Incentives for staffs hurting NT credibility

KATHMANDU, FEB 28: 

It might be early to predict Nepal Telecom’s fate. But many say that it is heading towards the path of Janakpur Cigarette Factory. 

Will Nepal Telecom, as Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun had recently warned of, face the same predicament of Janakpur Cigarette Factory? Experts and officials at Finance Ministry said, “Yes, it will.” 

It seems that Nepal Telecom — the largest taxpayer of the country from several years – will fail to maintain its good track record if its employees fail to control their greed and change their quick profit-seeking attitude, according to a source at Finance Ministry. 

Management committee of Nepal Telecom had in September 2009 decided to increase pension of employees along with providing child care expenditure, remote allowances, treatment cost and other benefits by seeking amendments in the employees’ regulation. 

It had proposed the pension scheme to be divided by 40 instead of 50. Later, Finance Ministry and cabinet had asked Nepal Telecom to drop the idea. 

Telecommunication Employees Association of Nepal (TEAN) had moved to the Supreme Court challenging the decision made by the government entity. The Supreme court today allowed the company to go ahead with their proposed plans. 

Dividing the pension amount by less number means more liabilities the company should bear as an administrative cost, said the Finance Ministry official, adding that it will ultimately hurt the financial health of the company. 

Similarly, the decision of NT’s Management Committee to distribute the more facilities to its employees will also hurt the plan of introducing strategic partner, the official said. 

“It is hard to introduce strategic partner if the company spend most of its income to distribute salary and pension to its employees.” 

The employees at Nepal Telecom and its management committee are acting as if the company was set up without contribution of public revenue, he said, adding that the company was established from public revenue.” 

The government had decided to float share to employees of Nepal Telecom to make them more competent, he said. 

No employee at the company wants to keep the successful track record of Nepal Telecom alive but want to make quick buck at the time when the company is making profit, he added. 

“It is up to the Nepal Telecom management committee and its employees whether to be guided by instant profit or to make the company sustainable in competitive market.”