GREET THE EXODUS!

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GREET THE EXODUS!
BSNL the Public Sector telecom giant has decided to downsize the company by one lakh. The strategy employed is an offer of VRS (VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT SCHEME), a Golden Handshake to its employees.
THE BACKGROUND:
The PSU which has a work force of THREE LAKHS spends nearly 50 per cent of its revenue on wage bills annually. It has incurred a loss of (a) Rs 1822 crore and ( b) Rs 6000 crore during the fiscals 2009-10 and 2010-11 respectively. The loss is on the increase and the situation may worsen further.

The successive loss making has prompted the Dept of Public Enterprises to brand BSNL as a marginally loss making company. The future too is not rosy even to the optimists in BSNL and it may well become a solid loss-making company soon.

The ACHILLES’ HEELS of BSNL is its giant size work force of 3 lakhs most of whom is junk. No other private operator in the industry has this much of huge staff strength. Bharti Airtel the market leader in telecom with a subscriber base of 150 million has only 23000 employees in its rolls as against 3 lakhs of BSNL.

In BSNL the ratio between the volume of work and the staff strength is alarmingly disproportionate and skewed indicating the inflated staff strength when compared to international and domestic standards. Nevertheless the “ less work-more staff” condition in BSNL is of no help to the organization which could not even resist the ongoing erosion of its subscriber base thanks to the sluggish work force. Things have moved from bad to worst after the introduction of MNP ( MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY) this year and the 100 million subscriber base of BSNL has started evading.

No bonus was paid to the staff of BSNL for the last two years. The management has resorted to expenditure control and sundry allowances were withdrawn. These measures have created apprehensions in the minds of the workers that BSNL wont survive and would become another AIR INDIA.

Really the count down has begun for BSNL. Sensing this the management of BSNL in consultation with the PMO has rightly decided to jettison the excess cargo lest the company should not sink. The decision to reduce the work force by one lakh is not an arbitrary decision but in agreement with the recommendations of SAM PITRODA committee.

VRS PROPOSALS:
Now let us consider the VRS proposals put forth by the management. The details are now transpired through various web sites of BSNL unions and therefore it is needless to repeat them here. There are two sets of proposals in the air viz: ( a) BSNL MODEL and ( b) GUJARAT MODEL and of these two one will be chosen. The management has made these proposals sufficiently attractive and if the unions are not satisfied they are at liberty to fight for improvement.

The concept of VRS may be new to BSNL but the Indian working class has gained rich Experience and wisdom all along its path where numerous VR schemes were successfully dealt with.

The present proposals of VRS ARE INDEED BETTER, GAINFUL AND BY AND LARGE ACCEPTABLE in the contemporary socio-economic scenario. Any employee with a robust common sense will easily conclude that accepting the said VRS WOULD BE THE PRUDENT DECISION ever made in his life.

BSNL HR: THE SORDID PICTURE:
The sorrow of BSNL is its work force which is mainly sub standard. BSNL is the only organization where the promotees from the lower ranks constitute a large chunk of the Work force. A scrutiny of the HR details of these promotes reveals that many SUB- DIVISIONAL ENGINEERS (Divisional Engineers and few DGMs even) have a very low academic profile and most of them are mere matriculates. In BSNL till recently the promotions were not linked with academic qualification and because of this phenomenon matriculates and graduates in various non-science disciplines were baptized as Sub Divisional Engineers.

In the non-executive side also the same phenomenon operated and phone mechanics with the qualification of VIII standard passed/failed were made as Technical Assistants. With the induction of modern technology which is essentially wireless these promotees have become a liability to BSNL. Whatever is done by BSNL is done by the DIRECT RECRUITS who are science/engineering graduates.

The high-tech projects like CDR, ERP and NGN could not be successfully implemented in BSNL and the reason therefor inter alia is the technically incompetent work force.

How a Sub Divisional Engineer who is a Tamil Pundit or a History graduate can contribute to NGN, the next generation network?

Another matter of concern is the ratio between the non-executives and the Executives which is
5:1. ( no. of executives is 55019 and non-executives 221287). This means that for every 5 phone mechanics there is an engineer!
How ridiculous!
From the sordid picture one concludes that the need of the hour is not a VRS but a grand OPERATION PURGE to weed out the incompetent which may be possible through a CRS!

THE NEGATIVE ROLE OF THE UNIONS:
In BSNL the VRS has always been a rumour so far. But it has become an inevitable eventuality now. Yet some unions are skeptical about its arrival.

It is high time for the unions to lay an effective role and to extract the maximum benefit out of the proposed VRS. But they are callus and indifferent to the issue. They indulge in euphemism.
Without an objective assessment their one line solution is “ OPPOSE VRS”.
One wonders why the unions engage themselves with the conservative idea that VRS should be opposed. The unions with the illogical slogan of ‘oppose VRS’ can do incalculable harm to the innocent workers. Their Quixotic PROJECTS LIKE HINGER FAST, ONE DAY TOKEN STRIKE etc have alienated them from their members.
VRS DOES NOT HAVE ANY NEGATIVE CONNOTATION. But the unions look at it with a jaundiced eye. The unions by reducing everything to a conflict of villain and hero not only miss the point but land in falsified decisions even. Swayed by the customary belief the unions feel that anything by the Govt is to be opposed. This is the secret of their opposition to VRS.
Do the unions oppose the present VRS? Or do they oppose the very concept of VRS?
If they oppose the concept itself, then it becomes a theoretical question which can’t be discussed in mass front platforms. And Marxism teaches us that theoretical knowledge should be brought into the working class only from outside. It is not within. Interested readers may please refer the book: WHAT IS TO BE DONE? by V I LENIN.

VRS: THEORETICAL ANALYSIS:
Theoretically VRS is a derivative obtained from certain initial conditions through a Dialectical process. There exists a clear CAUSE AND EFFECT relationship in it. As long as there is a cause there will be an effect. If the effect is to be nullified then the Cause should be removed.

In our case the causes for VRS are as under:-
a) Inflated population in BSNL
b) Incompetant HR
c) Crippled advancement
If these causes are removed then the VRS is not necessary.

Do the unions which oppose VRS have any meaningful alternative? The answer is a BIG NO. They have to seek the guidance of their mentors. But having travelled long in a direction opposite to the revolution their mentors, the pseudo Left parties could not guide them to a correct destination. But many UNMARXIST solutions are there in their cup-boards and the unions may be asked to pick up one.

IT IS CRYSTAL CLEAR NOW THAT THERE IS AN INTERNAL CONTRADICTION
BETWEEN BSNL AND ITS OWN STAFF. THIS IS AN UNANTAGONISTIC CONTRADICTION. HOW WILL THIS BE RESOLVED? THE ANSWER IS : VRS!

THEREFORE AN EXODUS OF ONE LAKH EMPLOYEES IS A MUST AND LET US GREET IT.
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