BSNL Casual and contract Workers Federation has filed a petition to the Chief Labour Commissioner, New Delhi today, 28th December 2011 on the issues of the Casual and Contract workers in BSNL. It includes the demand for regularisation of left out casual labour / TSM, wages of casual and contract labour, implementation of social security measures like EPF, ESI etc. Since the CLC was on leave, the petition was handed over to the Dy. Chief Labour Commissioner. The main issues were briefly told to the Dy. CLC and requested for a personal hearing with the CLC. The issue was eonce discussed with the CLC, who asked us to submit the details.

In this connection, all the district /Circle Secretaries are requested to intimate whether the minimum wage is being paid, EPF-ESI  are implemented etc. The number of the contract workers also may be intimated along with whether any casual/contract worker is being retrenched. This is urgently required to discuss the case.

Regular workers as well as casual/contract workers together have ensure that the right s of the casual/contract workers are implemented and not denied.

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December 15 th to January 14th is the time for enrolling new members for the purpose of deduction of union membership for  the non-executive employees. It is the time when all the unions approach the workers and try to get more and more membership.

BSNL Employees Union, during its recognition since 2005, have been continuously taking up the issues of the workers and have   settled a large number of issues. The good wage revision and the Promotion Policy negotiated and settled by the BSNLEU /United Forum have been much appreciated by the workers, even belonging to other unions as  the best agreements in the annals of the Telecom/BSNL employees history. A very good number of new members have also joined BSNLEU. This is the time once again to approach the workers and campaigning for getting additional membership. This is the time for propagating our issues and our approach to settlement of problems.

Our workers, especially at Branch and District level are requested to immediately start the campaign, if already not started and increase the membership. In the past, we have been able to increase our membership, even when more than 10,000 workers were retiring every year. We have to continue that process.

Let BSNLEU become more and more stronger, so that BSNL and its workers can be saved!

The Parliament starts debate on the Lok Pal Bill today amidst confusions and conflicts of interests. Though compelled by pressure from the successful fast of Anna Hazare and opposition parties, government was compelled to move, but it has cleverly brought the Lok Pal Bill o suit its requirements. The opposition parties are not happy and want amendments.

Anna Hazare is again on fast demanding a strong Lok Pal Bill.

What will be the outcome ? The people want a strong Lok Pal and also effective implementation so that the day-to-day harassment they face  at the corrupt babus and officers are stopped. The people want a corruption free governance.

To day is a happy day for BSNLEU and its workers.   The CHQ building is registered in the name of  KG Bose Memorial Trust today, 27th December 2011. It is a big achievement of the BSNLEU and a long dream fulfilled. My hearty Congratulations to the CHQ office-bearers as also the circle Secretaries, District Secretaries, Branch Secretaries and all members who have helped in collecting the money and making it possible to purchase the building.

But one more thing. The donations collected were not sufficient and bank loans to the tune of Rupees one and half crore has been taken. This has to be returned as early as possible  to avoid the high interests. I call upon all our workers to ensure that the appeal of the CHQ for additional collection is done and sent to CHQ at the earliest. Our members were always positive to the call of the CHQ and I hope for the same this time also.

Happy News! The inauguration of BSNLEU new building, which is proposed to be named ” K.G.Bose Bhawan” in memory of the revolutionary leader, Comrade K.G.Bose, will be inaugurated on 22nd March 2012, the 11th anniversary of BSNLEU formation at New Delhi. The Central Secretariat of the Union has also decided to hold a meeting of the Central Executive Committee at New Delhi on that date so that all the Central Executive Committee members can be present on the august occasion.

NPA or Non-Performing Asset is the elusive name given to the loans not returned to the banks by those who have taken it. These NPAs have been increasing every year. While the banks take  extra-ordinary effort to ensure that the loans taken by the common people are returned, in the case of big sharks who takes hundreds of crore of rupees as loan, many of them are not returned at all. This unreturned loan by the corporates and big business is the NPA.

Let us see how much is the NPAs of the Public Sector Banks during the last 5 years:

As on 31-3-2007             Rs. 38,968 crore

2008             Rs. 39,030 crore

2009             Rs. 44,954 crore

2010             Rs. 59,926 crore

2011              Rs. 74,614 crore

As at present, the NPA might have crossed Rs. 80,000 crore. A list of the NPAs will expose the fact that almost all the big business and corporates are in the NPA list. But still the government is compelling the Banks to give loan to the private companies fully knowing that the loan will not be returned. The latest example is the Prime Minister and Finance Minister exhorting the banks to bail out the  King Fischer  Airlines which is already in huge debt.

For the poor there is one rule and policy and for the rich another rule and policy. This is the UPA government!

Defence Department is a very important section as far as the security of the country is concerned. Under the Department of Defence there are 39 ordnance factories and 9 PSUs like HAL, Bharat Electronics, Hindustan Shipyard Ltd. etc. Arms, ammunitions,tanks, vehicles, aircrafts, radar and many other requirement of the defence services are produced in these ordnance factories and PSUs.  According to the policy adopted immediately after Independence, manufacture / production of the defence items were completely under the government due to its highly security concerns.

