Employee union criticizes BSNL for the BCG resurrection contract and charges that the company is acting flimsily

The BSNL employee union (BSNLEU) called the BCG exercise "futile," claiming that it had cost Rs. 132.16 crore that wasn't required.

The employee union of BSNL has said that the management of the state-run telecom company is taking insincere actions by bringing in Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to create a three-year transformation plan with the goal of successfully competing with commercial telecom providers.

The union said that the telco's intention to outsource ninety percent of its labor would result in significant resource waste and underutilization of the workforce already in place.

The BSNL employee union (BSNLEU) called the BCG exercise "futile," claiming that it had cost Rs 132.16 crore that wasn't required.

It is unfortunate that BSNL Management has resorted to cosmetic activities instead of addressing the fundamental problem. BSNLEU believes that the BCG's involvement is pointless. We recommend that Management capitalize on the skill and experience already present in its staff," the employee union wrote to P.K. Purwar, CMD of BSNL, on May 27.

Following the fiscal year 2009–2010, when BSNL started to lose money, the management hired consultants like BCG, Deloitte, and KPMG and followed their advice to the letter.

"In spite of these actions, BSNL's state has become worse, suggesting that there is another source of the issue. In essence, the union said that BSNL's downfall might be linked to the company's failure to use cutting-edge technologies to extend its networks.

The state-run telecom, according to the union, is not making the most of its own skills and experience.

"Unions and groups voiced their profound worry during the meeting on May 24, 2024, over the unresolved HR concerns, such as the unresolved salary revision, which is demotivating the workers. In the letter, BSNLEU said that "the Management needs to address these concerns appropriately."

The union said that between 2007 and 2012, BSNL was unable to acquire the equipment required for the growth of its mobile networks. "As a result, a major factor in the present problem is the Management's inability to deliver 4G and 5G technologies on time.”

The union also claimed that the government's "discriminatory policies" had a serious negative effect on BSNL's financial situation.

The management is unable to completely exonerate itself of its mistakes. We are unafraid to declare that governmental impediments, like the refusal of authorization for BSNL to upgrade its 4G-compatible BTSs and the ban on BSNL acquiring 4G equipment from international suppliers on an equal footing with private operators, have impeded the company's advancement," the letter continued.

The union said that BSNL would not have had a significant consumer exodus and could have significantly grown both its customer base and income if it had begun offering 4G services on schedule.

To Rs 12,915 crore for the nine months that ended in December, BSNL's income increased by 1.2 percent. From April to December, losses decreased to Rs 4,520 crore from Rs 5,457 crore during the same period last year.

The corporation lost 26.2 million users in 27 straight months until March, bringing its overall subscriber count to 88.06 million as of that month.