MALAPPURAM: A 53-year-old contract labourer with the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) committed suicide in the BSNL telephone exchange office at Nilambur in Kerala's Malappuram district after he was denied salary for the past 10 months.
Ramakrishnan was found hanging from the ceiling of the office around 9.30 am. He was a native of Kunnath house, Machingapoyil, Kanjirampadam near Nilambur.
Ramakrishnan had been working as a contract sweeper with the telecommunications company for the past 30 years. According to Nilambur police, Ramakrishnan reached the office at around 8.30 am. When the security officer went out for a break, he hanged himself from the ceiling. He was found by a senior employee.
The members of the BSNL Casual Contract Labourers Union (CCLU), Kerala, said the central government's anti-labourer policies led to the suicide. "Financial crisis in the BSNL and anti-labourer policies of the central government killed Ramakrishnan. He had been receiving a meagre salary since he started his career as a sweeper with the company 30 years ago. He has been denied salary in the past ten months. He has a wife and two children in his family to look after. He was trying really hard to make both ends meet. Recently, his contract period expired and the contractor and the BSNL authorities were trying to dismiss him from the job. As part of it, his working days were cut short to 3 from 6 a week and working hours to 3 hours from 6 hours. These issues might have forced him to commit suicide," said the members of the Union.
Ramakrishnan also actively participated in the protests organized by the Union in the district against the dismissals of the contract employees. The union leadership also asked the police to take action against the contractor and the BSNL authorities. "More than 60 contract employees have recently lost jobs in the district. Most of the BSNL contract labourers are living in the fear of losing their jobs. People like Ramakrishnan took up the job several years back expecting a permanent job later in the company. But the new policies of the central government makes many BSNL contract employees jobless," said Aboobacker. N. T. BSNL CCLU, Assistant Secretary.
Meanwhile, the BSNL authorities clarified Ramakrishnan had not received his salary since July. "The contract employees are paid by the contractor. But in the past few months, the company has not paid the contractors. The financial crisis not only affects the contract employees in Kerala. It affects the employees across the country," said Sukumaran A S, General Manager, BSNL Malappuram.
Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available at Maithri Kochi’s suicide prevention no.
0484-2540530