11th BSNL Day

1-10-2011—The 11^th  BSNL DAY

 VRS is suicidal-Pledge to wage a determined fight to save BSNL and the pension security

The BSNL employees are not in a comfortable position to celebrate the 11^th BSNL Day today(1-10-20-11). BSNL posted a loss of Rs 1823 crores in 2009-10 and a still greater loss of Rs 6384 crores in 2010-11.

 In the name of reviving the fortunes of BSNL, the management resorted to a series of attacks on the employees.  They were denied the benefit of 78.2%DA merger in wage revision, bonus, LTC, leave encashment linked with LTC and reimbursement for outpatient treatment without vouchers. Now it is proposed to remove one lakh employees in the name of VRS. This is to make privatisation of BSNL easy and attractive.

A campaign is going on that it is not possible to save BSNL and it is better to take VRS with some extra benefit. But the question is whether taking VRS will make the future certain and secure.  This mass scale VRS itself will create a serious threat to pension.

 There are already more than 2 lakh pensioners for whom the pension is being paid by DoT.  Removing one lakh employees by VRS will increase this number to more than 3 lakhs. It will result in an abnormal increase in the pension expenditure immediately. The heavy expenditure on pension beyond the 60% limit fixed by the Government has to be borne   by the BSNL which is already facing heavy losses.  In case BSNL fails to bear it or in case it is privatised, who will bear such a huge expenditure on pension?  Though the Government assured to pay pension even in such circumstances,   it cannot be believed.  The Government already violated its assurance of compensating BSNL for the losses incurred on rural landlines.  When it is prepared to bear the pension expenditure fully, why it should put the condition that the amount exceeding 60% limit should be borne by BSNL?

Further, the privatisation of pension payment is being implemented by the Government in phased manner.  The Central and State Government employees (except in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura where the Left Front Governments decided to continue the Government pension for  all employees)  recruited on or after 1-1-2004 were already denied Government pension and they are contributing every month 10% of their emoluments to the pension fund and Government   also is contributing another 10% to the pension fund Company. The pension fund company will invest it in the stock market and in case there is profit, pension will be paid and in case there is loss, pension will not be paid. Thus the money of the employees and the taxes paid by the people to the Government will be handed over to the Indian and Foreign finance capitalists for gambling in the stock market. It is unethical since it is diversion of the money of the people for private profit and the risk has to be borne  by the employees.

This new pension scheme for the Government employees recruited on or after 1-1-2004 was  introduced by the NDA Government through an ordinance. The UPA-I Government wanted to enact PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory And Development Authority) Act, to make it statutory.  The BJP supported it. But the Left Parties on whose support the Government depended at that time opposed it and hence it was not enacted. Now the UPA-2 Government which is not depending on the Left Parties decided to go ahead in this matter and introduced the PFRDA bill in the Parliament with the support of BJP, where as the Left Parties opposed it. . The Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, during his recent visit to the USA, assured the US and the Indian big capitalists that his Government is keen in passing this bill in the Parliament. When enacted, the PFRDA will empower the Government to alter the existing Government pension system. Thus the direction in which the Government is moving with the support of the so called opposition BJP is to privatise pension payment, thereby threatening pension security. The Unions of the Central and State Government employees have decided to struggle against this PFRDA bill demanding its withdrawal. It is necessary for the BSNL employees to join in this struggle since they are also covered under Government Pension scheme.

Therefore in the background of this serious threat to pension security it will be suicidal to agree for such a large scale VRS. There is no other alternative available to BSNL employees except to wage a united struggle for saving BSNL as a viable and profit making PSU. It is possible provided the non-executives and executives in BSNL unite together and bring enough pressure on the Government to compensate BSNL fully for the losses incurred by it on rural landlines, which are being maintained as a social obligation in spite of losses.  If this loss of Rs 10000 crores per year is fully reimbursed by the Government, BSNL will become a profit making PSU once again. Along with this, It is necessary to increase the revenue on services by extending better services and by resorting to suitable business practices. The management should be compelled to work efficiently to achieve this.

On the occasion of the 11^th BSNL Day all the non-executives and executives in BSNL should take the pledge to fight for reviving BSNL as a profit making PSU and to defeat the anti-worker policies like VRS, PFRDA etc.