BSNL to shift most staff to new firm

Before firming up plans to list state-owned telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) on the stock exchanges,the government is working on a plan to trim the companys bloated employee size.

A proposal finalised by the companys administrative ministry,the department of telecommunications,says about two-thirds of BSNLs employees would be shifted to a newly created PSU,the National Optic Fibre Authority (Nofa). BSNL now has over 3 lakh employees,of which around 2 lakh would be shifted to the proposed Nofa,which would have the mandate to lay optic fibre across the country and then lease that network to telecom firms for providing broadband services. We are planning to transfer around 2 lakh employees of BSNL to the proposed National Optic Fibre Authority, a DoT official confirmed to FE. The government would set up the authority to lay over 12 lakh km of optic fibre throughout the country,spending around Rs 40,000 crore. The mix-and-match would be perfect. BSNL needs to shed staff while the newly created PSU would need people, the official said.

The biggest contributor to BSNLs miserable financial position has been the stupendous wage bill of Rs 10,000 crore. This represents a wage to turnover ratio of 28% compared with 4.6% for its private sector rival,Bharti Airtel. This year BSNLs salary bill would go up by Rs 2,000-2,500 crore. FE