BSNL Employee Union Blames Govt for Failures

 Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) employee union is clearly unhappy with the statements that came from Ashwini Vaishnaw, telecom minister. To recall, after the announcement of the relief package, Vaishnaw had told the senior management of BSNL that employees need to leave the "Sarkari attitude" and those who don't work well inside the telco would be forced into early retirement. Now, this statement didn't go down well with the employees.

The All Unions and Associations of BSNL (AUAB), in a letter dated August 12, 2022, wrote to P.K. Purwar, CMD of BSNL, saying that the reality is being twisted and it is the government that is to be blamed for the failures of the state-run telco and not the employees. The union felt like the government was making the employees of BSNL a scapegoat for its own failures.

AUAB Says TCS Didn't Meet Deadlines Set by DoT and 4G Launch is Nowhere to be Seen

In a circular released by the union body on the same day, it was mentioned that TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) had missed out on meeting the deadlines fixed by the DoT (Department of Telecommunications) for completing the PoC and 4G launch is nowhere to be seen now. The employee union also shared its concern about whether equipment from TCS would be able to meet the equipment that the private operators have deployed for their 4G networks.

The union wrote to Purwar about the additional workload that has fallen on the shoulders of the remaining employees after 80,000 employees decided to take advantage of the VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme). The statements went so far as to let Purwar know that due to shortage of funds, there have been scenarios where employees have had to pay for things out of their own pocket. Further, in multiple circles including Rajasthan and Jalandhar, employees are being made to work for up to 12 hours in a day.

It is clear that things between the government along with the senior management and the employees of BSNL are not right. It is imperative that differences are resolved fast so that harmony can sustain resulting in growth of the company.