BSNL federation opposes job cuts, says contract workers remain unpaid for 222 days

NEW DELHI: The contract workers of state-controlled Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) who remain unpaid for more than seven months or 222 days precisely, are opposing the management’s retrenchment move with plans afoot to hold a mega strike.

“We have not been paid for over seven months now, and have been asking the government not to exterminate contract workers,” BSNL Casual & Contract Workers Federation (BSNLCCWF) president VAN Namboodiri told ETTelecom.

The Delhi-based group that represents more than 80,000 contact workers across BSNL’s licensed services areas, has said that over the last few months, cash-strapped BSNL’s top management removed nearly 20% of the indirect workforce and is also looking to further reduce the base on a month-on-month basis.