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PTCL strike:
imposing decisions often creates resentment
By Alauddin
Masood
Following acceptance of their demands, PTCL
workers have terminated their two-week stand-off. The strike was triggered
when PTCL management attempted to introduce, what it termed, a unified pay
scale without taking the employees into confidence.
The recent strike by PTCL workers holds many lessons
for the corporate sector. A cardinal principle that has been highlighted
by this strike is that management seldom loses by taking the employees
into confidence. Hence wise managements not only keep their employees
adequately informed of the company affairs, they adopt a participatory
approach while deciding the issues having a bearing upon the employees or
affecting their service conditions, emoluments etc. Attempts at imposing
decisions often create resentment amongst the employees. Therefore,
prudence demands that the management should always hold consultative
sessions with the employees’ bargaining agents before formulating any
policy/package concerning the service structure, working conditions or
salary package of the employees.
Experience tells that even improvements in service
conditions when introduced without consultations with the workers’
representatives have often evoked criticism, if not outright opposition.
But, on the other hand, policies evolved with the active involvement or
participation of the employees are more readily adopted and the employees
display more commitment to prove the efficacy of those solutions.
Since the companies exist to earn profit, they adopt
policies that serve their interests better. However, before arriving at
decisions wise managements always seek suggestions or proposals from the
employees, but finally adopt only those policies which further the
interests of the company. Often most of the proposals/suggestions of the
employees are either toned down or not accepted, but the feeling of
participation in the decision-making process creates a sense of ownership
about those decisions and the employees themselves become the ardent
supporters or advocates of those policies.
The recent stand-off was the second major strike by
the PTCL workers during the last three years. Earlier, they went on a
prolonged strike in 2005 to prevent the privatisation of the company. But,
that strike failed to achieve its objectives. Against the 2005 strike,
though the recent one received much less public attention, but the
employees achieved their objectives just within two weeks time because the
management of the company was not with the public sector, but with the
private sector where management subscribes to the dictum of good and
efficient services not only to retain the loyalties of the existing
clients, but also enroll new ones on the basis of the endorsement by the
existing clients.
Since the management of companies in the corporate
sector are more conscious about the quality of service and convenience of
the clients, their customer-base and, in turn, profits continues to grow
over time. On the other hand, the management of entities in the public
sector often gives a lukewarm treatment to their workers. Since in 2005
PTCL was a public body that explains why, despite a lengthy strike, the
workers could not achieve their objectives.
Given the disappointment of 2005, the likely scenario
for PTCL employees struggle was to fade away slowly into the shadows. But,
this time PTCL employees were lucky to have a receptive and dynamic
management. Etisalat Pakistan owns 26 per cent of PTCL and its parent
organisation – Etisalat is valued at US$ 38.7 billion and positioned as
the 219th largest company in the world and the largest teleco in the
Middle East and Africa. According to the management of this company, they
are now on course for achieving their goal of becoming one of the largest
operators in the world by 2010.
Since efficiency is the sole criterion for the
survival and growth in the private sector, dynamic managements treat their
workers like stakeholders, who flourish and rise along with the company.
Hence, the managements in the private sector are generally more receptive
to the demands of their workers and eager to devise policies aimed at
creating a true team spirit within the organisation and taking the workers
along with it in the task. Herein lies the secret for the efficiency and
success of the private sector.
Furthermore, state entities in this country are highly
over-staffed and very often also the models of inefficiency. After
privatisation and take-over by the world’s fastest growing mobile
operator - Etisalat, though PTCL is still facing the pangs of conversion
from a public entity to a private body, yet its management has relented
significantly to accommodate the demands of its employees. For example,
despite a dramatic fall in profits due to up-gradation and modernisation
of its machinery and equipment entailing heavy investment, PTCL’s new
management has conceded to all the main demands of the workers, i.e. to
increase the basic pay scales and also regularise all the contract
workers, numbering over 8,000.
In the telecommunication domain in Pakistan,
presently, PTCL is the largest converged services carrier, providing all
telecommunication services from basic voice telephony to data, internet,
video-conferencing and carrier services to consumers, including telecom
operators, and the corporate sector all over the country.
PTCL also provides wireless telephone service to
cities and most of the villages in the country. The wireless telephone
service has proved to be an effective communication tool, especially in
remote areas for Internet surfing and voice calls.
Earlier, PTCL’s new management expanded the range of
their services, offering several lucrative and innovative packages to the
consumers, including the facility of nation-wide dialing and ‘phone n’
net’ facility. Continuing with its vision of providing value-added
services, PTCL has activated around 350,000 mailboxes for its landline
subscribers nationwide. This service, which is free, allows call transfer
on busy and no-reply response lines, connecting the caller to record a
message. Further, the subscriber has a choice to transfer his call to any
telephone number instead of his mailbox.
In addition, PTCL has set-up a network of responsive
Customer Contact Centres, which work round-the-clock through out the year,
including on holidays. It has also improved the fault rectification system
and also invested $50 million in a high capacity fiber optic submarine
cable to meet the growing capacity requirements in various regions of the
world. To ease the process of payment, PTCL has now introduced an array of
bill payment options to its customers, including through e-means.
It is not just the field of technology and development
in which PTCL has excelled, it’s engagement in corporate social
activities, particularly in education, health and social development, and
human resource development has also increased manifold. PTCL has sponsored
many schools where thousands of boys and girls receive quality education.
During 2005 earthquake, PTCL sponsored a 48-bed eye hospital at Mansehra
and also opened free public call offices at quake-hit areas. PTCL donated
Rupees 2.5 million to SOS Children Villages as well.
In short, the company’s new products and innovative
schemes promise a bright future for Pakistan’s telecommunication sector
because one needs to be connected to the world, to have an eye on the
world in order to see what’s happening and PTCL is committed to be the
link that allows global communication.
However, even PTCL management, which considers itself
to be dynamic and very efficient, committed a blunder by introducing
uniform pay scales without consulting the employees. It is believed that
the recent strike by the workers would have made its management wiser to
the working environment in Pakistan and the management would not commit
any such mistake in future.
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