BSNL staff to go on nation-wide dharna on Oct 11

Chennai, Oct 10: As many as 3.5 lakh executive and non executive employees affiliated to the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) Joint Forum would be launching a nation-wide dharna tomorrow in support of their long-standing demands.

Joint Forum Tamil Nadu Circle Secretary R Gunasekaran told the sources here today that their forum which met at New Delhi on September 7 in a special convention decided to hold a day-long dharna across the country on various demands including expeditious supply of 2G, 3G GSM lines, Navarathana status for BSNL, ensuring financial viability of BSNL, immediate absoption of ITS officers, commencement of wage negotiation and a merger of 50 per cent IDA with pay.

When there was a steep demand for mobile connections from BSNL throughout the country, the pace of current expansion was causing concern and apprehension among the entire workforce.

''The Joint Forum, representing more than three lakh executive and non executive employees throughout the country, has also decided to proceed further with serious agitations if the demands are not met,'' he cautioned.

''It is on the part of the government to avert intensification of the programmes of trade union actions by amicable settlement of the justified and long pending demands.''

UNI