BSNL employees protest hiving off tower business to new subsidiary

JAMMU: Executive and nonexecutive employees of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited BSNL today suspended work and staged a demonstration against the decision of the Central Government to form a subsidiary tower company by hiving off 65000 mobile towers

Updated At : 06:11 AM Sep 17, 2015 IST

Members of the Forum of BSNL Employees Unions and Associations protest in Jammu on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Inderjeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 16

Executive and non-executive employees of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) today suspended work and staged a demonstration against the decision of the Central Government to form a subsidiary tower company by hiving off 65,000 mobile towers.

Led by NS Manhas, circle president, BSNL employees’ union, and Gitten Singh, circle president, National Federation of Telecom Employees (NFTE), BSNL, the employees held the demonstration under the banner of the Forum of BSNL Unions and Associations, Jammu telecom district.

Raising slogans against the Central Government, the protesters said the government decision was against the workers and BSNL and it was trying to form many subsidiary companies to weaken BSNL with the ultimate objective of privatising it.

“The government has brushed aside our demand for not forming subsidiary companies. Before coming to power, the government had announced not to privatise LIC, COAL, Indian Railways and other enterprises. The sale of BSNL is in the pipeline for achieving the target of Rs 69,500 crore earning and giving benefit to corporate houses,” BSNL employees’ union leaders said.

Prominent others who addressed the protesting employees were Ramesh Chander Sharma, district president, BSNL employees union, Manjeet Singh, district secretary of the union, Rai Singh, district secretary NFTE (BSNL), and Ram Krishan, president NFTE (BSNL).