Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has got a breather with the High Court giving it time till September to resolve the issue of absorbing officers belonging to the Indian Telecom Services (ITS).

The PSU is dealing with a management crisis with almost all of the 1,700 Indian Telecom Services officers deciding to remain government employees.

While the court had earlier set the deadline as May 1, BSNL filed an appeal seeking 25 months more to deal with the situation. The PSU had argued that since the ITS officers were managing key roles for the company, it needed time to recruit afresh. The court did not agree to giving 25 months but extended the deadline by 3 months.

Promotion rules

The officers have declined to get absorbed in BSNL because the promotion rules are weaker than in the Government in terms of moving up in pay scale. There are also issues related to pension benefits. In addition, the ITS officers wanted the absorption offer to be made applicable as on date, instead of 2005, to get benefit of the Fifth Pay Commission.

In order to appease the officers, BSNL doled out some benefits last month but were forced to withdraw the notice after the non-ITS employees threatened to go on strike. Non-ITS executives in BSNL say that the exit by ITS officers will not have any significant impact.

“There are other capable talent within the organisation. There are three lakh employees who have opted to get absorbed in BSNL, so ITS officers should also show commitment to the PSU. Every organisation has to have its own structure,” said Mr G. L. Jogi, President, Sanchar Nigam Executive Association.

>tkt@thehindu.co.in

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