On 7th February, a General Body Meeting in connection with the General Strike scheduled on 12^th February was successfully conducted at Alwar, Rajasthan. The meeting was attended by Com. Animesh Mitra, General Secretary, BSNLEU, Com. Norat Mal Meena, Acting Circle Secretary, Rajasthan circle, Com.Tejpal Singh Kasana, District Secretary Jaipur, Ganganagar,  Shri Ajit Giri, District Secretary, Ganganagar, Com. Parveen Kumar, District Secretary, Gurgaon, Com.B.L. Prajapati, Assistant Treasurer and Com.K.K. Sharma. The convention gave a strong call to make the 12th February General Strike a grand success. All comrades are requested to extend their full cooperation and actively participate to ensure the success of the strike. The event was efficiently organised and managed by Com.Ghanshyam Saini, DS, Alwar, Com.S.K. Meena, President, Com.Pitambar Saini and Com.Manmohan Saini. The Rajasthan Circle extends red salute and sincere appreciation to the comrades of Alwar for their dedicated efforts and successful conduct of the programme.

A strike campaign convention was held on 07.02.2026, at Rewari Telephone Exchange in support of the proposed strike on 12th February. Com. Ramesh Chand, President, welcomed the gathering and explained the purpose of the convention. Com. M. S. Kadiyan, Circle Secretary, BSNLEU Haryana Circle, inaugurated the meeting and called for strong support for the 12th February strike. Leaders of SNEA and AIGTOA addressed the gathering on PRC and pension revision, highlighting the role of AUAB. Com. Animesh Mitra, General Secretary, the main speaker, warned about the dangers posed by the Labour Codes introduced by the Central Government and stressed the importance of the Charter of Demands of the Central Trade Unions. He appealed to employees to actively participate in the strike, noting that BSNLEU and NFTE have already issued strike notices demanding wage revision, including relaxation of the affordability clause. He explained how the Labour Codes would severely affect trade union rights. Com. Pradip Kumar, Organising Secretary (CHQ), and Com. Parveen Kumar, District Secretary, Gurgaon, also addressed the meeting. All employees present unanimously supported the call and confirmed their participation in the 12th February strike.

The Central Government has once again allotted funds for BSNL in the current budget, continuing its recent practice of providing financial support under various revival packages. However, despite repeated infusion of public money, BSNL’s overall performance and growth remain unsatisfactory. The serious question is: why is BSNL’s condition not improving even after receiving massive financial assistance? Customer base remains stagnant at around 9.5 crore, and teledensity has not shown significant progress. This clearly exposes serious policy and management failures. As the owner of BSNL, the Central Government must answer in Parliament: who is responsible for this situation, what policy direction is being followed, and what concrete roadmap exists for real revival and sustainable growth of BSNL? BSNLEU demands accountability, transparency and a clear future strategy to strengthen BSNL and protect public investment.

The Management’s double standard approach stands exposed. While moving ahead with open market recruitment for SET and JTO(T), the same Management continues to deny promotion opportunities to qualified existing employees. For years, JAO, JTO and TT examinations have not been conducted in many circles due to artificial scarcity of vacancies, after abolishing more than 50% of posts in the name of restructuring. Whenever unions demand for review of restructuring of cadres, creation of posts and conduct of LICE through relaxation of examination standards to fill vacant TT, JE and JTO posts, Management hides behind the excuse of financial constraints. However, the decision to recruit from the open market clearly contradicts this stand. BSNLEU strongly condemns this discriminatory policy and demands immediate conduct of LICE in all cadres, restoration/creation of sufficient posts, and promotion of eligible internal candidates without further delay.

Yesterday, on 05.02.2026, Com. Animesh Mitra, General Secretary, BSNLEU, met Shri Rajeev Kaushik, PGM (SR), BSNL CO, and handed over a memorandum highlighting the long-pending burning staff issues that continue to remain unresolved. It may be recalled that, in the meeting held with the Director (HR) on 03.02.2026, it was decided that both recognised unions would submit a consolidated list of long-pending staff issues awaiting final settlement. Accordingly, the memorandum, duly signed by both General Secretaries, was submitted to PGM (SR). In response, PGM (SR) assured that the Management would make sincere efforts to resolve the issues through cordial discussions with both recognised unions. The Management has confirmed that the meeting with Director (HR) will be held on 18th February 2026. Memorandum is enclosed herewith.

The strike campaign programme has commenced in different parts of the country, with district and circle unions actively organising meetings at various levels to popularise the demands of the forthcoming strike among employees. In several places, district unions have received campaign posters, while in others, comrades have downloaded pamphlets from the CHQ website and printed them after translating into local languages. CHQ has received reports of the following campaign activities:

Convention at Asansol: A strike convention was held at Asansol Telephone Exchange on 04.02.2026, with enthusiastic participation of regular employees, pensioners and casual contract workers. Com. Sujoy Sarkar, CS, BSNLEU and Convenor, Coordination Committee, and Com. Om Prakash Singh, President, AIBDPA, explained the charter of demands and the present BSNL scenario. Com. Subrata Mishra, Secretary, Coordination Committee, Asansol, delivered the welcome address and explained the objective of the convention.

