ITANGAR, Sep 18: The All India Public Sector and Central Government Officers’ Confederation (AIPCOC) opposed the decision of the union government to off load the most powerful and potential assets of BSNL-66,000 mobile towers.
This gravely threatens to decelerate an otherwise accelerating growth of BSNL, besides endangering its very existence. Employees of BSNL are determined and ready to pay any price to safeguard existing integrated and time tested composition of BSNL, the AIPCOC stated in a release.
BSNL has 1, 30,000 2G/3G BTSs installed on these towers. BSNL is going for a major expansion for Rs 6,000 crore, in which another 40,000 new BTSs will be added.
“The retrograde decision of the government to rob BSNL of its most potential resources, 66,000 mobile towers, is nothing but definite diabolical move towards disinvestment and eventual privatization of the most strategic and prestigious telecom institution of the Country, the release said.
“We apprehend that this is to help Reliance Jio. BSNL, ever since advent of privatization in the telecom sector, enabling the government to successfully and effectively implement telecom policies, maintain competitiveness in the telecom market and defeat cartelization of private operators.”
BSNL is the only operator meeting the social obligations of the telecom policies of the Government by providing services to the far flung, remote areas, North Eastern regions and rural places in an extraordinary and exemplary manner, it said.
Any move of the government to disintegrate or weaken BSNL in any manner will be opposed tooth and nail by the BSNL employees. As a beginning towards our programs of protracted trade union actions, all the Unions and the Associations in BSNL has held lunch time demonstration throughout the country on September 15 which will be followed by other prolonged and very serious mode of trade union actions.
All India Public Sector and Central Govt Officers Confederation representing 13 lakh officers including Banks, Insurance, Telecom, Power, Oil, Defence, Railway, Dock, Pharmaceuticals and Central Govt. Gazetted officers demands before the Govt. to immediately withdraw the proposal in the larger interest of the country.
