BSNL board receptive on layoff moves

The board of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), which met on Friday, has taken a receptive stance on the proposal of reducing retirement age and offering the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to its employees.

"The board was very receptive of the move in the meeting," a highly-placed source within the company told DH.

A three-member expert committee, headed by Prof Rekha Jain of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, had recommended for introduction of VRS and reduction in retirement age to 58 from the present 60 to BSNL employees along with eight other proposals. The move, if implemented, will leave over 54,000 BSNL employees jobless.

However, the board has asked the management and the expert committee to collate the exact data on the issue so that it can put forth a concrete proposal to the government.

"When we go to the government, we need to have exact data in our hands," a source, who was present at the meeting, said.

Among other proposals put forward by the panel, the state-owned corporation has decided to immediately pursue the allocation of 4G spectrum by the government.

The panel had asked for 5 MHz of 2100 MHz band as 4G spectrum to be allocated to BSNL immediately, but only for a limited five-year period. This move may require around Rs 1,875 crore of licence fee paid for five years.