Utter confusion prevailing in BSNL – AUAB decides to launch a 3 day Relay Hunger Strike from 20th November, 2019, to protect the interests of BSNL, employees and the VRS optees..

A meeting of the AUAB was held yesterday the 14.11.2019. General Secretaries / representatives of BSNLEU, NFTE, SNEA, AIBSNLEA, FNTO, BSNL MS, SNATTA, BSNL ATM and BSNL OA, participated. The meeting expressed it's serious concern that the Management has not taken any step for the payment of October salary. Employees are facing untold miseries due to the non-remittance of the recoveries made from their salaries for the past six months. Further, the meeting expressed it’s deep anguish about the inability of the BSNL Management to start 4G service promptly, even though government has already decided to allot 4G spectrum.

In the name of VRS, employees are being sent home massively under pressure and duress. In reality, it has become an FRS (Forced Retirement Scheme). Employees are being continuously threatened, that their retirement age would be reduced to 58 years. 3rd Pay Revision, when implemented retrospectively, and pension revision, have become a big question mark for the VRS optees.

A VRS optee can get Pension Commutation only when he attains 60 years of age. However, as per the existing rules, a retiree has to apply for pension commutation within one year of his retirement. Otherwise, he has to undergo medical examination. This issue is going to create a very big problem for all the VRS optees.

If a VRS optee dies before attaining 60 years of age, then his family will not get the benefit of pension commutation. This will cause a massive loss to the family of the VRS optees.

Without sorting out all these issues, the employees are being forced to opt for VRS. After this massive VRS, how the workload will be coped with, or what will be the structure of the Company? Management is not bothered to discuss the road map on all these issues in advance with the unions and associations. They are only interested in retrenching the employees massively.

The AUAB meeting, after thoroughly discussing all the above issues, has decided to organise a 3 day Relay Hunger Strike  on 20^th, 21^st and 22^nd November, 2019, at the Corporate Office, circle and district levels, demanding settlement of all these issues. All circle and district secretaries are requested to organise this hunger strike programme effectively, in coordination with the other constituents of the AUAB. Detailed circular of the AUAB will follow.

[Date : 17 - Sep - 2020]