The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting has
made a strong case for the government to come out with a "revised VRS
proposal" for the employees of BSNL and MTNL. The committee, headed by
BJP member Anurag Singh Thakur, said that both the BSNL and the MTNL
have been burdened due to transfer of around three lakh government
employees who were part of the Department of Telecom Services and
Department of Telecom Operations with liabilities of Rs 1,000 crore per
month wage bills.
Thus, it said, it will be imperative that the government extends support to these two operators on dealing with salaries and other aspects of the work force."As the skills (of the workers) have become obsolete with the introduction of new technology as they were mainly employed for repairing landlines, the committee is of the view that the department may look into the possibility of skilling these employees for gainful utilisation of their services," the panel said.
The committee -- comprising members like Derek O' Brien (Trinamool), Sachin Tendulkar (Nominated), Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Paresh Rawal, Hema Malini and L K Advani (all BJP) and Jaya Bachchan (Samajwadi Party) and P Bhattacharya (Congress) -- said: "If it is not possible, the best way is to extend VRS to those employees who can no longer be skilled, since extending will help to advance the liability and reduce the employee cost".
The panel further said if financial constraints prevented VRS proposal to materialise, the department "should come out with a revised VRS proposal".Dwelling on other issues, the committee said, all the existing "non-functional towers of BSNL" should be made functional at the earliest and a report furnished to the Committee."In spite of the numerous assistance given by the government, these two companies (BSNL and MTNL) are still unable to stand on their own feet," the Committee said.The panel, in its report tabled in Parliament during the on-going Budget session, said the committee hopes that Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) would pay adequate attention for making bigger investment for expansion of its infrastructure "so as to increase its revenue earning potential".It further said BSNL must take initiatives "in making a robust distribution strategy besides upgradation of technology" and also introduce the best business practice adopted by the private operators "if it is to have any role in the telecom market in future".
The committee also took note that the BSNL Network of 2G and 3G is not meeting "call drop standards" in West Bengal; and said that hence, the state-run telecom operator should make serious effort to achieve all the target set for 2017-18 and also improve 2G and 3G services in all the circles including West Bengal.The panel also took note that the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) - "once the lifeline between Delhi and Mumbai" is today "languishing" under heavy burden of debt.
Thus, it said, it will be imperative that the government extends support to these two operators on dealing with salaries and other aspects of the work force."As the skills (of the workers) have become obsolete with the introduction of new technology as they were mainly employed for repairing landlines, the committee is of the view that the department may look into the possibility of skilling these employees for gainful utilisation of their services," the panel said.
The committee -- comprising members like Derek O' Brien (Trinamool), Sachin Tendulkar (Nominated), Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Paresh Rawal, Hema Malini and L K Advani (all BJP) and Jaya Bachchan (Samajwadi Party) and P Bhattacharya (Congress) -- said: "If it is not possible, the best way is to extend VRS to those employees who can no longer be skilled, since extending will help to advance the liability and reduce the employee cost".
The panel further said if financial constraints prevented VRS proposal to materialise, the department "should come out with a revised VRS proposal".Dwelling on other issues, the committee said, all the existing "non-functional towers of BSNL" should be made functional at the earliest and a report furnished to the Committee."In spite of the numerous assistance given by the government, these two companies (BSNL and MTNL) are still unable to stand on their own feet," the Committee said.The panel, in its report tabled in Parliament during the on-going Budget session, said the committee hopes that Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) would pay adequate attention for making bigger investment for expansion of its infrastructure "so as to increase its revenue earning potential".It further said BSNL must take initiatives "in making a robust distribution strategy besides upgradation of technology" and also introduce the best business practice adopted by the private operators "if it is to have any role in the telecom market in future".
The committee also took note that the BSNL Network of 2G and 3G is not meeting "call drop standards" in West Bengal; and said that hence, the state-run telecom operator should make serious effort to achieve all the target set for 2017-18 and also improve 2G and 3G services in all the circles including West Bengal.The panel also took note that the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) - "once the lifeline between Delhi and Mumbai" is today "languishing" under heavy burden of debt.
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