Kathmandu, February 6:

Just as things had begun to look up for United Telecom Ltd, the first private player in telecom services in Nepal, it has been caught up in yet another crisis situation. About 200 UTL workers today padlocked the eight service centres disrupting services and preventing customers from entering the offices at Hattisar and Putali Sadak. While a police posse was called in at both the places, they were asked to intervene only when the agitators tried to force their way into the building or harm the equipment.

Claiming to be part of the United Telecom Workers’ Union (UTWU), the agitating workers have been asking UTL to meet its six-point demands which includes issuing them a permanent employment letter besides providing medical, insurance and provident fund benefits among others.

UTL, however, clarifies that since these workers are part of the outsourced labour provided to the company by a direct marketing and outsourcing company, J & T Associates, it cannot deal with them, leave aside providing them an employment letter.

“Telecom services like billing, marketing or customer care, across the world are outsourced. We too have followed a similar model. J&T Associates were hired following a proper tender,” said UTL chief executive officer NR Mookhariwale. “These workers are not our employees and we do not even pay their salaries ,” he added. So if they have a problem they need to sort it out with their ‘hiring agency’ , said Mookhariwale.

J& T Associates, on its part, claimed to be trying in vain to bring the agitating workers to the negotiating table. “They have refused to talk to us,” claimed Noor Joshi, one of the partners of the outsourcing company. “The formation of this United Telecom Workers’ Union (UTWU) is illegal. For these people are not UTL employees. Moreover, they never acquired the approval of the company to form a union,” pointed out Subodh Thapa, the second J&T partner.

Meanwhile, one of the agitaing staff, Sundar KC, claiming to be with UTL’s cash department said all the agitating workers were “employees of UTL” as it had issued them identity cards. Even as he agreed to the fact that J&T paid their salaries, he argued that the company had not issued any contract letter to any of the workers. “We have been exploited by J&T which has taken hefty commissions on our behalf,” said Sundar KC.

At both the UTl offices it appeared to be a “wait and watch” policy at work. For both UTL as well as J&T claimed to be exercising “extreme patience and caution” lest the situation went out of hand. “But we have given them ample time to return to work peacefully. We will be forced to put up a termination notice for the 173 odd agitating workers by this evening,” said Joshi. He claimed to have a alternate team of workers ready to fill in for the terminated workers. “But in all possibility we want to avoid that situation,” he added.