BSNL STRIKE
In New Delhi around 150,00 employees of the BSNL go on a 2 day strike, as the strike on Tuesday was a failure as the management refused the demands of the workers. The two day strike would be called on from midnight of august 18th for a 48hour strike.
The Management has offered the Executives a hike of 50-70%, offering a hike of only 30% to the Non-Executives, while the Non-Executives also demand a hike equal-ant to the Executives as it was five-year periodic wage revision.
Union General Secretary V A N Namboodiri is very much upset with the racism in offering the pay hike. Though this strike would cause a lot of problems like customer service, maintenance or shut down due to improper power supply, the BSNL has set up a control room to ensure smooth operations as it should not cause the customers any kind of difficulty and a chance for a complaint. Though the strikers are heading for the technical department in various circles of the state, the management has confirmed there would not be any difficulties or loss of connections.
In the landline category the firm is leading with a 77% increase and has 18.12 market share in the mobile category. Due to the strike the pay hike bourses has been stopped and would be implemented only when the strike comes to an end in a smooth way.
The union has also called for the regularization of 4,000 casual employees, who have been working in the Department of Telecommunications and BSNL for 5-10 years.
“They have denied regularisation, refering a Supreme Court judgement. But PSUs (public sector undertakings) and government departments have been continuing to regularise casual labourers,” said Namboodiri.
Balbir Singh, circle secretary, Punjab, and Balwinder Singh, district secretary, Ludhiana, at the press conference said that the managemant is holding on the wage revision for non-executives which is due from January 1, 2007 but not serious in implementing it.
