BSNL Union Blames Management for VRS Plan & Crisis

31 Dec 2024 , 12:55 PM

The state-run telecom operator’s management has been under heavy fire from the BSNL Employees’ Union (BSNLEU) for failing to increase income production, and the union has attributed the company’s continuous financial difficulties to bad government policies. The management has been encouraged by the union to change its mind and revoke its plan to introduce a second Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS).

Reports that the board of directors of BSNL intends to reduce the workforce by 35% through another round of VRS have prompted the union’s opposition.

The incapacity of the administration to dramatically boost income generation is the real cause of BSNL’s financial issues, not the caliber of its workforce. In a letter to CMD Robert J. Ravi on December 30, BSNLEU general secretary P. Abhimanyu urged the management to rescind its decision to adopt a second VRS.

As the “real barriers” to BSNL’s rebirth and expansion, the union also emphasized the necessity of a thorough examination of the company’s policies and administrative inefficiencies.

BSNL has 26,435 non-executives and 29,750 executives as of March 2024. When the first VRS was introduced in 2020, 80,000 workers chose to retire, which is more than twice as many as the 30,000–35,000 that were expected.

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