The All India BSNL Working Women’s Coordination Committee meeting is taking place at Bengaluru on 30.06.2018. A seminar is also been held in this connection. Com. Sudha Sundararaman, Vice President, All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) and Com. P. Abhimanyu, GS, are addressing.

Big corporate houses enter into mega mergers, with a view to maximise their profits. But, it is a bitter truth that employees become victims due to these mergers. This is once again proved in the recent Vodafone Idea merger. Recently, telecom giants, Vodafone and Idea entered into a mega merger. Thus, the merged entity, viz., Vodafone Idea has become the biggest telecom service provider in the country. It is reported that 10 billion dollars would be gained due to the synergies to be achieved due to this merger. However, the merger is not good so far as the employees are concerned. Media reports say that, 2,500 employees have become surplus in Vodafone Idea. Their future is hanging fire now.

The AUAB of Madhya Pradesh organised a massive strike preparatory meeting at Bhopal today. Com.Habeeb Khan, CS, NFTE and Chairman,AUAB, MP circle, presided over. Com.Prakash Sharma, CS, BSNLEU and Convenor, AUAB, welcomed everyone. The meeting was addressed by Com.P.Abhimanyu, GS, BSNLEU & Convenor, AUAB, Com.Chandeswar Singh, GS, NFTE & Chairman, AUAB, Com.Dutta Majumdar, CS, SNEA, Com.Md.Parvesh Khan, CS, AIBSNLEA and  Com.Devendra Saini, CS, AIGETOA addressed the meeting. Within a very short notice, the AUAB of MP circle organised this excellent meeting. The response of the employees for the meeting was tremendous. AUAB heartily congratulates the AUAB of MP circle.

The CHQ has already directed all the circle unions to hold emergency Circle Executive Committee meetings, for planning and successfully organising the 3 day strike, called on by the AUAB. So far the following circle unions have issued notification for holding the emergency Circle Executive Committee meetings. The remaining circles are also requested to hold the emergency Circle Executive Committee meetings for planning to the make the 3 day strike successful.

(1) Tamil Nadu - 01.02.2019.         (7) Andhra Pradesh - 07 & 08-02-2019.

(2) Karnataka - 05.02.2019.           (8) Kerala - 07.02.2019.

(3) Kolkata  - 05.02.2019.               (9) Odisha - 11.02.2019.

(4) Telangana - 06.02.2019.            (10) Himachal Pradesh - 11.02.2019.

(5) Maharashtra - 06.02.2019.        (11) UP (East) - 10 & 11-02-2019.

(6) Madhya Pradesh - 06.02.2019.

A question was raised in the Lok Sabha yesterday, as to whether the BSNL was in the verge of closure. Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Hon’ble Minister of Communications has replied that there was no proposal of closure of BSNL. The government may not have the proposal to close down BSNL. But, if necessary short term and long team investment is not made by the government, on it’s own BSNL will be closed down. All the Executives and Non-Executives of BSNL have to understand this and act accordingly. The question and answer is enclosed.

The one day emergent Circle Working Committee meeting of BSNLEU, WB Circle was held on 2nd September at Kolkata. The CWC meeting was inaugurated by Com. Sisir Roy, Organizing Secretary, BSNLEU (CHQ). It was a meeting to review the preparation of the 8th Membership Verification in different districts. All the campaign materials like posters, books published by CHQ translated in Bengali, flex and voter slips were handed over to the district secretaries from hills of Darjeeling to Diamondharbour of South Bengal. The final round of campaign programmes were also finalized in the meeting. The district secretaries are now all set to make BSNLEU the only recognized union in BSNL with much more votes than before. It was also decided that we will fight against the anti-worker and anti-people policy of the Govt. The meeting was presided by Com. Banani Chattopadhyay, Circle President.

Marten Pieters, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vodafone India, has said that for most foreign investors, it has been a bad dream to do business in India. One of the important reasons cited by Pieters, for this bad dream is the entry of “monied Reliance Jio”. Vodafone India ran into huge loss and has already merged itself with Idea. Now, informed sources say that, Vodafone will leave it’s India business, because of huge losses in terms of money and customers. It is important to note that, in his statement, the former CEO of Vodafone India has stated that the Indian Telecom Sector is in a bad shape, with debt of over Rs.7 lakh crore. An important reason for this situation is “a new player seemingly having access to infinite money”. This new player seemingly having access to infinite money is none other than Reliance Jio.

