BSNL employees and officers abstained from duties on Tuesday on the first day of the two-day nationwide strike called by Forum of BSNL Executive and Non-Executives’ Joint Action Committee (JAC) to protest against the attempts to privatize BSNL.
‘Absorb losses’
They demanded that government absorb the losses incurred by BSNL on services rendered by it in the rural areas, give spectrum free of cost to BSNL, allow it launch 4G services and protect the BSNL’s ownership of its assets. Addressing the agitators at BSNL Bhavan, Sanchar Nigam Executives’ Association (SNEA) State president J. Umamaheswara Rao said the government’s assurances to extend financial assistance to the loss-making BSNL and take other steps required to help it face competition from private telecom operators remained on paper.
Supply of advanced equipment to BSNL would be deliberately delayed to help private companies carve out their market share before the public sector behemoth could upgrade itself.
BSNL became a victim of unfair competition in various other ways.
All India Trade Union Congress State general secretary Obulesu said BSNL had surplus funds at one point of time but it went into the red when the money was diverted by the government.
BSNL unions’ leaders L. Ramesh Babu, A. Nagendra Babu, P. Raju, B. Sivaram Kumar, K. Srinivasa Rao, T.V. Ramana Murthy, CPI (M) city secretary Ch. Babu Rao and CITU city president R. Ajay Kumar were among those who addressed the gathering.
