11th October – a grim reminder of the US – India Nuclear colloboration

10 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Neo-liberal policy

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It is 4 years now after the Indian government made the Nuclear Agreement with the US, which almost saw the collapse of the UPA-I government.  The government could survive only due to money power and unethical political manovures. The Left parties which were supporting the government withdrew their support protesting against the dangerous treaty with US, which almost put India as a subordinate ally of the US. During the four years, we have seen many agreements between India and US on military purchases, military and navy exercises etc. which is gradually erasing the non-aligned status of the country which was nurtured by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and later. India’s oil purchase from Iran, which was very favourable to India is gradually eroding due to pressure from US. Economic reforms are introduced by the Manmohan Singh to suit the requirement of the MNCs and capitalist countries.

All these have happened and are happening continuously. The Nuclear Deal signed on 11th October has speeded up all these pro-MNC, Pro-US measures. The people and political parties are realising the grave situation and there are rumblings in all the opposition parties and even UPA- allies on all these.

The next two years are very important in the political life of India. It has to be seen whether the people will be able to unite and fight against the anti-people policies and defeat it.

BSNL and MTNL should be given free spectrum

10 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in BSNL - Better Service to the Nation

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Government should honour its commitment to the BSNL and MTNL with regard to the safeguarding the financial viability of both the companies.  BSNL/MTNL and its government department, DOT, have been providing the telecom services for more than one century installing a net work all over India with much difficulty and hardship. Even now it is only BSNL which provides the large network of landlines in the rural areas. It is not for profit that these services are provided, it is for fulfilling the obligation of the government to provide universal service. BSNL and MTNL can not be compared with the private telcos whose only motive is profit and more profit.  They evade payment of taxes, cheat the government, goes to courts and TDSAT now and then to get more concession, utilise the political bosses to get special consideration etc. Almost every time they succeeds in these manoeuvres. But the PSUs are neglected by everybody. Even its management evades arguing for its cause fearing the disapproval of the higher-ups, the government. This situation should change. BSNL and MTNL should be given special consideration in all respects. Not only that their interests are not ignored, they should be given special consideration.

The workers have also a role. Continuous pressure on the management and the government is required.The immediate issue is that the government should allot spectrum free to both the PSUs.

BSNL CCWF Central Executive Committee

09 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by in BSNLCCWF - Casual and Contract workers

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The Central Executive Committee meeting of BSNL Casual and Contract Workers Federation will be held at Dhanbad (Jharkhand) on 3rd and 4th November 2012. The CEC has a lot of issues to be discussed and decided. All the office-bearers and circle secretaries are requested to book their tickets immediately so that they can get the reservations. The arrival and departure may be intimated to Com. Tapas Ghosh Secretary General BSNLCCWF in advance to make all arrangements.

A hit below the belt to BSNL-MTNL – Govt. decision on spectrum

09 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by in BSNL - Better Service to the Nation

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The decision of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) that the telecom operators who have  spectrum in excess of 4.4 Mhz will have to pay  a one-time fee for the remaining period of the 2o year licence is completely discriminatory and is nothing but a favour to the private companies.  Since the spectrum was allotted to the major private companies in 1994 and their 20 year licence is to end by 2013, most of them  have to pay at about Rs.2,ooo crore to 3500 crore only. It is only Bharti Airtel which will have to pay about Rs. 5000 crore since it has got as much as 10Mhz spectrum in almost all circles. These private companies have been enjoying the free excess spectrum for the last 19 years.

According to the reports BSNL has to pay a minimum of Rs. 6250 crore and MTNL Rs. 4640 crore. This is due to the reason that they have yet   10 years more to complete their 20 year period, since they were discriminated and were given the spectrum only in 2002, though they were the companies owned by the Government. Both of them together have to pay Rs, 10,890 crore for spectrum all over India, while Airtel  need pay only Rs. 5,000 crore for the same.  While excess spectrum was free for 19 years to the private companies and have to pay only for one year, BSNL & MTNL  got excess spectrum free for only 10 years and have to pay for 10 years. This is completely injustice and an attack on the above two PSUs who have served the country for long years serving not only in the urban cities but in the lakhs of villages as part of the universal service obligation by the government incurring loss of lakhs of crores of rupees.

