A joint forum of 15 BSNL unions and associations held a protest outside the company’s office in Jayalakshmipuram, Mysuru, on Friday, demanding the immediate implementation of the third wage revision for employees.
The protesting representatives said BSNL employees had continued working for the country during challenging periods and should not be denied a wage revision on the grounds of the organisation’s profitability. They demanded that the profitability criterion not be applied while deciding the wage revision for employees.
The wage revision has remained a long-standing demand of BSNL employees, according to the joint forum. Union leaders said the organisations would continue their agitation until the demand was addressed.
The forum has announced a series of programmes as part of its escalation plan. The first is a social media awareness and campaign programme on September 28. This will be followed by a nationwide hunger strike on October 1, which is BSNL’s foundation day.
The unions have also announced a three-day sit-in protest from November 4 to 6. As part of the campaign, representatives will submit memoranda to elected representatives and Members of Parliament, seeking their intervention in the wage revision issue.
An all-India strike has been scheduled for November 20, according to the union representatives who spoke at the Mysuru protest. The programme places the issue before both the company and elected representatives, while escalating the demand from local demonstrations to coordinated national action.
K. Puttaswamy and Nagendra were among the BSNL union leaders who participated in the protest in Mysuru. The demonstration was organised outside the BSNL office in Jayalakshmipuram by the joint forum representing the 15 unions and associations.
The employees’ demand centres on the immediate implementation of the third wage revision and the removal of profitability as a condition for extending it. The next announced step is the social media awareness campaign on September 28, followed by the hunger strike planned for BSNL’s foundation day on October 1.
