Telecom staff need not worry: Paswan

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 29. The Union Communications Minister, Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, today said corporatisation of the Telecom Department will not affect its viability or result in retrenchment.

The staff would also not be deprived of their statutory rights such as pension and leave, he said in response to the charter of demands submitted by telecom federations about four weeks ago.

The Minister said telecom employees should not harbour fears about losing their jobs after the Telecom Department was converted into a corporation. Their job security would be ensured because the department had drawn up massive expansion plans and there would be a need to retain and fully use the services of the existing employees, said the Minister in a statement.

The federations, therefore, should not have any apprehensions on this account as the Government would fulfil its obligation of making the corporation financially viable and also provide funds for the expansion of the telecom sector, he observed. Responding to one of the main demands on reimbursement of losses on account of opening up of long distance telephony, Mr. Paswan said the Department of Telecom Operations (DTO) would be exempted from paying entry fee.

In response to the contention by federations that the staff would be deprived of its statutory rights such as pension, the Minister said the impression was misplaced. The Government would ensure payment of terminal benefits to the staff on retirement even after the switch over to the corporation. These benefits would be on a par with what they were enjoying today in Government service.

As regards the financial viability of the corporation, Mr. Paswan said the Group of Ministers had met the federations and had stated that the Government stood committed to identifying supporting funds to carry on with previously planned targets and objectives. Proposals in this regard were being actively considered by the Government, he added.

Stating that while the overall approach was to protect the income stream of the proposed corporation, he said at the same time the Government would encourage it to undertake new ventures to help make up for the erosion in revenues caused by the entry of private companies in sectors now monopolised by the DTO.

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Section  : National
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