BSNL staff to protest on Dec 15

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s (BSNL) executive and non-executive employees will boycott work for a day on December 15. This is to express unhappiness over the ministry’s proposed withdrawal of medical benefits and of voluntary retirement scheme.

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) which is a consortium of more than 10 BSNL regional unions has called this strike. Van Namboodiri, President, JAC said that mismanagement is responsible for such a state of affairs at BSNL.

“We have given the notice for proposed one day strike. The acute shortage of mobile lines and equipment causing loss of market share and revenue," Namboodiri said. The committee feels the decline of state-owned company began after the management cancelled procurement of 4.5 crore mobile tenders in 2007 and 9.5 crore mobile tenders in 2010.