People's Democracy

BSNL Workers To Strike On May 21

WORKERS and employees of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) have decided to participate in the general strike on May 21, called by central trade union organisations against the anti-worker, anti-people policies of the central government. To that end, BSNL Employees Union general secretary V A N Namboodiri served the strike notice on the CMD, BSNL, on May 6.

One major demand the strike notice lists is for a “halt to privatisation of profit making public sector undertakings, including BSNL.” The government is on a selling spree of profitable public sector undertakings (PSUs), even for 10 per cent of their real value. BALCO, Centaur Hotel etc provide clear evidence. Now the proposal is to privatise the oil giants HPCL and BPCL. Next it may be the BSNL; giving to the disinvestment minister Arun Shourie the communications ministry too is a clear hint of what is going to happen. But the BSNL Employees Union is completely against its disinvestment or privatisation. Only recently the union submitted a petition signed by 2 crore people to the Lok Sabha speaker, through Basudeb Acharya, chairman of the petitions committee of parliament, protesting against the move to disinvest or privatize the BSNL. It is neither in the country’s nor in the people’s interest.

Namboodiri also urged the three and a half lakh workers of the BSNL, including officers, to participate in the strike and make it a success. (INN)