BSNL employees union hopes for a better future

PUNE: The Bharatiya Telecom Employees Union of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) associated with the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, has demanded that the plan for revival of the company announced by the Central government, should be put into action soon. Union General Secretary RC Pandey has said that revival is expected in a month.

The union has also raised demands including changes in the retirement age and recruitments. 

“The retirement age of the employees has been reduced from 60 to 58 years and we at BSNL oppose this,” Pandey said. 

“BSNL was making a profit in 2000. However, apathy from the then UPA government, as well as negligence towards the real issues of the employees by Leftist unions at the company led to the downfall of the company,” said the general secretary while speaking about the plight of the employees.

“For the past several years, the company has not been provided with any new equipment, so we still do not offer 4G service. In 2001, BSNL was made an independent company but we were not given any autonomy. We were left to compete with the other companies without giving any adequate resources. That was the main reason behind the fall in the quality of BSNL service,” said Hari Sovani, a former employee of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) who is a part of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh.

While several companies like Reliance Jio and Airtel are set to launch fibre broadband plans, the existing BSNL broadband plans are being cancelled by the users.

“BSNL was the first telecom company to launch fibre broadband service in India. However, the government failed to maintain and promote the plan due to which it could not retain its popularity. 

The UPA government showed total apathy towards the company. As far as the last term of the new government is concerned, everyone is afraid to get involved in these matters after the 2G scam. We hope when BSNL is revived, even the broadband service improves,” Pandey added.