The Rs 70,000-crore bailout package for the ailing Bharat Sanchar
Nigam (BSNL), approved by the Cabinet last month, will go up by several
thousand crore if the government accedes to a demand by the employees’
union for revision of pay scales with effect from January 1, 2017.
As is known, the biggest chunk of the bailout package is the nearly Rs 30,000-crore voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) through which the government plans to trim the company’s huge workforce of nearly 1.65 lakh, which eats up 77% of its revenues.
Now,
the All India Bharat Sanchar Nigam Executives Association has written
to telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad that before the VRS is effected,
there should be a salary revision of the employees with effect from
January 1, 2017. Since the payout by way of VRS and pension benefits are
calculated on the basis of the last drawn salary, any upward revision
will push up the cost by several thousand crore. That’s not all, for
employees who do not opt for the VRS, the company will have to foot a
higher wage bill by way of allowances and perks.
As is known, the biggest chunk of the bailout package is the nearly Rs 30,000-crore voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) through which the government plans to trim the company’s huge workforce of nearly 1.65 lakh, which eats up 77% of its revenues.
