The Hindu Business Line : 500 HPCL staff opt for VRS

CLOSE to 500 employees of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd have opted for voluntary retirement. Of these, more than 140 applications are from those in the management cadre.

The Rs 51,500-crore company had offered the standard Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) severance package to its 11,357 employees across the country on August 1, 2004.

The response to the voluntary retirement scheme has been quite substantial. The company has received an unexpected 40 extra applications from the management category, said a senior HPCL official. The company had earlier said it expected 300-400 people to accept the VRS. According to some officials, a number of middle-level executives applied for voluntary retirement after receiving offers to join a Government-owned oil company that is trying to set up its own network of petrol pumps.

"Some officials have been assured of good positions in that company, which needs people with experience in petrol retailing. They have been assured help in clearing formalities for crossing over from one Government-owned company to another," said a company official on condition of anonymity. HPCL had proposed to shed about 11 per cent of its workforce by offering VRS to surplus staff in 2003. It had identified about 1,000 surplus employees in non-management category and 250 in management category. According to figures quoted in the Rajya Sabha in 2003, the estimated expenditure for HPCL's VRS was indicated at about Rs 260 crore. The company may introduce another round of VRS in the future, officials said.

According to the present scheme, people opting for retirement will be paid 60 days' salary for each completed year of service or pay packet for the number of months of service left, whichever is less. This will be in addition to the normal retirement benefits such as gratuity and provident fund.

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