Protest day on 21st January 2008

24 Sunday May 2020

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All India Protest day on 21st January 2008

As per the call of the joint Forum, BSNL workers organized All India Protest Day on 21-01-2008 by wearing black badges and demonstrating in front of telephone exchanges and offices. Thousands of workers participated in these demonstrations giving a stern warning to the BSNL management of strike, if the demands raised by the JF are not settled.

Meeting with CMD on 23-01-2008

On the basis of the letter dated 23-01-2008 from the JF, the CMD BSNL Shri Kuldip Goyal called a meeting with the unions and discussed the following issues:
Immediate purchase of equipments, restoration of ADC to BSNL which was discontinued from 2008-09, early payment from USO Fund to BSNL, modernization and increasing of productivity of Telecom Factories, regular functioning of the Works Committees at SSAs, providing broadband connections without delay, increasing of market functions, eliminating wastage, strict action against corruption etc. The CMD agreed to take up the issues seriously. But no concrete decision was given.

Joint Forum calls for Indefinite Strike from 26-02-2008 against proposed disinvestment.
As per the decision of the JF, notice for indefinite strike w.e.f. 26th February 2008 was served on the BSNL Management and Secretary DOT on the following demands:

1. Drop disinvestment / IPO proposal of the government
2. Withdraw proposal for VRS in BSNL
3. Withdraw BSNL’s arbitrary order dated 15-06-2006 on pension contribution
4. Ensure uninterrupted supply of 2G and 3G equipments, additional 2G Spectrum as well as 3G Spectrum as agreed earlier
5. Ensure BSNL’s financial viability by continuing ADC, Reimbursement of Licence Fee and funds from USOF
6. Immediate grant of Navaratna status to BSNL
7. Immediate absorption of ITS Officers in BSNL.

The Strike Notice was signed by Comrades V.A.N.Namboodiri (BSNLEU), M.B.Vichare (NFTE BSNL), K.Vallinayagm (FNTO), G.L.Jogi (SNEA), K.Sathyanarayanan (AIBSNLEA), V.Subburaman (TEPU), V.Narayana (BSNLMS), S.P.Sharma (BSNLWRU), V.R.Venugopal (BTEU), A.D.Patil (AIBCTES), R.S.Yadav (ATM), Hari Singh (BTU) and Subhash Gaur (BSNLOA). Wide publicity was given to the demands and strike call through issue of pamphlets, wall posters, press statements etc. Full preparations were being made for the indefinite strike. (To be continued)

Sustained Struggles to save BSNL -14 Dharna by BSNL workers on 11th October 2007

23 Saturday May 2020

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Dharna by BSNL workers on 11th October 2007

As per the call of the Joint Forum, massive dharnas were organized on 11th October 2007 in all SSAs protesting against undue delay in procuring GSM lines, Non-grant of Navaratna status to BSNL, absorption of ITS / Group A Officers in BSNL and pension issues.
In Delhi, the dharna was organized in front of the Corporate Office, Bharat Sanchar Bhawan, participated by hundreds of workers. Com.V.A.N.Namboodiri, Convener JF and GS BSNLEU, K.Vallinayagam, Thomas John (FNTO), M.B.Vichare (NFTE), Prahlad Rai (AIBSNLEA), A.A.Khan (SNEA), V.Subburaman (TEPU) and other leaders addressed. Thousands of workers participated in the dharna at Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Patna and other centres.

Protest against 20% IPO / Disinvestment in BSNL

Reacting to the proposal of 20% IPO/Disinvestment in BSNL by the government, Joint Forum immediately issued a Press Statement on 25-11-2007, opposing the same and cautioning the government that the workers will go on agitation, if any such move is acted upon.

Joint Forum meets Secretary DOT on 26th November 2007

Leaders of the Joint Forum met Shri D.S.Mathur, Secretary DOT on 26th November 2007 and discussed important issues like ITS absorption, Allotment of additional 2G Spectrum as well as 3G Spectrum, Grant of Navaratna status to BSNL, Opposition to 20% IPO /Disinvestment in BSNL and Bonus for DOT employees. Convener, JF and representatives of BSNLEU, SNEA, FNTO, AIBSNLEA, NFTE, BSNLMS, and TEPU participated.
Since the government was moving forward with the disinvestment / IPO proposal, the Joint Forum urgently met on 15th January 2008 and decided to organize agitational programmes against the same. It was decided to observe an All India Protest day on 21st January 2008 by wearing black badges and conducting demonstrations at Circle/District/Branch levels. (To be continued)

Sustained Struggles to save BSNL -12 Move to impose VRS defeated

18 Monday May 2020

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Move to impose VRS defeated

Shri A,K,Sinha, then outgoing CMD BSNL,  told the media on 31-07-2007 that BSNL management was proposing to bring in Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) to send out 20,000 employees. This was strongly opposed by the Joint Forum and a strong protest letter was sent to the CMD against the proposal. This was the second time that the management was mooting the idea. It was first brought in 2003, which was agreed to by the then recognized union NFTE, but which was dropped later by the strong opposition of the new recognized union BSNLEU in 2005.

