BSNL employees and representatives of 15 unions and associations staged a protest outside the company’s office in Jayalakshmipuram, Mysuru, on Friday, demanding immediate implementation of the third wage revision for employees of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited.
The demonstration was organised by the joint forum of BSNL unions and associations. The protesters said employees had continued working for the country during challenging periods and demanded that the wage revision be implemented without applying a profitability condition.
The demand has remained unresolved for a prolonged period, according to the union leaders quoted in the report. They said the joint forum would continue its agitation until the issue was addressed. The protest in Mysuru forms part of a wider programme announced by the unions to build pressure on the company and the authorities.
The programme includes an awareness campaign through social media on September 28. The unions have also announced a nationwide hunger strike on October 1, which is observed as BSNL Foundation Day. A three-day long sit-in protest is scheduled from November 4 to November 6.
The unions also plan to submit memoranda to elected representatives and Members of Parliament as part of the campaign. An all-India strike has been announced for November 20, according to the representatives who spoke during the Mysuru protest.
BSNL is a government-owned telecommunications company whose employees have continued to press for the third wage revision. The demand raised at the Jayalakshmipuram office links employee compensation to the conditions attached to the company’s wage-revision process, with the unions specifically opposing the application of profitability as a requirement.
The announced escalation will move the issue from local demonstrations to coordinated action across the country. The next scheduled step is the social-media awareness and campaign programme on September 28, followed by the hunger strike planned for BSNL Foundation Day on October 1. Union leaders K. Puttaswamy and Nagendra were among those who participated in the Mysuru protest.
