To the kind attention of our   

                 leaders!

Dear Comrades,

Four months have passed after the curfew in partial and full sometimes,was introduced here, in India in the name of  'lockdown', which we never tasted in our life unlike the people of Jammu & Kashmir.

The Corona initially started spreading in China as Endemic grew to Epidemic and reached a stage of pandemic while it hit hard globally. The living conditions of entire humankind throughout the world and their life style are totally changed upside down. As usual the pandemic disease drives the poor to the wall and turn their life miserable. The failure on the part of the Central Government due to its delayed response to the viral disease and the sudden announcement of the Union Goverment on 'Lockdown', from 24th March, 2020 after a volunteer 14-hour curfew for just 21 days. Now we are in August,2020 with the lockdown being not lifted. Everyone of us has gained a lot of experiences and the social outlook of the different walks of people changed considerably. Still we do have many a chance to learn the attitude of the rulers and the reactions of the people thereupon. 

Taking the cover of Covid-19, as openly declared by our much more learned Hon'ble FM, this present government at the centre in the name of policies and reforms, dare to change the face of our Nation by dismantling the PSUs through privatisation, announcing NEP and EIP hastily without adhering to any democratic norms hitherto followed by the Union Government though ruled by the political parties of various combinations. The multifaceted attacks one side by the pandemic and all other sides by the government through such hasty measures so as to favour the corporates turn the Nation as a melting pot.

Amidst all confusions and misgivings the whole Nation is subjected to, let us see the condition of our house, the BSNL which was disarrayed already.The commitment and promises given openly and in Parliament officially on revival of BSNL are kept unfulfilled. The launching of 4G is put on hold through litigation and the revival of BSNL as a cabinet decision took the back seat amidst Covid19. Even after the half of the work force went on VRS, the timely disbursement of monthly pay and allowances couldn't be realisable. The voice of pensioners is faded to nothing. The interest and the untiring attempt of BSNL management to convince our leaders to switch us en masse from MRS to CGHS do not reflect in settling of other issues of pensioners. Our members are put into lot of difficulties in getting in-patient admissions in the empanelled hospitals and the option of both 'with and without' vouchers does not help them. The empanelled hospitals, it is reported, stopped cashless treatment and we have to pay in advance the estimated cost for the treatment and the medicines. How many of us are capable of paying the lump sum money required to treatment? The condition of CGHS optees also remain the same. This is the main grievance of the pensioners everywhere. 

No bit of progress could be achieved either by our Association or by others. Pension revision becomes a day dream! But the Union Government is consciously and boldly implementing its programmes one by one. Now the Railway Department raises alarming voice regarding non availability of funds in the coming months to give the monthly pay to its employees as happened in BSNL. Pension payment also becomes a major issue. 

The main grievances of our members are pension revision and the effective medical reimbursement. But it is really unfortunate that no association of pensioners do anything for the settlement of these demands. Our Association unlike others is the biggest one having 53,000 life members as declared by our President and the General Secretary. That's why we are able to collect donations and the members with loyalty respond overwhelmingly to the call of our Association.  Never in the recent history of TU movement in Telecom, such a very huge amount as donation was collected. Within a span of one year or more, after donating about 50 lakhs of rupees to Hon'ble Minister Prahlad Joshi in lieu of cyclone Gaja, now we donate about Rs.1crore and 4 lakhs to PM CARES collected  through Circle Branches and directly by members. Now it is learnt that the PM CARES is a trust handled by a group of trustees and this  amount will not be transferred to NDRF. This affidavit is submitted by the said body before the Supreme Court against a case filed to know the fate of the fund in future. We could not know where our money donated will go. 

Now our members are curiously asking about the MRS case and the pension revision. They may, as myself, have a hope that as we did our duty perfectly by generous donations, our long pending genuine problem of medical claims would be looked into. But no improvement till date! The pension revision also finds no light even after the  VRS was inplemented.

We are constrained to state that we are not able to convince our members in divisional level. After re-opting for without voucher, no amount was given by the BSNL. This hardships being faced by us could not be allowed to continue unendingly for one or other reasons.

So our leaders are requested to do the needful without further delay so that the confidence hitherto instilled in the minds of our members towards our Association is not shattered badly.

Yours comradely,

N.Veerapandian

02-08-2020

Thanjavur SSA