Dear All Executives of BSNL,

On the occasion of the 77th Independence Day of India, AIGETOA extends warm greetings and best wishes to all of you. Independence Day is a day to celebrate the spirit of freedom, democracy and unity that our nation stands for. It is also a day to remember the sacrifices and struggles of our freedom fighters who fought valiantly to liberate us from colonial rule.

As the executives of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), you have a vital role to play in the development and progress of our country. You are the backbone of the telecom sector, which is essential for connecting people, providing services and enabling digital transformation. You have shown your dedication, commitment and resilience in serving the nation, especially during the challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic.

You are also the stakeholders of AIGETOA, which is an association that represents your interests, aspirations and welfare. AIGETOA is committed to safeguarding and promoting your rights, benefits and career prospects in BSNL. AIGETOA is also striving to improve the performance and profitability of BSNL by suggesting ways and means to increase productivity, efficiency and customer satisfaction.

As you are aware, the 3rd Membership Verification process for electing majority representative Association of Executives in BSNL is scheduled on 12/09/2023. This is a golden opportunity for you to exercise your democratic right and choose the association that can best represent you and your issues. AIGETOA appeals to you to participate in this process with enthusiasm and responsibility. AIGETOA also requests you to vote for AIGETOA as your preferred association, as it has a proven track record of fighting for your cause and delivering results.

AIGETOA believes that together we can make a difference. Together we can overcome any challenge. Together we can achieve any goal. Together we can make BSNL a world-class telecom company. Together we can make India a strong and prosperous nation.

Let us pledge on this Independence Day to work with dedication, integrity and solidarity for the betterment of ourselves, our organization and our country.

We request you to please mark your calendars for September 12, 2023, and cast your vote for AIGETOA at S. No. 3. Your vote matters.

Together, we can make a difference.

Happy Independence Day!

Jai Hind!

AIGETOA

How did AIGETOA contribute to the revival of BSNL, ensuring timely salaries, and preventing employee hardships?

The AIGETOA has been at the forefront of the efforts to revive BSNL. In June 2019, AIGETOA submitted a representation to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, requesting a revival package for BSNL. The representation highlighted the challenges faced by BSNL, such as the predatory market conditions, the high cost of spectrum, and the debt burden. AIGETOA also proposed a number of measures to revive BSNL, such as the allocation of additional spectrum, the rationalization of manpower, and the introduction of new services.

The government responded to AIGETOA’s representation by announcing a revival package for BSNL in October 2019. The package included a debt restructuring plan, a spectrum allocation plan, and a VRS scheme. The VRS scheme was particularly beneficial to BSNL, as it allowed the company to reduce its workforce by over 80,000 employees. This helped to reduce BSNL’s salary burden and improve its financial performance.

The salary burden of BSNL before retirement is very high. In 2019-20, the company’s revenue to wage ratio was 75%, which means that for every Rs. 100 that BSNL earned, it spent Rs. 75 on salaries.

The government has taken steps to reduce the salary burden of BSNL. In 2019, the government announced a Voluntary Retirement Scheme for BSNL employees. Under the VRS, employees who opt for early retirement are given a lump sum payment and a pension. Over 78,000 BSNL employees have opted for the VRS, which has saved the company Rs. 600 crore per month in salary costs.

The revival package has had a positive impact on BSNL. The company has been able to pay its salaries on time and has even started to report profits. In addition, BSNL has been able to invest in new technologies and services, such as 4G.

The AIGETOA’s efforts to revive BSNL have been a major success. The association’s representation to the Prime Minister led to the government announcing a revival package for BSNL. The VRS scheme that was part of the package has helped BSNL to reduce its workforce and improve its financial performance. As a result, BSNL is now in a better position to compete in the telecom market.

Here is a news link about the AIGETOA’s request to the Prime Minister:

https://www.livemint.com/politics/policy/bsnl-engineers-to-pm-modi-take-measures-to-revive-firm-reward-performers-1561301131285.html

Perseverance and conviction for achieving the goal Pays and AIGETOA Team today once again proved it.