Protest Demonstration on 9th August 2007 against VRS

BSNL employees organized massive demonstrations on 9th August against the proposed VRS demanding that the anti-worker proposal be dropped.

Meeting with the CMD on 10-08-2007

The newly appointed CMD Shri Kuldeep Goyal met the leaders of the Joint Forum on 10-08-2007. The main issue was the proposal for VRS to 20,000 workers, which the unions strongly opposed. After detailed discussion, the CMD assured that no VRS will be implemented without discussing with the unions. Thus the second wave of VRS was also defeated. ( To be continued)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sustained Struggles to save BSNL -11 The Historic Strike of 11th July 2007

17 Sunday May 2020

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The Historic Strike of 11th July 2007

As decided by the Joint Forum and call given, the strike started at 00.00 hours on 11th July 2007. The strike was an unprecedented success with close to 100% participation by workers and officers. The entire workforce rose up as one man to ensure that BSNL survives. It was a wakeup call for the government as well as the BSNL management. The 11th July strike was almost total by nearly 3,40,00 executives and non-executives. All BSNL offices, including telephone exchanges, telegraph offices etc. remained closed. It was for the first time that such a total strike took place since the formation of BSNL. It was also for the first time that all the executives except the ITS officers (who were mostly officers on deputation from DOT) were on strike in BSNL.

The strike was also complete in the BSNL Corporate Office, which was housed in the rented Statesman Building. The union leaders went from floor to floor and section to section and ensured that everybody is on strike. It was a sea of workers in the compound with more than one thousand attending to the speeches of the leaders of the JF.
The fact that the strike was called at short notice did not have any adverse impact on the strike. It was as if the workers were mentally prepared for a serious action on the issue. They wanted that BSNL should not be torpedoed by the government or the top management. The existence of BSNL was a life and death issue for the BSNL workers.
After the strike

All the newspapers and TV channels prominently gave the strike news. The cancellation of the 4.55 crore mobile tender was criticized severely. News was well covered in national newspapers – Political and Business Daily, Hindu, National Herald, Indian Express, Times of India, Business Line, Economic Times etc. The Economic Times wrote an editorial supporting the cause of the workers.

The Times of India in its report dated 18th July appreciated the BSNL Unions for their constructive activism as follows: “BSNL Unions, working to pull BSNL out of the grip of political pressures are attracting growing respect for their constructive activism.”
A letter from Shri S.Rajagopalan, former CMD MTNL, published in the Business Line dated 12th July stated: “Heartening is the principled stand taken by the BSNL Employees Union which has realized the danger to the future if the tender is delayed.”

Immediately after the strike, the Communications Minister met the Joint Forum again and assured that action will be taken to purchase GSM lines as also additional orders will be issued as soon as spectrum policy is announced and bandwidth allotted to BSNL.

The strike had its own impact. Matters moved fast. While it was to take much time to furnish the report to the Communications Minister and decision by him, the entire process was completed within one week and the Advance Purchase Order (APO) was issued. However, the APO was only for 2.275 crore (50% of the earlier tender) mobile lines and the higher technology 3G portion was not included, to save the face of the Minister. The Joint Forum strongly protested on both these counts. (To be continued)

Sustained Struggles to save BSNL -10 Strike on 11th July 2007 for 4.55 crore mobile lines

14 Thursday May 2020

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Strike on 11th July 2007 for 4.55 crore mobile lines