The Cabinet is going to take a decision on the recommendations of the EGoM  on 16th October as reported in the media. There should be strong protest from the BSNL – MTNL management against this decision. It should be demanded that the excess spectrum with BSNL & MTNL should be free and that no charge should be levied as they are the incumbent  and government companies   as also that they have been discriminated in allocation of the spectrum for many years. At least  no fee should be levied till the end of the first 20 years period.

The Forum of BSNL Unions has to immediately take up the issue with the government to ensure that justice is given to the PSUs, BSNL and MTNL. The present decision of the government is a bolt from the blue for both these PSUs which are already in loss due to the pro-private policies of the government.  Serious agitational programmes will have to be resorted to against the anti BSNL-MTNL recommendations.

 

“Workers are not Beggars!” – Babu Tarapada Mukherjee

08 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in P&T TU History

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“Workers are not Beggars,  they are the salt of the earth.

“What would be the world, brothers, were the workers to stop work?

“Take it from me, Brothers, that petitions and memorials and supplications will count for nothing so long as you do not organise yourselves in a manner to convince the government that you will no longer stand nonsense.”  – Tarapada Mukherjee , Lahore Speech  on 9th October 1921.

91 years back on  9th October  1921, Babu Tarapada Mukherjee, one of the pioneers of the P&T Trade Union movement, thus  roared in the Lahore All India Conference of Postal & RMS Employees Unions , exhorting the workers to organise and struggle for their demands against the British colonialism and the Postal Administration. As the newly elected President of the Union, he called upon the workers that there is no other way but to organise and struggle. He analysed the capitalist system and the need to fight against it for justice to the workers.  One can just wonder that how a postal employee can attack and expose the government and administration in such a way when the British were ruling not only India, but a good part of the world itself.

The Government and the Postal administration were naturally enraged and issued charge sheet to Tarapada proposing dismissal. He was told that if he apologizes for his speech, he may be excused. But Tarapada was of a different  mettle. He gave reply justifying each and every sentence he uttered and braved the Postal administration. Of course, he was dismissed from service. But he stood with the workers till the last and served their cause. The Lahore Speech was a great turning point in the history of the P&T TU movement.

The P&T TU movement was built up by such great leaders. Henry Barton, B.N.Ghosh (Dada Ghosh), K.G.Bose, Adinarayana, N.J.Iyer – there is a long list of leaders who made the P&T movement, what it is today.

Let us remember that it is our duty to continue this great tradition to march ahead for the workers cause.

 

Merger of BSNL and MTNL – Is there any possibility?

08 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in BSNL - Better Service to the Nation

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The question of merger of the two telecom PSUs, BSNL and MTNL, is coming up now and then. Is it possible? What are the real issues?

MTNL was formed on 1st April 1986 as a wholly government company under Department of Telecommunications (DOT),  to provide telecom services, except telegraphs,  in the metros of Delhi and Mumbai. BSNL was formed on 1st October 2000 as government company as MTNL, but to provide telecom services all over India except in the above two metro cities and the telegraphs including in the metros.

What was the necessity to break the DOT services in to two corporations, instead of continuing as a government department which was well appreciated as an efficient and reliable service?

The government has adopted the neo-liberalisation process since the 1990s. Instead of strengthening the Public Sectors which were called as ‘Temples of modern India’ by the first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the present ruling classes wanted to disinvest and sell the PSUs at cheap prices to the corporates. Their slogan was, ‘Business is not the business of the government’. It is not easy to privatise the government department directly and hence corporatisation, which is considered as the first step towards privatisation. How another corporation formed from DOT vis. Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) was sold to the Tatas is well known.  In the same way, the government wants to privatise both MTNL and BSNL. MTNL is already disinvested to the extent of 45%, but due to strong resistance from the unions, no disinvestment has taken place in BSNL.