Congratulations !!! AIGETOA Pay Loss Case for 22820 Admitted in Hon’ble High Court Delhi on Merits.

The Pay Loss Case 4119/2018 was dismissed by Hon’ble PCAT in March 2023 on technical grounds without going into the merit of the case. The legal team of AIGETOA thereafter decided to challenge the PCAT order in the Hon’ble High Court Delhi. The Writ of Mandamus with Diary no. 1071261/2023 has been registered as W.P.(C) 10564/2023 CM APPL 41019/2023, CM APPL 41020/2023. The Case was heard in detail today i.e 10.08.2023. The arguments were held for almost half an hour wherein our Senior Advocate along with his team of 4 advocates presented the case on behalf of Team AIGETOA. Hon’ble High Court was convinced on the arguments of our counsel and allowed the writ for further arguments. The notice to the other respondents was issued by the court. Hon’ble court also directed our lawyer to file written submission with regard to our averments and arguments. The Case is slated to be heard on 6th November 2023.

Friends, lot many questions have been raised by our fellow colleagues with respect to the efforts and non-submission of committee report by AIGETOA. We wish to inform that for positive submission of the committee report, the conducive situation is a pre-requisite. That was the only reason that AIGETOA has been working with patience on the matter and not like others who got the case killed and dumped forever.

Some people who considered themselves to be the best advocates gone to the extent of challenging and laughing on our team that the writ filed by AIGETOA Team will be dismissed and thrown on the very first instance. They also ridiculed the legal team of AIGETOA who mostly were the sufferers only. But the fact was that after getting a setback at Hon’ble PCAT, the legal team of AIGETOA under the guidance of GS Ravi Shil Verma sat together, introspected the whole scenario and made necessary corrections in the writ and changed the course of action. Our Team worked on the issue for almost three months meticulously without making any hue and cry. We were silently working on the case without raising any hue or cry or without countering the attacks from the sister associations. We believe in only one thing that at the end result matters. We are happy to inform that finally our efforts have paid, we have been able to overcome the setback of Hon’ble PCAT and finally Hon’ble High Court admitted the case in our favor.

It will be pertinent to mention that the biggest hurdle in any case at Hon’ble High court is at admission stage itself and unless the merit of the case is visible, the case is dismissed at admission stage itself.

We are happy to announce that now that the case is admitted in our favor, we are very sure of getting the verdict in favor of our fellow brothers and sisters.

In today’s hearing, CHQ team was represented by Shri Veerabhadra Rao, All India President, Shri Pavan Akhand, Dy GS and Shri Vivek Kumar Singh, AGS-II.

Dear Friends,

We are in receipt of lot of queries from members of our sister association SEWA with respect to our stand on their recent MoU with the sister association. Friends, our sincere submission is that these MoUs, MVs are only matter of time and finally we all aspire for the resolution of our issues. It remains the duty of each and every executive to ensure that the issues remain in safe and competent hands and the reins should be handed over to the person most suitable for the job.

We once again firmly reaffirm our commitment to safeguard the constitutional rights of our fellow SC/ST brothers & sisters. In our tenure as majority association, the major dispute with regard to Own merit-On Merit was settled and we firmly supported the guidelines of DoP&T and after getting clarification from DoP&T on the issue, we took all efforts to get the same implemented in BSNL and we were successful in resolving the decade old dispute of reservation in promotions in line with the Supreme Court Directions and DoP&T guidelines. We also took the efforts for filling up the backlog vacancies and many of the supplementary DPCs were conducted during our tenure to fill up the backlog. It was our endeavour to get the roster up to date and we succeeded in doing that also. Further, we got e-Roster also implemented in BSNL which will ensure a transparent and ready roster availability for all. We are further very happy to inform that we have been able to establish a strong bond with all members at ground level and we sincerely believe that each and every member is aware of our efforts and will take their decision wisely in the upcoming MV process.