As part of the neo-liberalisation  policy of the government, it is proposing to privatise many of these crucial work at present being done by the department, ordnance factories and PSUs. There is much pressure from the MNCs and corporates to do so. Accordingly the government of India has adopted a Defence Production Policy under which the government is proposing larger involvement of the Indian private sector in design, development and manufacture of the defence equipments.

No doubt, this has got serious concern on the security of the country, especially in the present context when terrorists and extremists have become a threat to the country. The trade unions of the defence workers are fully aware of the same and have decided to oppose the implementation of privatisation policy in the defence sector. All the three major federations, All India Defence Employees Federation (AIDEF), Indian National Defence Workers Federation (INDWF) and Bharathiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh (BPMS) representing the 4 lakh defence civilian workers have joined together to fight against this privatisation move of the government. The National Convention against privatisation of Defence Production held at New Delhi on 3rd December, participated by more than 500 delegates have strongly opposed the privatisation move as well as increased FDI in defence sector and has decided to organise agitational programmes including strike. The Convention has also decided to participate in the 28th February general strike called by the Central Trade Unions.

Just like BSNL workers fighting to save BSNL, the Postal workers are in arms against the government to ensure that Postal service continues in the country. The Joint Council Of Action of Postal Unions with both NFPE and FNPO unions and others together have started a serious fight against the government’s move to close Post Offices, RMS Sorting Offices etc. The JCA  has called for an Indefinite Strike from 17th January. In preparation for the same, a Hunger Strike was organised before Dak Bhawan, the Head Quarters of the Department of Posts, today, 26th December. with all the Secretary Generals and General Secretaries in Postal side observing fast.

I went and greeted the leaders on hunger strike and expressed our support   and solidarity to their struggle. I also mentioned about the heroic struggles organised by the P&T workers in the past including the strikes in 1946, 1960, 1968 etc.  The attacks on the postal workers are similar to that of on the telecom workers, in fact on the entire working class in India and have to be fought against jointly.

Coms. M.Krishnan, SG, NFPE and Theagarajan, SG, FNPO and others thanked for the solidarity and support. I felt just like the old days when we were all together  in NFPTE,  in P&T Department.

BSNL management is expected to meet the recognised union representatives every three months by holding the National Council meeting and discussing the agenda items given by the Union. But since the last meeting held on 24th June 2011, no meeting has been held so far though it is more than 6 months. The agenda items have been given by the recognised union, BSNLEU, well in advance, but no date is fixed for the meeting. I was told that since the management is completely engrossed in sorting  out the ITS repatriation issue, no time could be found out for holding National council meeting.

If the reason for not holding the meeting is as mentioned above, to say the least, it is rubbish. Does the management wants all other issues to be kept pending or unattended till the ITS issue is sorted out? Does it mean that no activity is being conducted by the BSNL management other than the ITS issue? What is the direct connection between the ITS issue and the demands raised by the union in the National Council?

There can not be a sensible answer. What the management has to do is to hold the meeting of the National Council early and try to sort out the issues as early as possible, instead of delaying settlement of the justified demands of the workers an alienating them. I hope good sense will prevail upon the management.

I was going through an interesting report in today’s ( 26-12-2011) Economic Times with the headline ‘BSNL to tap into ITS Pool for filling up 700 posts’. It quotes from a top BSNL Executive (without disclosing name), “BSNL is to approve an emergency recruitment plan to cherry-pick some 700 senior  managers at the levels of DGM and above from the ITS Pool.”We will only target ITS officers in the first phase. In case the numbers prove hard to come by, we will have to take the more expensive route of poaching top industry talent from the private sector. ”

First of all let me state that I am not against ITS or anybody else working in BSNL. I respect the ITS like any other stream of workers and appreciate the good work that has been done for the telecom. Nobody can forget that when the ITS officer was being replaced by IAS  as Secretary, DOT , we were all there in support of the ITS. That do not bar me from analysing the present situation objectively.

The Economic Times report seems to be correct. BSNL management may be making efforts to bring back the ITS officers who have given good-bye to the company for which they worked for 11 years and got more salary and benefits than anybodyelse  in the company. If they were prepared to serve the company, why they have deserted it? If they quit for better prospects in Government, how they can come unless better prospects are offered in the BSNL? How BSNL can offer better prospects to ITS, when even the justified demands and entitlements of the absorbed employees are being denied by the management on the plea that company can not concede even their justified demands? How better benefits can be given when even the existing benefits are curtailed for the absorbed employees and even Bonus is denied? If those who left BSNL were so much capable, why the company has become loss making when they were in command? By bringing them back, whether the company is going to improve and how? What is the assurance that the “ITS Pool’ will not desert  again, when the company is in distress?

The BSNL management requires to answer these relevant questions before trying to ‘tap in to ITS Pool’.