Despite the demand of the Joint Forum and agitational programmes, there was no move to purchase mobile equipment as per the tender approved. Justifying the decision to cancel the tender Communications Minister Sri A.Raja issued the following statement:
“I will not allow BSNL to purchase 4.55 million cellular lines at the rates quoted by the lowest bidder. The rates are too high. If BSNL goes ahead with the tender in the current form and award L-1, the APO will be paying close to Rs.10,000 crore more unnecessarily. A delay was unavoidable in the circumstances. It is important to correct mistakes at any stage even if it holds up development.
It is surprising Motorola, one of the leaders in the world Telecommunication equipments and a firm that supplies 2G and 3G equipments to MTNL, cannot qualify technically.”
The intervention to stop the tender by the Minister was completely unjustified and against the interest BSNL. Further there was no justification to compare the rates with that of purchased by MTNL, since the present tender were for equipments with higher technical standards.
If the tender was delayed or cancelled, BSNL will be out of race in the mobile market and will cause loss of many thousands of crores of rupees. In fact, BSNL will become almost irrelevant in the mobile sector.
Sensing the deep crisis going to follow, the Joint Forum met and decided to bring the same to the notice of the Government. Thousands of telegrams were sent to the Prime Minister and Communications Minister demanding immediate action to allow BSNL to purchase the equipments. It was also decided to organize the following action programmes culminating in strike, it suitable action is not taken by the government.
1. Badge wearing demonstration in front of exchanges / offices on 5th July 2007 onwards.
2. Massive Dharnas before offices/exchanges on 9th and 10th July 2007.
3. One Day Strike on 11th July 2007, which will be converted in to Indefinite Strike, if the issues are not settled.
The demonstrations and dharnas were enthusiastically and with maximum participation of workers, organized throughout the country. Workers rose to the occasion. It was a warning that if the issue is not settled workers will go on strike.
Strike Notice for 11th July 2007 was served on the BSNL Management and DOT signed by General Secretaries of the following unions/associations:
V.A.N.Namboodiri (BSNLEU), Convener JF, M.B.Vichare (NFTE), K.Vallinayagam (FNTO), V.Narayana (BSNLMS), Prahlad Rai (AIBSNLEA), G.L.Jogi (SNEA), S.P.Sharma (BSNLWRU),S.V.S.Subrahmanyam(BTEU) and V.Subburaman (TEPU).
Meeting with the Minister on 9-10 July 2007.
Communications Minister, A.Raja met the JF leaders and had detailed discussions on 9th and 10th July on the demands of the unions. Secretary DOT, D.S.Mathur and CMD BSNL along with Board members were present. The Minister gave certain assurances and it was further assured that it will be conveyed to the Convener JF in writing.
But the letter received from the DOT dated 10th July to Convener JF vague and not satisfactory as can be seen below:
“Govt. of India, Ministry of Communications and IT, Department of telecommunications, 20 Ashoka Road, Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi dated 10th July 2007.
To, Shri V.A.N.Namboodiri, Convener of Joint Forum of BSNL Unions/Associations of Non-Executives and Executives and General Secretary BSNL Employees Union, New Delhi.
Sub: Notice for Dharna on 9th and 10th July 2007 before offices/exchanges at all levels and one day strike on 11th July 2007.
1. This has reference to the meeting taken by Hon’ble MOC and IT on 10th July 2007 with the representatives of Joint Forum of BSNL on the above mentioned subject.
2. During the meeting, various concerns of BSNL employees were deliberated in detail. After the discussions, the following decisions emerged:
• BSNL will give its response to all the queries raised within a week’s time (This has already been communicated to you vide BSNL letter No. BSNL/39/7/SR/2007 dated 10th July 2007).
• MOC and IT expressed his concern about BSNL and assured that while taking a decision on response of BSNL, interest f BSNL will be protected.
• During the intervening period till receipt of supplies under the tender, appropriate steps will be taken to ensure that BSNL does not suffer due to lack of new work capacity.
• Serious efforts will be made so that BSNL remain in full readiness to utilize the benefits of technological evolution in 2G/3G/Wi-Max etc.
• In view of the above, you are requested to withdraw the strike on 11th July 2007.

(Sd) D.S.Mathur, Secretary, DOT. “
The Forum was not satisfied with the letter, since no concrete decision was given to purchase the equipment on the basis of the tender and conveyed the same to the Minister.
Another meeting with the Minister.
The Minister held another meeting with the JF in the night of 10th July, only hours before the proposed strike, in an effort to resolve the issue. While the Minister stood by whatever was assured in the morning, but was not prepared to put in writing.
JF meets and decides for Strike
The JF met immediately in the late night and discussed the developments in detail. The Joint Forum decided to go ahead with the strike decision, since the demands have not been accepted. Immediately, the JF issued Circulars and press releases, which gave wide publicity to the strike. (To be continued)

Sustained Struggles to save BSNL -9 Indian Telegraph Act 1986 amended to favour private telcos.

12 Tuesday May 2020

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Indian Telegraph Act 1986 amended to favour private telecos.

