Above 18,000 MTNL employess Delhi and Mumbai opting for VRS, it has left over 14 lakh landline phones, 10 lakh mobile users and approximately 5 lakh broadband users in Mumbai in the lurch.
Most of the people who have taken VRS are from grade C (clerical) and grade D (peons and linesmen).While people from grade A to D have opted for VRS, the maximum retirement options have come from those in grades C and D.
The city has already started experiencing the effects of the mass retirement with most of the glitches in MTNL landlines, broadband networks and mobile phones remaining unresolved for many weeks.
MTNL Mumbai has around 125 exchanges across the city , Thane. Navi Mumbai, Mira Bhayander, Panvel and Uran. Interestingly, call centres in almost all these exchanges apart from the Prabhadevi head office have been non-functional since January 31.
Said an employee on condition of anonymity “ They have asked us to be multi-taskers which in unfair especially when you have not been paid for two months. We have our home loans, children’s education and other household education which have all gone for a toss.”
The management has has not applied their mind to chalk out a plan in advance,” said Dilip Jadhav secretary, MTNL Kamgar Sangh.
The union representatives have had a series of meetings with the MTNL management where they were told that the government was keen on outsourcing the entire functioning of MTNL but neither the Ministry of Telecommuniations nor the MTNL management have invited anybody for talks.
