Telecom strike disables phone service across India

NEW DELHI, India (Reuters) -- Mobile phone and data links across India were hit on Thursday as hundreds of thousands of state telecoms workers entered the second day of an indefinite strike over their future.

The government said it had signed an agreement with one union to end the strike, but two other federations kept up pressure.

The workers, employed by the Department of Telecom Services (DTS), are demanding written commitments on their future, job security and pension benefits following a plan to turn the department into a company under state ownership from October 1.

Telephone services in Delhi and Bombay were not affected by the strike as telecoms in these cities are run by a separate company, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL.BO). The strike covered nearly all the rest of the country.

Data links between offices suffered everywhere.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said in a statement that mobile calls were affected because they were being made through fixed-line links. Long-distance calls were worst hit.

"Complaints are pouring in large numbers...from mobile subscribers due to their inability to make calls," it said.

COAI said it estimated losses for the government worth tens of millions of rupees every day on account of the strike.

S.K Jain, chief general manager of the eastern telecom region, said in Calcutta the situation was "not very good."

"In most exchanges of the region the staff has not been allowed to enter the exchanges," he said.

"Throughout the country, the strike is continuing well," Radhey Shyam, a labour leader affiliated to the National Federation of Telecom Employees (NFTE), told Reuters.

"The strike will naturally make services suffer," he said.

Although many exchanges are automated, breakdowns in maintenance services are a common cause of disruption.

The DTS, a decades-old behemoth, recently started facing competition after decades of monopoly. The new company, called Bharat Sanchar Nigam, will be formed by creating shares.

Department unions are not convinced by broad verbal or "in principle" assurances offering a flexible pension plan and job security and want conditions set down in writing.

They are also worried about prospective privatisation of the DTS, which they say will hit their security, although the government says there is no disinvestment on the cards yet.

The strike initially involved about 300,000 workers, including technicians and clerical staff, but would have 80,000 workers less after the withdrawal of one union.

The government welcomed the decision of the Bharatiya Telecom Employees Federation to pull out after its leaders met government officials on Wednesday.

The Communications Ministry said in a statement that it signed agreement on benefits with BTEF but said it "regretted" the strike by the other two unions.

"No demand or suggestion of theirs were ignored or set aside," it said.

Under the agreement with BTEF, the new corporation will be asked to pay 1,000 rupees per month to employees who will opt for joining it from October 1 and the rise would be adjusted against new pay scales to be announced later, the statement said.

BTEF is affiliated to the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a labour body considered close to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For more ASIANOW news, myCNN.com will bring you news from the areas and subjects you select.

See related sites about South Asia
South Asian media sites

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.