Letter to Hon'ble Minister for Communications

                                                                                       Dated        -11-2011.

To

Sri. Kapil Sibal,

Hon’ble Minister for Communication,

Govt. of India,

New Delhi – 110 001.

Sir,

                    Sub:- Request for protecting the promotion of Telecom Mechanics of

                            

Tamil Nadu Circle

to the cadre of TTA in BSNL – reg.

                    It is reported that in BSNL the LDCE for promotion to TTA cadre under 40% quota for the recruitment year 2004 was held on 18-12-2005 throughout the country.  Many employees could not pass the examination as the question papers were very tough and even Engineering  Graduates could not answer.  So the service unions demanded grace marks to the employees who attended and failed in the examination.

                   

                   The BSNL Management rejected the demand for grace mark but suggested to hold a supplementary examination for the failed candidates for unfilled vacancies.  Even the grace marks given in

West Bengal Circle

was also cancelled by the BSNL corporate office.  Accordingly the supplementary examination was held on 28-10-2007 and 97 Telecom Mechanics have come out successful in Tamil Nadu circle.  One Telecom Mechanic who was denied permission to sit for the supplementary examination has filed a case in the Madras High Court and the court has declared the examination itself as illegal as there is no provision in the recruitment rules for holding supplementary examination for unfilled vacancies.  The Apex court also upheld the judgement of the High Court.  Because of this judgement, 97 Telecom Mechanics who have come out successful in that examination in

Tamil Nadu Circle

have now been affected as the employee who had gone to the court has challenged the orders of CGM, BSNL,

Tamil Nadu Circle

.  Had the orders of the BSNL CO is challenged about 3000 employees who have come out successful in the above examination throughout the country would have been affected.

                  To safeguard the interest of the 97 employees of

Tamil Nadu Circle

and also the employees promoted in other circles FNTO, the INTUC affiliated union in BSNL  has requested the BSNL Management to amend the R/Rs of TTA retrospectively making provision for a supplementary examination at least as one time measure for the 2004 year of vacancies.  This case was also referred to the then HM© by that union and the reply given to the union through the CGM, BSNL,

Tamil Nadu Circle

is enclosed for reference.

                  Now, the BSNL has issued orders to hold examination for 2008 year of vacancies with implication of carrying forward of the above 97 unfilled vacancies also.  This is nothing but denying promotion to the above 97 employees of Tamil Nadu Circle who have come out successful in the supplementary examination whereas their counterparts in other circles including those in Chennai  Telephones are enjoying the fruits of the promotion.

                  I feel the denial of promotion to these employees are discriminatory and their recruitment should be regularized by appropriately amending the R/Rs to which the BSNL Board  is competent.  It is most unfortunate that the BSNL is showing discrimination to the employees of

Tamil Nadu Circle

.

                     I am to submit  that it is not the fault of the employees who have written the examination in good faith.  The BSNL Management should have seen before ordering for supplementary examination, whether there is provision for the same in the R/Rs.  Having called for the examination and promoting the employees who have come out successful in the other circles denying the same to

Tamil Nadu Circle

employees alone is total injustice.  I therefore request the HM© to kindly intervene in the matter to render justice to Tamil Nadu Circle employees, by causing amendments to the R/Rs appropriately which will safeguard the interest of the employees promoted through this examination in other circles also.  Till such time the examination proposed for 2008 year of vacancies may be ordered to be held under abeyance or the 97 vacancies of 2004 be reserved for these employees pending amendment to R/Rs.

                    I hope that the HM© will bestow his personal attention in this regard at an early date to render justice to the innocent employees who have been denied the hard earned promotion through competitive examination.

                   Thanking you,

                                                                                   Yours sincerely,

                                                                              (C. GNANASEKARAN)

FNTO on VRS

Editorial of FNTO News

VRS - YES OR  NO?

As a Trade union FNTO opposes Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) in principle because  it will reduce the workforce in a Company and there are chances that experi- enced employees may leave. As long as BSNL was in profit our union opposed VRS and have launched several struggles including Joint strike.

But the situation has changed now. Despite unions cry to reduce unproductive and extravagant expenses there is very little effort on the part of management towards this direc- tion. On our demand for compensation for rural services and Govt. Cooperation to keep BSNL viable by way of refunding ADC, License fee, spectrum charges etc. there is not much of a response from Govt. On the other hand DoT had earlier proposed to ease out BSNL employees on VRS by giving a few increments without any package.