Both the PSUs were  in profit earlier, but is in loss at present due to the pro-private, anti-PSU policy of the government. DOT services should not have been corporatized and at least not bifurcated in to MTNL and BSNL.

Interestingly, years after formation of these two companies, some proposals from the government had come for merger of the two. The employees are in support. Merger will help synergy and benefit the operations on an all India basis.

But there are two issues to be sorted out. One is about wages, perks, promotion, seniority, pension etc. These are different in these two companies. How it can be solved? We have the tragic experience of the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines which has resulted in much heartburning and agitations due to the injustice meted out to one or other section after merger. There are about 2.74 lakh workers in BSNL and about 35,000 in MTNL. These  issues have to be sorted out before merger.

Another issue is that MTNL is disinvested and BSNL is not. How this issue can dealt with on merger. One way is to buy back the shares sold by MTNL and then merge. But this is almost an impossibility with the privatisation policy of the government.

Under the circumstances, the chance for any merger between the two telecom PSUs is dim. But another decision can be taken by the government. BSNL can be allowed to provide services in Mumbai and Delhi and in the same way MTNL allowed to function outside Delhi and Mumbai . The Oil PSUs are not restricted to any areas, but is on all India basis. Why that position can’t be introduced in telecom also. That will benefit both the companies.

 

 

Protest Day observed by Pensioners

08 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in AIBDPA - BSNL DOT Pensioners

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As per the call of the All India BSNL DOT Pensioners Association, pensioners along with BSNL employees held protest demonstrations in many centres all over India protesting the decision of the government allowing 49% FDI in Pension and Insurance sectors. The government’s decision is an attack on the hard-earned pension funds of the workers. If the pension  corpus is left to the vagaries of the market and in to the hands of MNCs, there is every chance that the pension funds may be wiped out as happened in US and Euro countries putting the pensioners helpless.

Struggle by the pensioners will continue till the anti-worker, anti-pensioner decision is withdrawn.

Now it is vannamboodiri.com

08 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in General

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Dear Friends and well wishers,

I am glad to inform that my blog  vannamboodiri.wordpress.com  has been changed to vannamboodiri.com for the convenience and brevity. I hope you also like it. Thank You!

With Best Regards,

VAN Namboodiri

“BSNL Casual/Contract/Unrecorded Workers Day” on 1st Nov. 2012

08 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in BSNLCCWF - Casual and Contract workers

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The All India Conference of BSNLEU has taken a very important and historic decision to organise “BSNL Casual/Contract/Unrecorded Workers Day” on 1st November 2012. There are 3348 casual labours, as per government, in BSNL who are yet to be regularised due to administrative delay. Now the BSNL management is denying regularisation on the plea of a judgement in the Supreme Court. But based on the same judgment casual workers have been regularised in Central Govt. and other PSUs. There are about one lakh contract and unrecorded workers. These casual and contract workers are denied Minimum Wage, social security measures like EPF, ESI and in many cases their names are not even recorded. BSNLEU and the newly formed organisation of BSNL Casual and Contract Workers have been organising sustained agitations for getting the demands settled.

Now the Ludhiana AIC of BSNLEU has taken decision to strengthen the struggle and called upon  all its units to organise “BSNL Casual/Contract/Unrecorded Workers Day” on 1st November 2012 focussing the demands and organising demonstrations rallies etc. BSNLCCWF will be fully joining in the programme. BSNLEU deserves congratulations for organising a programme on the demands of the Casual/Contract/Unrecorded workers alone.

Let all make maximum efforts to make the programme a big success with massive participation. BSNL management can not avoid settlement of the justified right of the workers.

AIRF calls for Hunger Strike on 9th October 2012

08 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in TU News - India

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All India Railwaymens Federation (AIRF) has decided to organise One Day Hunger Strike on 9th October 2012 demanding settlement of urgent demands pertaining to the pay and allowances etc. More than one lakh Railway workers will participate in the dharna according to Com. Shiv Gopal Sharma, Secretary General AIRF. The Federation is also protesting against the FDI in Pension.