BSNL Contract Workers' Struggles Highlight Modi Government's Policies

In the midst of growing concerns, BSNL's contractual workers are grappling with the loss of essential benefits and heightened job insecurity, casting a spotlight on challenges within the policies of the Modi government.

"Regrettably, contract workers at BSNL have been diligently serving the department for the past 20 to 25 years. Initially, they were entitled to the minimum wage mandated by the Indian government and crucial benefits including Provident Fund, Employees' State Insurance, and gratuity. Unfortunately, these privileges have recently been withdrawn under the pretext of the Service Level Agreement. This new arrangement, under the guise of a revised wage agreement, has become a tool for subjecting contract workers to undue hardship," remarked Tapas Ranjan Ghosh, a BSNL contract employee.

"Significantly, not all contract employees are covered by these changes. BSNL has relinquished its role as the primary employer within this framework, leading to the removal of minimum wage, PF, and gratuity provisions. Shockingly, some are now receiving as little as Rs 5,000 per month. These distressing reports emerged during our recent two-day gathering at Kolkata's Shramik Bhawan," he added.

The conference delved into issues such as the deliberate weakening of the state-owned telecommunications provider BSNL. Attendees highlighted the company's struggles in a competitive market due to the absence of access to advanced technologies like 4G and 5G, which are available to other telecom providers.

"Many of our employees have remained with us since the Department of Telecom (DoT) era, when the entire telephone infrastructure fell under the jurisdiction of the Government of India," Ghosh noted.

He further expressed that the new outsourcing approach has had a detrimental impact on the workforce. In the past, there were 5,000 to 6,000 employees, but only a mere 600 to 700 are currently retained, with the rest being terminated. BSNL seems unwilling to acknowledge its responsibilities as the primary employer.

"An agreement that was established during the transformation from DoT to BSNL, promising gradual regularization of contract employees, has been repeatedly violated. Even after 23 years of continuous service, contract employees are being dismissed under the pretext of the service level agreement," Ghosh lamented.

Another pressing demand of the contract employees is the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission, an expectation that has yet to be met. During the conference, more than 214 employees from 22 states raised this issue. Concurrently, contractors are also failing to ensure timely salary disbursements.

Animesh Mitra, the Secretary General of BSNL Contract Labourers' Union, emphasized, "The current challenge revolves around preventing the downsizing of contract employees, especially as nearly 80,000 BSNL employees have chosen the voluntary retirement scheme. The BSNL management's objective is now to cut 50,000 contract employees across the nation. In response, conference participants have resolved to initiate a vigorous movement against the central Modi government,"

Anadi Sau, the CITU West Bengal State Secretary, also addressed the conference and criticized the steps taken by the Central Government to marginalize public sector companies. Sau believes that the Modi government is essentially acting as a proxy for corporate interests, pursuing policies that are detrimental to India's strategic assets, such as BSNL.