Handling PTCL crisis

With such huge fleet of consultants the PTCL top management failed to avert the strike. The negotiations were carried out by the government functionaries and the union representatives without the participation of the PTCL management this is going to have very adverse effect on the management of PTCL in future because this has brought unions on a stronger footing. Cease-fire between unions and the government brought a sigh of relief to the subscribers but it proved temporary.
The fact remains that the issue has been very badly handled right from the beginning and the situation as it prevails today could have been avoided.
Once an agreement had reached to defer the privatisation of PTCL there should have been no hurry to give fresh dates of privatisation of PTCL. That was a very unwise step because the issue could have been taken up at an appropriate time once the dust had settled.
It would have been more appropriate to discuss the issue publicly and debated in the national assembly, because this is very costly asset of the government which is generating huge profit every year inspite of the ever-growing complaints by the subscribers from all over the country specially Karachi which generates the maximum revenue for the PTCL. PTCL action committee comprises nine different faction of the union in PTCL, the largest PTCL Telecom employees union has now signed an agreement with the management of PTCL to end the strike and allow its privatisation.
In fact this step should have been taken at an early stage when the strike call was given. Agreement in isolation with one union may not prove very effective in the long run
Just to put the record straight when 12 percent shares were offloaded these were offered to general public and the employees of the PTCL were also given their due share and there was no hue and cry against the privatisation at that time. Although people had reservations at that time also that there was no need in privatising a golden goose when it is generating huge revenue and also paying billions of rupees in taxes to the government of Pakistan.
The problem of the PTCL had not been the employees' efficiency but the system provided to them from registration of telephone to its subsequent billing and that has been the main cause of huge complaints by the subscribers coupled with meagre salaries as compared to other corporations where even a sweeper gets much more than a lineman.
It was hoped that the new management would take necessary steps to bring improvement in the working of PTCL but the story remained the same. It is true that we have entered the 21st century and rightly so have worked hard for the spread of telecommunication infrastructure, but the crux of the matter is whether our subscribers are satisfied with the service or not. The answer is an emphatic NO. It is very strange instead of putting the house in order and getting rid of the old system the solution has been sought in selling this national costly asset without carrying out proper homework.
Just like para-medical staff cannot assume the responsibility of the doctor, similarly an unqualified engineer cannot substitute a qualified engineer. In case of PTCL if a careful study is carried out of respective engineers it will be revealed that more than 60 percent are unqualified, the reason is very simple patronisation by various political groups for their own vested interests and centralised control from PTCL HQ. Under such circumstances the blame does not rest with the employees but with the management who succumb to petty pressures at the cost of work discipline and humiliation for the officers.
At present the existing network of major cities like Karachi, which generates maximum revenue, is in a shambles. The state of DP's is horrible and speaks volumes of carelessness and utter lack of sense of responsibilities at various levels. The solution does not lie in holding frequent meetings and asking the officers to put the network in order without providing resources. It requires at least 3 to 4 billion rupees to put the entire network in proper shape.
Can privatisation help retrieve the situation. Certainly not unless funds are provided for proper maintenance the network shall remain as it is today. Why blame the employees?
The efficiency of the PTCL cannot be measured by meeting the targets by issuing the demand notes irrespective of the feasibility or without feasibility. Evaluation must be based that out of issued demand notes how many are billed. This will reveal the real state of affairs of any region specially Karachi which is suffering due to defective planning. Hundreds of telephones are lying dead; press is full of daily complaints but no relief to the subscribers is in sight and that is mainly due to non-availability of resources and therefore no blame can be put on the employees.
The top management must understand that solution does not lie in holding prolonged and frequent meetings and holding seminars, frequent postings and transfers, appointing consultants on hefty salaries, giving fresh targets and issuing huge advertisements in the press. The solution lies in accepting the realities, which exist on the ground.
To redress the problems of the subscribers a team of qualified engineers and good technicians, who are fully dedicated to their profession, is need of the hour. It is very disgusting to note that PTCL instead of patronising good and efficient officers has brought back those officers who were thrown out from Karachi by army monitoring team and have been given acting charge when they have fleet of senior competent officers available. Under such circumstances, how can improvements be brought to the system? Some one must accept his failure.
It is planned to offload 26 percent shares, thus bringing the total to 38 percent shares. It means that the control shall still remain with the government except that the management will be transferred to the prospective buyer who will carry handsome profit back home without any effort. The bidders for the PTCL are all telecommunication companies from Singapore, Malaysia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Turkey. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are no match to other companies as far as technical know-how is concerned. It is believed that one of the bidders either Singtel or Etislalat shall win the battle.
