VSNL, Centre to respond on alleged discrimination against SC/ST

The Supreme Court today sought response from the Centre and VSNL on a PIL filed by an employee association alleging that members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) were being retrenched from the company.

A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan also issued notices to respective National Commission for Scheduled Castes and

Scheduled Tribes on the petition seeking direction to the authorities to stop the termination of the employees.

The employees association, Videsh Sanchar Nigam SC/ST Welfare Samiti, alleged that company's staff members belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were under threat of termination as the performance of 75 per cent of them has been wrongly evaluated as unsatisfactory or marginal.

"The evaluation did not follow scientific criteria, but have been wrongly designed to retrench the services of majority of the existing employees, who have been inherited by a strategic partner along with a 25 per cent stake," advocate K S Chauhan appearing for the petitioner said.

He contended that after the disinvestment, the company management was not following the social obligation of providing sufficient job opportunities to SC/STs.