As per ITA 1986, only the government is entitled to provide telegraph (later telecom) services. Private telecom companies have already appeared in the field after amendment. In order to give licences to them to get assistance from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), which was only being paid to BSNL and MTNL, the Act was again amended. It has been later proved that a major portion of USOF went to the private telcos. Telecom Unions strongly objected the amendment.

Agitational programmes on sharing of BSNL and MTNL infrastructure.

The JF of BSNL and MTNL Unions / Associations organized a Telegram campaign by sending thousands of telegrams by its units all over the country to the Prime Minister on 26-04-2007 demanding that TRAI recommendations on sharing of BSNL and MTNL infrastructure to the private companies should be dropped and not implemented. Massive protest demonstrations were organized on 04-05-2007 on the same issue at divisional levels.
Again during the period from 12th 18th June 2007, one week relay dharna was organized with good participation in all places.

Memorandum to the Communications Minister

A Memorandum was submitted by the Joint Forum to Shri A.Raja, Communications Minister, on the major issues like immediate tender for mobile lines and improving the services of BSNL and MTNL. It also demanded that the tender for 4.55 crore mobile lines which was pending due to court cases filed by the private telecom companies like Motorola and which has now been cleared by the court should be immediately acted upon and the mobile lines purchased. Advance Purchasing Order can be issued in this matter. If the government was going to cause delay in the matter, the unions/associations will be compelled to go on continued agitation.
The Memorandum was signed by V.A.N.Namboodiri (BSNLEU) and Convener of JF, M.B.Vichare(NFTE), K.Vallinayagam(FNTO), G.L.Jogi(SNEA), Prahlad Rai (AIBSNLEA), V.Narayana (BSNLMS), S.V.S.Subramanyam(BTEU BSNL), Dhiraj Chaudhary(SNATTA),Satyavir Singh(MTNL MKU), Ram Prasad(MTNL KU),R.C.Chadha(MTNL SC/ST TEWA), Inder Dev Singh(MTNL MS) and S.P.Sharma(BSNLWRU).
(To be continued)

Sustained Struggles to save BSNL -8 Historic Parliament March on 3 August 2006 by BSNL and MTNL Workers

09 Saturday May 2020

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Historic Parliament March on 3 August 2006 by BSNL and MTNL Workers

As decided earlier, a Parliament March on3rd August 2006 was organized at New Delhi. It was, to say the least, historic in all senses. More than 12 thousand workers from BSNL and MTNL participated. The mobilization was mainly from MTNL and nearby circles of BSNL. But workers from all circles were also present. The workers led by the leaders of the Joint Forum of BSNL and MTNL Unions/Associations started the March from the Eastern Court premises where the offices of both MTNL and BSNL are functioning. The March went through the Jantar Mantar place, but was stopped in front of the parliament Police station, where barricades have been erected.
The massive rally was held there itself. The rally was inaugurated by Com. Sitaram Yechury, M.P., who demanded the government to agree to the very reasonable demands of the workers, which were in favour of the Nation itself. Coms. Basudev Acharya, M.P., Tapan Sen M.P, Roop Chand Pal M.P. addressed the rally and extended support. Coms. V.A.N.Namboodiri, Convener JF, V.K.Tomar, O.P.Gupta , G.L.Jogi, Prahlad Rai, K.Vallinayagam, V.Subburaman, Suresh Kumar and other leaders addressed the rally.
This was one of the biggest rallies organized by the MTNL and BSNL workers in Delhi. It had its impact on the DOT and the government.
Pension issue – Meeting with the Secretary DOT on 6 Sept. 2006
The leaders of the joint Forum of BSNL/MTNL Unions/Associations met Shri D.S.Mathur, Secretary DOT on 6th September 2006 and discussed the various issues connected with Pension, CGHS etc.
1. Pension – The unions brought to the notice of the Secretary DOTabout the latest orders of the DOT directing BSNL to pay the pension of the BSNL employees, if it exceeds more than 60% of the payments by BSNL to the government, including dividend, licence fee, corporate tax etc. which is in utter violation of Rule 37-A and earlier orders of DOT that pension will be paid by the government. DOT Secretary assured that the matter will be re-examined.
2. CGEGIS Refund – Secretary DOT stated that the files are already with the Finance Ministry and he will speak to Secretary Finance for speeding up the payment.
3. DOT Secretary also assured that the meeting of BSNL and DOT Officers will be held shortly to discuss about the issues referred to by BSNL to DOT which were raised by the unions in the earlier meeting on 7th August 2006.
After the meeting with the DOT, the JF met CMD BSNL Shri A.K.Sinha on the same day and strongly opposed the proposal for sharing of infrastructure with the private companies. He assured to reexamine the issue. (to be continued)