Strike Convention at Guindy – Chennai Telephones: A strike convention was held at Guindy on 05.02.2026, jointly organised by BSNLEU South and West District Unions. The meeting was presided over by Com. A.K.T. Ambethkar (DP South) and Com. I. Henry (DP West). Com. K. Lakshmanan (DS South), Com. R. Rameshkumar (DS West), and Com. M. Sridhara Subramanian, Circle Secretary, addressed the gathering and highlighted key issues including the wage agreement, anti-labour policies of the Central Government and the implications of the Four Labour Codes. They called upon all comrades to actively participate in the All India General Strike on 12th February 2026 to safeguard employees’ hard-earned rights.

A meeting was held on 02.02.2026 between BSNL Management and LIC authorities to finalise the renewal of the Group Term Insurance (GTI) scheme for Executives and Non-Executives. It is understood that LIC has agreed to continue the GTI scheme for the next year on the existing terms and conditions. During the discussions, the Management highlighted the demands raised by the unions and associations, including: (i) Enhancement of the insurance coverage for Non-Executives from ₹20 lakhs to ₹50 lakhs. (ii) Provision for willing Non-Executives to opt for higher GTI coverage. (iii) Reduction of GST on the Term Insurance premium.

Regarding GST reduction, LIC representatives clarified that the reduced GST is applicable only for individual term insurance policies and not for group term insurance schemes. LIC representatives informed that proposals for enhancement of coverage may be reviewed in future if a sufficient number of employees opt for the GTI scheme during the next renewal cycle. As on date, out of 28,989 Executives, 14,521 have opted for GTI, while among 23,315 Non-Executives, only 6,369 have enrolled in the scheme. LIC emphasised that increasing the number of subscribers would help in reducing premium rates and improving insurance coverage benefits. It is understood that the Management intends to continue the GTI scheme for the financial year 2026–2027. The option window for employees to enrol or continue in the scheme is expected to be opened shortly.

The 22^nd of March marks the Foundation Day of BSNLEU. This year, BSNLEU completes 25 glorious years since its formation. BSNLEU was founded in the year 2001 at Visakhapatnam, under the able leadership of Com. Moni Bose, Com. V.A.N. Namboodiri and other senior leaders. The long journey of these 25 years has been marked by numerous struggles, achievements and significant organisational developments. Recognising the historic importance of this milestone, the Mangaluru CEC meeting resolved that the Silver Jubilee celebrations of BSNLEU’s Foundation should be observed meaningfully and extensively across the country. The resolution envisages a series of activities, including blood donation camps, seminars, trade union classes, tree plantation programmes, cultural activities and financial assistance to needy families, among others. The CEC has authorised the All India Centre to prepare a comprehensive programme, enabling the Circle and District unions to design and implement suitable activities as part of the Silver Jubilee celebrations.

मंगलुरु में हुई सीईसी मीटिंग में पूरे देश में BSNLEU की सिल्वर जुबली को प्रभावी और शानदार तरीके से मनाने का प्रस्ताव पास किया गया है।

22 मार्च को BSNLEU का स्थापना दिवस है। इस साल, BSNLEU अपनी स्थापना के 25 गौरवशाली साल पूरे कर रहा है। BSNLEU की स्थापना साल 2001 में विशाखापत्तनम में साथी  वी.ए.एन. नंबूदरी, साथी  मोनी बोस और अन्य वरिष्ठ नेताओं के कुशल नेतृत्व में हुई थी। इन 25 सालों की लंबी यात्रा में कई संघर्ष, उपलब्धियां और महत्वपूर्ण संगठनात्मक विकास हुए हैं। इस मील के पत्थर के ऐतिहासिक महत्व को पहचानते हुए, मंगलुरु सीईसी मीटिंग में यह तय किया गया कि BSNLEU की स्थापना की सिल्वर जुबली पूरे देश में सार्थक और बड़े पैमाने पर मनाई जाएगी। इस प्रस्ताव में कई गतिविधियों की योजना है, जिसमें ब्लड डोनेशन कैंप, सेमिनार, ट्रेड यूनियन क्लास, पेड़ लगाने के कार्यक्रम, सांस्कृतिक गतिविधियां और जरूरतमंद परिवारों को वित्तीय सहायता देना शामिल है। सीईसी ने अखिल भारतीय केंद्र को एक व्यापक कार्यक्रम तैयार करने के लिए अधिकृत किया है, ताकि सर्कल और जिला यूनियन सिल्वर जुबली समारोह के हिस्से के रूप में उपयुक्त गतिविधियों की रूपरेखा तैयार करें और लागू कर सकें।

Both the General Secretaries have expressed strong resentment to the Director (HR), BSNL, over the continued non-settlement of long-pending staff issues, particularly affecting the Non-Executive cadre. On 03.02.2026, Com. Animesh Mitra, General Secretary, BSNLEU and Com. Chandeshwar Singh, General Secretary, NFTE BSNL, met Dr. Kalyan Sagar Nippani, Director (HR), BSNL and conveyed their strong dissatisfaction with the attitude of the Management in not settling any of the staff issues that have been pending for a long time. It was pointed out that several agenda items had already been discussed in the National Council meetings as well as in formal meetings, but the Management has not taken any concrete action towards resolving them. After threadbare discussions, the Director (HR) assured that a special meeting would be convened to discuss certain long-pending burning issues for their amicable settlement with the Staff Side. Shri S.P. Singh, PGM (Estt.) and Shri Rajeev Kaushik, PGM (SR) were also present during the meeting. During the discussion, it was further assured that the next meeting will be held on 18^th February, 2026, specifically to address and settle the pending burning issues.