We respect the decision of SEWA CHQ to align with our sister association in coming MV. Though, there have been many incidences where the sister association or its leadership at various level has been found to be on the opposite side as far as issues related to SC/ST executives have been concerned. However, since it is always the prerogative of one association to take its own decision, we extend our good wishes to them. We once again reiterate our stand that we will always stand with all our SC/ST members at all levels CHQ, Circle as well as District irrespective of anything.

AIGETOA has been taking care and will always take care of SC/ST WELFARE and their Constitutional Rights. We request and appeal each and every member to evaluate the ground works done by the respective associations while exercising their votes. In democracy, the right to vote is the biggest treasure for all the participating individuals and we all remain dutybound to ensure that our votes are utilised in the best interest of Cadre. Hence, we once again appeal all to vote in favour of honesty, integrity, sincerity, commitment, conviction and capacity to resolve the issues. We request all to vote for AIGETOA.

Together We Will Definitely Achieve Everything.

Team AIGETOA

#EmpoweringExecutives

#EmpoweringBSNL

On 6th Aug 2023, A great splendid interactive session of Shri Ravi Shil Verma GS AIGETOA conducted with regard to roadmap & efforts for obtaining GoI Pension Scheme for those BSNL employees who were recruited with DoT/GoI notification before formation of BSNL.

The Session was presided over by Sh G Veerabhadra Rao AIP AIGETOA. The session was specifically designed for executives and non-executives of BSNL, irrespective of their association affiliation, who under went recruitment process which initiated before the formation of BSNL but were appointed after its establishment for the Vacancy/Recruitment/Notification related to the Government of India, Department of Telecommunications.

The session was attended and interacted by Chief Patron Sh A A Khan, Sh PN Sharma Chairman, Dy. GS Sh Pavan Akhand, Sh D K Sahoo Vice President. CHQ Joint Secretaries Sh Amit Roy, Sh Kamlesh Deo, Sh R N Mishra, Sh Suresh Kumar, Sh Rakesh Kumar were part of the interactive session.

Sh Wankhede Ji Senior leader along with many leaders of MH joined, Many leader of UPE also joined the session.

During the session, it was established that this specific group of employees is fully eligible for the extension of pension benefits under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972. This claim aligns with the latest office Memorandum No: 57/05/2021-P&PW(B) dated 03.03.2023 issued by the Department of Pensions and Pensioners’ Welfare (DOP&PW). The memorandum was further endorsed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) with endorsement no 36-03/2019-Pen(T) I/3096083/2023 dated 17.4.2023, along with the support of various court judgments, including recent Supreme Court decision, which were thoroughly discussed with all stakeholders.

The Online Interactive Session witnessed active participation from approximately 300 stakeholders, who provided valuable inputs on the matter. Recognizing the gravity of the issue, which directly impacts the livelihoods and future security of dedicated employees whose recruitment process commenced before the formation of BSNL but were appointed after its establishment for the Vacancy/Recruitment/Notification pertaining to the Government of India, Department of Telecommunications and in pursuit of transparency and accountability in addressing their grievances, the following resolutions were adopted:

1] Sh Ravi Shil Verma GS AIGETOA, detailed the actions taken by AIGETOA on this issue and committed to expeditiously raise the matter with BSNL, DoPT, DoT, and MoC for earliest resolution.

2] It has been proposed to establish a study group, chaired by Mr. T Senthil, SDE GMSC Coimbatore, Tamilnadu Circle comprising 10 members with expertise in this matter, irrespective of their association affiliation. The study group’s primary responsibility will be to examine the legal rulings on this issue, gather supportive documents, and coordinate with the stakeholders.

3] AIGETOA will actively pursue this matter with the Ministry of Communication and DoT, accompanied by the representatives of aggrieved members, irrespective of their association affiliation for further discussions in upcoming meetings, and appointments have been sought with the MoC office.

4] The General Secretary of AIGETOA emphasized that this meeting is entirely unrelated to the upcoming membership verification and association affiliation. All members aggrieved by the issue are earnestly requested to participate in this further discussions and support the proposed actions irrespective of their association affiliation.

