MUMBAI, May 19: Manual services of the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) in the city were disrupted as a result of the token `tool down' strike by workers owing allegiance to the MTNL Kamgar Sangh.According to sources in the Nigam, computerised services functioned normally but those categories run by operators like enquiry, international trunk call bookings, billing and bill collection, repairs and laying of cables, were severely hit by the agitation. The managerial staff turned up in full strength, but their work too also affected.The Kamgar Sangh, which claims to have a membership strength of 35,000 in Mumbai, claimed that the strike was a complete success. The union has been demanding that the workers who have been on deputation from the Department of Telecom to the Nigam be regularised.The Sangh, led by Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Arvind Sawant, had earlier met Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sushma Swaraj on May 10 and discussed their problems. Though she hadpromised to take a decision soon, the telecommunication ministry declared that the issue of absorption of the workers into the Nigam would be taken up only after the Department of Telecommunications was converted into a corporation. ``But no time frame was declared for the conversion, which forced us to go for the token strike,'' said Sawant. He said that if positive moves were not forthcoming from the ministry in the next few days, the workers would resort to an indefinite hartal from May 26.
