BSNL officers to intensify agitation

As many as 50,000 executives under the banner of United Forum for BSNL Executives (UFBE) have decided to go on indefinite non-cooperation and 'work-to-rule' along with hunger strike between March 15 and 17 to protest against the decision of the BSNL management to revise its policy on promotions and other allied issues.

"Following formation of BSNL in 2000 about 50,000 group B-officers belonging to various wings like telecom, civil, electrical and architecture got absorbed in BSNL and are at present working as executives. These executives were promised fundamental service conditions before being absorbed. Four years have passed but BSNL has not implemented it," informed Tapas Ghosh, secretary, Sanchar Nigam Executive's Association, West Bengal state branch.

"We are being forced to go on an hunger strike and indefinite 'work-to-rule' untill our demands are settled which the management promised when we were absorbed at BSNL four years ago," Amipt Gupta, state secretary, All India BSNL Executives Association, said.

"One of the conditions before absorbing us that they agreed upon was that executives in BSNL would be allowed upgradatin to the next higher IDA pay scale on a time bound basis, varying between four to six years up to the IDA pay scale of junior administrative grade," he added.