The foreign bidders are not angels that they would bring revolution in the PTCL because the machinery and the manpower is the same. Actually they have focused their eyes on the real estate of the PTCL, which remains great attraction for them that unfortunately has been grossly underestimated by our consultants. Instead of offering PTCL to companies the best course of action would have been to offer public shares through stock exchange as was done in the past. This costly asset would have remained our property. PTCL would cease to be Pakistani when it is handed over to foreigners when it is at the commanding height of the economy. This should be cause of dismay among all Pakistanis.
The most unfortunate part of the privatisation of PTCL is that the employees who are opposed to its privatisation because it is earning huge profit are carrying it out amidst widescale agitation.
Although the Chairman and the Chief Executive of the PTCL have assured the employees that their interest will be looked after, but this is not enough because the track record of Privatisation has been very poor in Pakistan it has resulted in mass-scale retrenchment of staff after the mandatory period of one year. What happened in the case of Habib Bank Ltd, Zeal Pak Cement Factory, UBL, and Duty Free Shops etc? Employees of these institutions are crying for their dues and some of them have gone to the courts but there has been no relief. This is a unique privatisation where 26 percent share holders will have their own management as against 51 percent that means the government will still have complete hold by retaining 62 percent shares, if that is the case what is the purpose of its privatisation.
Another point that goes against the privatisation is that since the PTCL monopoly is over and the government have allowed private operators to compete in the field of telecom sector let PTCL compete in a rational manner improve its performance so that the national asset remains in tact. Discipline can always be brought in without carrying out privatisation.
Privatisation of PTCL is otherwise a big security risk because all domestic and overseas calls can be bugged with serious consequences for the national security. Firstly there was no need for its privatisation because it is a gold mine for Pakistan and generating over 29 billion profit which can be further increased by thoughtful planning and by improving the service and reducing line rent and some adjustment in the tariff.
The degree of the control of the basic infrastructure of a country, such as highways, power supply, airports, sea ports, oil wells, oil refineries and telecommunications determine the level of sovereignty a nation enjoys. Telecommunication forms a part of basic infrastructure. This vital component of infrastructure is becoming all the more important as we have now entered the information age. In fact it is perhaps the most important component of our nation a commercial asset. We will lose part of our national sovereignty by selling the PTCL to foreign nationals.
Telecommunication is an enabling technology. It allows the country and the business community to achieve their development goals. Therefore its impact in real dollar terms is far greater and stronger. To allow an Enabling Technology to be controlled by foreign interests will be against our national interest.
Pakistan's typical geo-political situation and strategic location warrants constant vigilance. Modern communications technology is a far more potent weapon than conventional weapons. State secrets, plans and directions cannot only be passed on to undesirable elements; they can also be influenced and countered through sophisticated telecommunications equipment. Digital equipment has unique features of storage of voice and data that can be retrieved, un detected at a later stage. It is for this specific reason that most nations in the world own their telecommunication networks, either held publicly or corporately but never in the hands of foreigners.
Although the Defence Forces have developed their own separate network for their use, but at some crucial time national telecommunication network will be the back up system. Would we want our Second line of defense to be owned by the foreigners?
Lastly the employees of the PTCL have worked hard over the years and it is their hard work that PTCL, inspite of poor management is still earning huge profit and have base over 5 million subscribers and therefore they deserve better treatment. If we carefully analyse the problems of PTCL it is not the in efficiency or lack of technical know how but the system provided to them by the top management which is based on harassment to subscribers and has been main cause of dissatisfaction to 5 million subscribers.
To conclude with the increase of cell phone population in the country the service is gradually deteriorating frequent disconnection of calls, problem in inter connectivity, wrong billing and network remaining busy is worrying the subscribers. PTA should look in to the service quality of the cell operators who are at present compromising quality over quantity.
PTA should also put a ban on WLL operators to operate in major cities because the operation of WLL was targeted for the rural areas of Pakistan where PTCL service was non-existent. At the moment they are trying to create substitute of cell phone, although they are supposed to cover 25 miles radius but putting additional cells the range can be increased thus it would create rift between cell operators and WLL operators. Such steps are likely to affect our future investments because it tantamount to infringement of others rights.
The Ministry of Information and Technology must appoint a high-level inquiry committee to go into the past malpractices of poorly laid cable which is the main cause of major complaints, all unqualified engineers must be replaced with qualified and competent engineers to run the show and they must be adequately rewarded. Acting arrangements must be done away with, juniors must be brought back to their old position and seniority must be prevailing, employees should be adequately paid in commensurate with the salary structure of other telecom operators and corporations in the country.
Under the circumstances the solution lies in showing patience and there should be no hurry to privatise PTCL. Let it be deferred for some time , all employees arrested or detained must be freed. Lastly instead of selling it to one bidder who is a foreigner, it should be offered to the general public through stock exchange as was done in the past.