GS writes to CMD BSNL regarding consistently changing stand of the management on various issues and new found tendency to unsettle already settled issues citing DoPT Rules/RRs Provision in a selected manner – Our Strong Objection to frequent change in the SDE Seniority List 12 comprising of LDCE qualified executives
The insensitive and consistently changing approach of the management on critical issues pertaining to the executives, where they are changing their own decisions taken years before. Few glaring examples are as stated below:
- The provisional List 9 was published in July/August 2020 for the vacancy Year 2006-7 wherein the Competitive and Seniority Cum Fitness Quota people of same vacancy year were placed in the list as per their respective date of joining in the cadre. Even in this published list provision of Rota was blatantly ignored despite provisions for the same being there in DoP&T guidelines and BSNL being bound to follow DoP&T guidelines in case the provisions in RR doesn’t exist meaning DoP&T guidelines will act as Rule in such cases where RR Doesn’t provide any explicit provisions in the matter. Despite such rules in force, management blatantly ignored the Rota Rule and went ahead with provisioning of Quota in the circulated provisional seniority list.
- Thereafter, one fine day, a thought comes in the mind of the management that earlier decision taken by the same section was not at all correct and was not in line with Hon’ble Supreme Court Judgment, and they start the process of changing their own decision; one year after the earlier decision, which was taken with due approval of the Director HR/CMD BSNL. All these while they just keep their unidirectional approach with completely misinterpreted version of RR as well as Hon’ble Supreme Court Judgment. Even submission of Legal Opinion on the Judgment as well as proper interpretation of RR from a Retired Justice of Hon’ble Supreme Court was not enough to deter on their motive of putting competitive quota persons at bay. Such was their inconsistency on the matter that they even went against their own affidavit submitted in Hon’ble PCAT where they have ensured that delay in conduction of exam will not impact the seniority of the competitive quota people and the same shall be protected.
- Thereafter, they change their earlier decision and circulate a provisional list wherein they kept even the failed candidates of LDCE 2012 above the LDCE 2012 passed candidates. Ignoring all objections and submissions from the association as well as individuals, management finalizes the list stating that DoP&T guidelines are not at all applicable in case of SDE RRs. In the finalized list, neither vacancy year-based quota nor the ROTA was extended to the competitive quota people. Those who were not even eligible to be promoted against vacancies of 2006-7 and 2007-8 LDCEs were placed above the eligible candidates of 2006-7 and 2007-8 vacancy years. Needless to mention is the fact that competitive quota people were again at the receiving end.
- Now, once again management suddenly realizes that whatever they did in February 2022 was not correct and there is again a need to correct the principle. They decided to do away with backlog vacancies citing DoP&T guidelines of 1986, which they themselves have been ignoring in the SDE Seniority lists 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 & 13. The candidates against these backlog vacancies were selected almost 10 years back and their promotion orders were released in July 2013. After a gap of 9 years, management decides what they did in 2013 was not correct and now there is need to change the principle followed and they do it without any second thought and that also on a very sensitive issue of Back Log Vacancies of Reserved Quota Candidates. Here, all hesitations of the people dealing the matter go for a toss just because this action will create more complexity in already complexified matters by BSNL on the issue of seniority. Intent is very much visible to keep the meritorious competitive quota people engaged in legal entangles and the reason is cited as the provisions of DoP&T guidelines, whose applicability in SDE Seniority, they themselves have denied.
- Same DOP&T guidelines stipulates provisions of one year relaxation in eligibility criteria in case a Junior is promoted before a Senior, both in SCF as well as Competitive Quota, but it fells to attract the attention of HR group and they don’t hesitate in placing people up in the rank below the people lower down in the rank stating that this relaxation is not applicable for LDCE quota despite provisions in SDE RRs as well as DoP&T guidelines. Not only that, but they also don’t hesitate in reverting SDEs already promoted SDEs, 12 years after they promote them citing a prospective clarification while when the matter was clarified from the section at the time of deciding the eligibility, at that time department made those executives eligible to appear in the exam. It will be pertinent to mention that persons at the receiving end are again the competitive quota people with highest merits.