Present CMD wanted to revive the Company by improving the revenue and rejuveniting the business to meet the competition. Though it is not the fault of the workers, one has to accept that the numerical strength of executives and non executives is high even without comparison to private operators. Expenditure on salaries has increased multifold. Last year loss of Rs.1500 cr has quadrupled this year and the loss is more than Rs.6000 cr.

So the management is compelled to consider VRS as an option and the CMD and BSNL Board has sent two proposals to Government. One among them as is offered to MTNL is better. It is also a question mark whether the Government will approve this proposal and allot necessary funds.

At this juncture it is neither advisable nor desirable to launch strike (either one day or indefinite) which will worsen the situation. Stoppage of work will bring disgrace to unions and irrepairable damage to BSNL and its future.

Service unions of both executives and non executives should sit accross the table to negotiate better VRS package without income tax for exgratia, merger of 78.2%. IDA merger for fixation benifit etc.

In case the management changes its mind and thrust an unsatisfactory package with a compulsory scheme then there is reason for us to choose a struggle path to save the workers. Let us hope the management will not resort to such an option.

விஷிஸ்ட் சன்ச்சார் சேவா பதக் அவார்டு - 2011

தமிழ் மாநில அளவில், தொழிலாளர் மற்றும் அதிகாரிகள் 17 பேர் விருதுக்காக தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப் பட்டுள்ளனர்.

காரைக்குடி தொலைத்தொடர்பு மாவட்டத்தில் பணிபுரிபவரும், தேசியச் சங்கத்தின் நெடுநாளைய உறுப்பினருமான தோழர் S.யோகேஸ்வரன், SR.TOA(G) அவர்களுக்கு 2011-ம் ஆண்டுக்கான விஷிஸ்ட் சன்ச்சார் சேவா பதக் அவார்டு வழங்கப் பட்டுள்ளது.

முன்னாள் இராணுவ வீரரும், இந்நாள் கடமை வீரருமான  தோழர் S.யோகேஸ்வரன், தேசியச் சங்கத்தின் பால் பற்றும் கொள்கைப் பிடிப்பும் கொண்ட, துடிப்பு மிக்க தோழர்.

அதே நேரத்தில், சங்க வேறுபாடின்றி அனைவருக்கும் உதவிடும் மனப்பாங்கு கொண்டவர். அதிகாரிகளை அனுசரித்துப் பணியாற்றிடும் வேளையில், தவறென மனதில் பட்டதைச் சுட்டிக்காட்டவும் தயங்காதவர். அதிகாரிகளுக்கு அலுவல் சம்பந்தமான ஆலோசனைகளை வழங்குபவர், ஆனால் ஜால்ரா போடத் தெரியாதவர்.

தனது தன்னிகரில்லா உழைப்பின் காரணமாக, தமிழ்மாநில அளவில் விருது பெற்றுள்ள தோழர் S.யோகேஸ்வரனை நாம் மனதார வாழ்த்துகிறோம். அவரது பணி மென்மேலும் சிறக்கட்டும்.

Happy Diwali - தீபாவளி வாழ்த்துகள்

தீபாவளி வாழ்த்துகள்

இல்லங்களில் மட்டுமல்ல உள்ளங்களிலும்

இருள் விலகட்டும், ஒளி பரவட்டும்.

இன்றும் மனித உருவில் உலவுகின்ற

அரக்கர்குலம் மாயட்டும்,

மனிதநேயம் மலரட்டும்.

அனைவருக்கும் இனிய

தீபாவளி நல்வாழ்த்துகள்.

25-10-2011                                            NUBSNLW/FNTO

BSNL will turn around in less than 2 years

Mr Rakesh Kumar Upadhyay, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, has an uphill task of turning around the company. Apart from falling market share, mounting losses and controversies around its procurement, the telecom company is dealing with increasing cost of managing a large workforce of over 3 lakh people.


During a conversation with Business Line, Mr Upadhyay says that the window of opportunity for BSNL to turn around is less than two years, which can happen if a proposed voluntary retirement scheme takes off. Excerpts.


How do you plan to improve market share for BSNL?


BSNL is still a market leader in landline and broadband segments. In mobile segment only we rank fourth in terms of customer base. To translate our goodwill into market share, we are making efforts to give focused attention to improve our network availability, increased accessibility of products to the customers, launching innovative value added services, sustained operational focus on customer care, service delivery and service assurance, use of IT tools for monitoring performance.


What are the targets that you have set for yourself?