[Source: The Economic Times, 05.11.2019]

BSNLEU, Tamil Nadu circle and BSNL Contract Workers Union organised a massive dharna at Tamil Nadu circle CGM's office at Chennai today. Payment of the wage arrears, continuation of the present Labour Contract System, etc., are the demands. 1,200 contract workers and regular employees participated in this dharna from the various parts of the circle. Com.S.Chellappa, circle president, BSNLEU and Com. Palanisamy, AGS, BSNLCCWF, presided over. Com. Vinodh, Circle Secretary, BSNLCCWF, Tamil Nadu, welcomed all. Com. G.Sukumaran,General Secretary, CITU, Tamil Nadu state, inaugurated the dharna. Com.P.Abhimanyu, GS, BSNLEU, addressed the dharna in detail about the problems of the contract workers and steps being taken by BSNLEU and the BSNLCCWF to settle them. Com.Babu Radhakrishnan, CS, BSNLEU, and many others addressed.

1) Com. Anand Kumar Singh, AGS & DS, Azamgarh – Rs.5,000/-

2) Com.R.K. Mishra, CS – Rs.2,000/-

3) Com.K.R. Yadav, ACS – Rs.2,000/-

4) Com. Omkar Nath, ACS / DS, Lucknow – Rs.2,000/-

5) Com. Manju Prasad, Asstt. Treasurer / Member, BSNL WWCC – Rs.2,000/-

6) Com. H.S. Mishra, DS, Sultanpur – Rs.2,000/-

7) Com. Suresh Chandra Yadav, DS, Jaunpur – Rs.2,000/-  

8) Com. Nagendra Singh, DS, Mirzapur – Rs.2,000/-

9) Com. Tilak Raj Tiwari, DS, Faizapur – Rs.2,000/-

10) Com. Rama Shankar, DS, Allahabad – Rs.2,000/-

11) Com. D.N. Tripathi, DS / Circle President,Kanpur – Rs.2,000/-

12) Com. Subedar, DS, Basti – Rs.2,000/-

13) Com. Nitha Nand Mishra, DS, Gorakhpur – Rs.2,000/-

14) Com. Ram Gopal Mishra, DS, Barabanki – Rs.2,000/-

15) Com. Sudama Prasad Mishra, DS, Circle Office – Rs.1,000/-

16) Com. Raj Nandan Gupta, DS, Deoriya – Rs.1,000/-

17) Com. C.B. Shrivastava, DS, Banda – Rs.1,000/-

18) Com. R.P. Chaudhary, DS, Rae Barely – Rs.1,000/-

19) Com. Babu Lal, DS, Fatehpur – Rs.1,000/-

20) Com. D.R. Mishra, DS, Pratapgarh – Rs.1,000/-

21) Com. Chandrama Yadav, DS, Varanasi – Rs.1,000/-

22) Com. Mata Din Yadav, DS, Mau – Rs.1,000/-

23) Com. H.L. Maurya, ACS, UP(East) – Rs.1,000/-

24) Com. Yogendra Singh, DS, Gonda – Rs.1,000/-

25) Com. Y.P. Gupta, DS, Hardoi – Rs.1,000/-

26) Com. C.B. Singh, DS, Lakhimpur – Rs.1,000/-

27) Com. Ajay Kumar Maurya, Circle Org. Secretary – Rs.1,000/-

28) Com. Vipin Kumar Yadav, DS, Una – Rs.1,000/-

29) Com. Paramjeet Singh, DS, Bahraich – Rs.1,000/-

30) Com. Meera Shukla, ACS, UP(East) – Rs.1,000/-

BSNLEU has been insisting upon the Management to reconstitute the Standing Committee of the National Council. The issue was once again discussed with Shri A.M. Gupta, GM (SR), yesterday, by the representatives of BSNLEU, consisting of Com. P. Abhimanyu, GS, Com. Swapan Chakraborty, Dy.GS, Com. Animesh Mitra, Vice President and Com. M.K. Dave, AGS. During the discussion the GM (SR) agreed to conduct the meeting of the reconstituted Standing Committee in the 3^rd week of January, tentatively on 18.01.2018.

