Striking telecom staff warned

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 20.The Government today took a ``serious view'' of the disruption of telecom services, specially STD links and fixed-to-mobile connectivity, and sought action taken reports from all centres by this evening. Senior officials said there could be disciplinary action, including dismissal, against those found guilty of sabotage.

Emerging from an emergency meeting of Group of Ministers on Corporatisation, the Communications Minister, Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, attributed the disruption to ``internal problems of unions'' and said ``responsibility will be fixed'' after reports are received from Chief General Managers of various States.

The Telecom Commission Chairman, Mr. Shyamal Ghosh, said a similar message had been sent to Class I officers of the Indian Telecom Service (ITS) cadre demanding settlement of their working conditions before corporatisation. He said the officers had been told that their eight-day-old work-to-rule agitation ``will not be tolerated''.

Officials sources said the eastern part of the country remained completely cut off while attempts were being made to restore STD links to Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore and other major centres.

``The services will improve by this evening,'' assured Mr. Paswan. Sources said disruption in STD links took place because most of them were not monitored by computers.

Therefore, the origin of faults in STD links was more difficult to trace than in case of local links which were computerised in all major centres.

The Group of Ministers, summoned today in the wake of the agitation by ITS officers, was given an hour-long presentation on the main issues. It will be passed on to a Committee of Secretaries which is expected to take a view on all the issues tonight.

Privately, officers, junior engineers and the `Joint Action Committee of MTNL Officers' remained unfazed by the Government threat. They maintained that Mr. Paswan's claim of an internal fight was untrue and warned that the ``agitation can be intensified'' if their grievances remained unaddressed.

More stir planned

A group of pro-CPI (M) unions has announced a two-hour strike for three days later this month. More turmoil could be in store as the VSNL officers' association has threatened a one-day strike on September 30 and an indefinite strike next month. As a result, internet services and international links may also be affected.

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