It has been decided to adopt two fold strategy: take new initiatives for increasing revenues and optimising CAPEX and OPEX through convergence. We are focusing to fortify stable revenue streams through concerted focus on broadband, NGN voice and enterprise business with major focus on Government projects. There is going to be focused monitoring on the performance of top 100 cities.


Why is BSNL lagging behind in terms of profit and market share?


BSNL is the market leader in landline and broadband business segments with 71.93 per cent and 63.49 per cent market shares respectively. BSNL also has prominent shares in mobile and leased circuit business segments. BSNL entered cellular business as a late entrant in October 2002 when private operators had already spread their arms for over 6 years. Our network expansion stumbled during the last few years for reasons beyond our control. However, we have initiated the process to increase our mobile capacity and hope to revive the growth process.


The entire telecom industry is presently witnessing pressures on its margins due to the price war in cellular segment and all operators are feeling the pinch of competition. BSNL is feeling a greater pinch due to increased manpower cost after the pay revision in public sector. In current situation even the operators with a lean workforce are witnessing shrinking margins. The products where we have dominant position are those where the costs of sustenance are high and margins are low.


We are making efforts to leverage technology for reducing cost and increasing productivity.


Do you think BSNL will become another Air India or do you think this company will turn around?


I do not see any link of Air India's experience with that of BSNL except for the fact that both are PSUs. They are operating in different industry segments and have dissimilar operational dynamics.


I am quite optimistic about BSNL improving its position. I also wish for improved fortunes of Air India.


What is the status of synergising operations with MTNL?


As a part of synergising the operations of BSNL and MTNL, we are taking various initiatives to ensure that both the companies are able to give a single window view to the end consumer and able to withstand the competition. These initiatives include procurement of international bandwidth by assessing the combined requirement of both BSNL and MTNL to take price advantage of large volume of bandwidth. Similar arrangement is also being explored for international voice traffic.


BSNL and MTNL are also working on a proposal wherein entire traffic of MTNL is carried by BSNL across the country at most competitive rates. Synergy about provisioning of leased line and MPLS VPN to the enterprises customers is being reviewed to resolve issues between the two companies.


Do you agree with the Government move to price 2G spectrum?


BSNL is a wholly owned Central Government PSU and it abides by the decisions of the Government in the matter. The spectrum obtained by BSNL is used for spreading telecommunication in far flung, remote, rural areas, hilly and difficult terrains which are non-remunerative areas, as a part of Government programme. Therefore, BSNL expects the Government to adequately compensate BSNL by giving the spectrum at subsidised rates instead of market rates.


Should BSNL be given more autonomy with less interference from political class?


We are governed by DPE guidelines and as part of it we have to sign MOU with Administrative Ministry or Department every year which specifies physical as well as financial targets to be pursued by us. Periodic review of targets vis-à-vis achievements are carried out by DOT. Hence their involvement in the business of the company cannot be ruled out.


There are suggestions of hiving of BSNL into various business, like what BT and AT&T did. What is your take?


This is a policy matter on which decision has to be taken by the Administrative Ministry or Department of the Government of India. However a dedicated business unit called New Business has been carved within BSNL to provide sustained focus on leveraging the huge infrastructure such as towers, land and buildings of BSNL. This unit is headed by an Executive Director.


The Government seems to be in a dilemma on giving BSNL the mandate to roll-out the National Optic Fibre. The fear being that BSNL will misuse its position and deny access to competition. Do you think BSNL should be given this project?


Yes, I feel that the project should be given to BSNL as BSNL is capable to execute this project in the shortest time at minimum cost. BSNL has countrywide OFC network of 6.8 lakh route km which is more than the optical fibre network of all other telecom service providers put together. The network is spread out in most of the 6500 blocks of the country and connected to 60,000 villages. The decision of awarding work to BSNL would be best utilisation of already existing fibre resources. The fear of misuse of its position by BSNL is unfounded as the operations of National Optical Fibre Network will be handled by an independent company under the Government of India which would provide non-discriminatory access to all.


How will you streamline procurement to make it faster and transparent?


To make the procurement process faster and more transparent, BSNL has recently started procuring through e-tendering method. Although our procurement is being done in accordance with a disclosed procurement policy, we implemented integrity pact whereby the complaints are settled expeditiously by IEMs (Independent External Monitors)


How will you deal with the issue of excess manpower?


At present, BSNL has nearly 2.76 lakh employees. Going by industry standards, BSNL does have a high staff-to-line ratio. We are considering downsizing the workforce by devising a suitable VRS scheme.