CHQ of BSNLEU heartily welcomes all the comrades who are coming over to Delhi, to participate in the March to Sanchar Bhawan, to be held tomorrow the 23.02.2018. According to the information received from various circles, more than 2,000 members of BSNLEU are participating in this historic rally, from the states nearby to Delhi, and also from far away circles. Accommodation has been arranged to the comrades coming from far away circles, and the place where the accommodation is arranged to each circle is updated on the website, and also communicated to the circle secretaries. All comrades who have come from outside, are requested to kindly take care of their personal belongings as well as their health. The climate in Delhi is very pleasant now. In case, any assistance is required, comrades are requested to feel free to call the General Secretary, Dy. General Secretary and Com. T.A. Biju, Office Secretary.

The executive committee meeting of Karnataka circle was held at Bengaluru on 30-04-2018. Com.M.C.Balakrishna, circle president, presided over the meeting. Com.C.K.Gundanna, circle secretary welcomed everyone. The report on activities, which included a midterm review, was also presented by him. Com.P.Abhimanyu,GS, addressed the meeting and reported on the decisions of the Agartala CEC meeting. The GS also spoke on the important current issues, viz., wage revision, Subsidiary Tower Company, Call Attention Day to be observed on 03-05-2018, Street Corner Meetings to be conducted from 07th to 11th May,2018, etc. Com.H.V.Sudharshan, Organising Secretary(CHQ) also addressed the meeting. After detailed deliberations by the Committee members, decisions were taken to implement the decisions of the Agartala CEC meeting.

An impressive meeting was organised at the GMT office of Ambala, Haryana, on 24-11-2018, for making the indefinite strike from 3rd December, 2018 successful.   Com. M.S.Kadian, CS, BSNLEU, welcomed everyone and addressed. Com. Balbir Singh, President, BSNLEU, Com. S.P.Malhan, Vice President, NFTE, Com.Shiva Kumar, President, AIBSNLEA, Com.Ramesh Chand Sharma, Organising Secretary (CHQ), BSNLEU, Com.Hari Shankar Tiwari, Vice President, AIGETOA and Com.Surinder Sandhu, CS, SNEA, addressed the Convention. The strike issues, including 3rd Pay Revision, Allotment of 4G spectrum, Pension Revision, implementation of Government Rule for payment of pension contribution by BSNL and  implementation of 30% superannuation benefits to the DR employees were explained with all the details by the speakers. The meeting evoked good response among the employees.

It is a matter of serious concern that, the BSNL Corporate Office has issued letter today, imposing ban on Compassionate Ground Appointments. The letter says that, the BSNL Board, in it's 188^th meeting, has decided not to fill up the vacancies arising from 01-04-2018, in view of the stressed financial condition of BSNL. This decision of the BSNL Management will cause irreparable loss to the families of the deserving candidates for CG Appointment.

Election Campaign meeting held at Silchar, Assam circle on 30th August,2019. Com. M.L.Sinha, presided over the meeting. A large number employees attended. Com. Bijoy Deka, CS, BSNLEU, and Com.Animesh Mitra, President, BSNLEU, were the speakers for the meeting. They explained the present scenario and the role of present Govt. Com. Animesh Mitra, emphasised the importance of 8thMembership Verification in the back ground of save BSNL and save the rights of workers.

As per the letter of Director (CM) BSNL, dated 05^th November, 2019, BSNL has provided 12.70 lakh new mobile connections in October, 2019. In this, Kerala circle has come first by providing 1,15,116 mobile connections and Andhra Pradesh has come second with 99,514 mobile connections. Percentage wise, J&K circle stands first, by achieving 206% of the target and Andhra Pradesh comes second by achieving 100% of the target.

The government of India has launched a mad drive  to privatise Air India. Since it's earlier attempt made in 2018, did not get any result, the Government has made the offer more attractive now. In 2018, Government decided to sell only it's 76% stake in Air India. But now, it has decided to sell it's entire 100% stake to the private. In 2018, Government offered to bear Air India's debt only to the tune of Rs.15,000 crore. But now, it will bear the debt to the tune of Rs. 40,000 crore. Air India is having 146 aircrafts (86 are it's own) and is holding major share of the international traffic. Modi government's mad drive to sell Air India, is the best example of how the Government wants to kill our Public Sector.