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.