ગુજરાતી
English
Rajkot, 22 May 2020
Communications Corporation of India Ltd. (BSNL) went on strike in Gujarat for a while as their salaries were not regularized due to the anti-employee policy and economic crisis. The salaries of contract employees have not been paid for the last ten months.
The BSNL employees’ union had announced to hold nationwide demonstrations. Demonstrators in Saurashtra offices, including Rajkot, chanted slogans.
586 employees from the district offices of Rajkot BSNL took voluntary retirement. Now there are barely 230 employees. However, regular salaries of employees are not paid by the management.
The April salary was paid in May. The day before the agitation, May 20, 2020, there is a huge outcry among the employees. There has been a big cut in medical allowances. Medical bills have not been approved and paid for the last few months.
Demonstrations were held between 1.30 pm and 2 pm to protest against the management’s policies.
Even though thousands of people in Gujarat have taken voluntary retirement, the salaries of the employees are not regularized due to financial burden. Employees ‘union leaders said that when notices of demonstrations or agitations were given the day before, attempts were made to quell workers’ resentment, but this was not appropriate.
Even though the questions of BSNL employees were raised in Parliament, the BJP’s Narendra Modi government is bringing in laws that allow employees to be laid off at any time. Thus there has been opposition to the implementation of anti-employee policies. Appearances were held at BSNL offices.
On February 11, 2020, the employees of BSNL, the country’s largest telecommunications company, which had plunged into a loss-making pit, staged a protest against non-payment of salaries for the last two months.
As on November 11, 2019, BSNL had 1.50 lakh employees. It covers about one lakh employees under VRS. The company hopes that about 77,000 employees will benefit from the scheme. In which 10 thousand employees are being laid off from Gujarat. All regular and permanent employees of BSNL who have completed 50 years of age or above are eligible to apply for VRS.
