NEW DELHI: The officers of the Indian Telecommunication Services (ITS)
have demanded the Centre to repatriate them from the state-owned telecom
companies— Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), and sought to widen the selection procedure of BSNL board directors, following the three vacancies.
“We want the government to repatriate 550 ITS officers presently being posted in the BSNL and MTNL, and have been offered a special Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS),” PK Jain, president of the Indian Telecommunication Services Association (ITSA) told ETT.
Jain, further said that the move to offer VRS would put an additional financial burden to the financially-struggling state-run telecom carriers and the officers deputed in BSNL for years wanted to come back to the government.
The group, however, also say that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government should enhance the selection process to include more ITS cadre officers which, according to Sinha, is one of the core grievances.
In
October 2019, the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), as a part
of the selection process, has shortlisted 12 officials for the selection
of BSNL directors for— finance, consumer mobility, and enterprise
business.
Of the 12 officers asked to appear in the interview on November 14, seven would have less than a 2-year tenure left by the time of the final selection which according to the officers, would be contradictory to the existing norms.
“The Prime Minister Office (PMO) should intervene and direct the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) to at least call all eligible persons who had applied for the interview so that the selection will be broad based and ensure fairness,” an ITS officer who do not wish to be named for the story said.
Nearly 25 such officers were put aside by the selection board.
In a letter to telecom secretary Anshu Prakash, dated November 5, seen by ETT, the association said that ITS officers were treated as outsiders for the vacancies at BSNL board level without even providing equal opportunity to these deployed officers, causing juniors to occupy the top positions.
The ITS officers, however, also say that they were being subjected to delay in salary disbursements for the last six months, and have previously met top officials of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
Following the demands, the department’s establishment wing in a letter dated October 25, has asked the public sector telco to take “corrective action,” and added that “BSNL was in violation of terms and conditions of deployment of ITS officers” and is creating a disparity in between those working in BSNL and DoT.
“We want the government to repatriate 550 ITS officers presently being posted in the BSNL and MTNL, and have been offered a special Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS),” PK Jain, president of the Indian Telecommunication Services Association (ITSA) told ETT.
Jain, further said that the move to offer VRS would put an additional financial burden to the financially-struggling state-run telecom carriers and the officers deputed in BSNL for years wanted to come back to the government.
The group, however, also say that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government should enhance the selection process to include more ITS cadre officers which, according to Sinha, is one of the core grievances.
Of the 12 officers asked to appear in the interview on November 14, seven would have less than a 2-year tenure left by the time of the final selection which according to the officers, would be contradictory to the existing norms.
“The Prime Minister Office (PMO) should intervene and direct the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) to at least call all eligible persons who had applied for the interview so that the selection will be broad based and ensure fairness,” an ITS officer who do not wish to be named for the story said.
Nearly 25 such officers were put aside by the selection board.
In a letter to telecom secretary Anshu Prakash, dated November 5, seen by ETT, the association said that ITS officers were treated as outsiders for the vacancies at BSNL board level without even providing equal opportunity to these deployed officers, causing juniors to occupy the top positions.
The ITS officers, however, also say that they were being subjected to delay in salary disbursements for the last six months, and have previously met top officials of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
Following the demands, the department’s establishment wing in a letter dated October 25, has asked the public sector telco to take “corrective action,” and added that “BSNL was in violation of terms and conditions of deployment of ITS officers” and is creating a disparity in between those working in BSNL and DoT.
