Privatization of PTCL: The Redundant Employees

The country’s telecom giant Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd. (PTCL) is being hammered and thrown to the foreign business God’s while as many as 40,000 people will quit the job through Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) offered by the PTCL management.

The employees are being dubbed by the UAE based PTCL (Etisalat ) company board members as the “Redundant” employees.

“Redundant” was the word which was being used by the management on the encoded electronic forms of the employees who clicked for their fate for an exit or to stay back.
According to Oxford Dictionary “Redundant” is defined as (of person) with out a job because there is no more work available for you in the company, not needed or useful.
If we see the population factor according to population survey average Pakistani family comprises of six members.

As PTCL private corporate heads have a firm belief that as many as 60 percent of employees would opt for the VSS. Among the 44,000 employees the 26400 employees will quit the service and it will put a negative impact on as many as 158400 people in the country. Those employees, who have served the organization for as many as 20 years and above all are on the board to go for the VSS including lesser then the said time of years.

The company PTCL which is still the telecom giant in LDI (Long Distance International) in Pakistan as having more than 3,000 strategic and most prolific business property while and infrastructure with the longest land line cable network than the rest of 13 LDI companies.

The company which eyes a face change with new young and energetic breed from country’s top financial intuitions or foreign qualified persons. On the other side PTCL management has also gave a zinc laden solution its employees of TEVTA based training as all the expenses for the said training will be bored by PTCL. The employees who mostly hold degrees not more than bachelors with their VSS amount will be totally vulnerable to the ever rising competitive business market.

With property market souring high, professional education getting out of the normal income of ordinary government servant, health facilities not in sight and a grim future the employees who will opt for the VSS will ultimately have face the music of the harsh economic realities of the already Pakistan.

On the other side if these employees do not opt for the VSS they will have to come on PTCL NTC (New Terms and Condition Contract) which seems a total bet for the job Vs. VSS.
As if they stay away from the VSS it all depends on the PTCL management as what to do with these employees either to sent them home with their standard financial perks as given by the company or just fire them after June 2008 promise which is between the government and (Etisalat /PTCL) management as not to fire any employee before June 2008.

However after the said time PTCL management is free for making any decision for the future of PTCL employees.
PTCL management should give more space and time to their out going employees.

While the company has the capacity to switch these employees to fulfill their own technical needs by training them in their regional training institutes based at various local telecom regional institutes for their technical needs.

Fingers are crossed as the these VSS opted employees future hangs in balance while a unstable future waits for them in the struggling small and medium business entrepreneurs market of Pakistan.