We appreciate your active engagement in this critical matter and assure you that every effort will be made to address your concerns. The association remains dedicated to protecting the rights and interests of its members and all BSNL executives.

The AIGETOA MA is working on this issue from a very long back and also will work in the multiple directions with the firm decision to pursue this DoT / Old Pension Scheme to the employees who have joined in our beloved BSNL with the DoT / SSC/ GoI notifications. So AIGETOA is requesting all the officers to be United until it is resolved.

Though DOT has given a negative reply today but that will not deter us from pursuing on the issue and we will take all efforts to ensure that the rightful Pension under CCS Rules is extended to the eligible executives.

BSNL CO writes the reminder letter to all CGMs regarding data required for review of Organizational Restructuring in BSNL. The data should be sent latest by 10.08.2023 so that the necessary action in this regard.

Click here for letter

Today, Standard Pay Scale Case at Hon’ble CAT Chandigarh was listed for hearing. But due to some busy schedule of Hon’ble Judge who is also handling Jammu CAT cases through VC, case did not came up for hearing. At present there is only one double bench available. As per info received soon another double bench will join, then case hearing will definitely speed up.

AIGETOA Team was present in CAT as always. Beside Punjab Team, Sh Sunil Gautam AGS CHQ, Sh Manish Anand DS East CTD, Sh Smurti Ranjan Sahoo DS North CTD was there to pursue since morning.

Initially, next date was given as 11.10.2023 but on sincere pursuance by AIGETOA team it was preponed on dated 05.09.2023.

We expect hearing to take place on next date. Have faith and support us in our endeavors.

PSEB recommended Dr. Kalyan Sagar Nippani, PGM Finance Chennai to be the next Director HR BSNL Board.

Click here for letter

AIGETOA congratulates Dr. Kalyan Sagar Nippani, on his selection for the post of Director HR BSNL Board and assures him full support & co-operation in all the endeavors taken in the interest of BSNL and its employees.

Team AIGETOA consisting of GS Shri Ravi Shil Verma, Dy GS Shri Pavan Akhand, AGS Shri Sunil Gautam, National Co-ordination Committee Member Shri Sanjay Tyagi met president BMS Shri Hiranmay Pandya Ji, GS BMS Shri Ravindra Himte Ji, Dy GS BMS Shri Surendra Kumar Pandey Ji on 25th July 2023 and had elaborate discussion over the issues raised by AIGETOA with respect to implementation of standard pay scales of E2 for JTO/JAO, Pay Loss Issues being faced by Executives Recruited/Promoted Post 01.01.2007, JE Period pay loss, 30 Percent SAB in BSNL, E1 plus 5 increments to all executives who have been Recruited/Promoted in E1 scales, Implementation of 3rd PRC in BSNL by relaxing the affordability clause, Revision in Perks and Allowances at current market rates, One time Pension Option to be extended to BSNL Executives whose recruitment was started by DOT in Pre BSNL Era, Settlement of Promotional issues and increase in Posts. We explained them the issues and possible solutions which can be undertaken. We also highlighted almost all the issues are in the ambit of DOT except promotions and Revision in Perks and Allowances. We also told that despite fulfilling the criteria for government pension, BSNL Recruited Executives whose Recruitment process was stared by DOT are not being allowed to exercise the one time option for getting the pension under CCS rules.

BMS leadership assured us of their full support and informed us that they have already taken up the issues raised with the Ministry and said that they will try to ensure the resolution of all the genuine issues raised by AIGETOA. OPS issue of Pension under CCS rules shall also be taken up with Hon’ble Labour Minister for resolution.

BMS leadership also wished good luck for the Membership Verification and told us that AIGETOA must ensure its victory which will go a long way in the resolution of all the Long Pending Issues. They assured us that BMS Leadership will stand with AIGETOA for resolution of all their issues. They also advised us to work wholeheartedly for the company and use the Revival Packages for the best interest of the company and its employees

Friends, with the concrete and firm assurance from the apex leadership of BMS, we hope for the early resolution of all the long pending issues including the pending financial issues. We seek the support of all BSNL Executives in ensuring the resolutions.