• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager
• Smartbuy

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Our Bureau

Pune, July 8 A week after the Bajaj Auto management offered a voluntary retirement (VRS) package to around 2,700 workers at its Akurdi plant, the issue has hit a road block.

The workers are demanding a one-time pay-out of the whole eligible amount, while the management, faced with the prospect of shelling out around Rs 250 crore at one go, is sticking to its stand that the package will be part lump-sum, and the rest in equated monthly instalments till retirement.

According to the workers union, the latest VRS, the seventh in the plant since 2000, offers Rs 5.75 lakh as cash down and Rs 10,000 for a maximum of 120 months or till the worker retires, whichever was earlier. Production of two-wheelers at Akurdi stopped last September and though the workers had initially rejected outright the idea of a VRS, and demanded reinstatment, the fact that it is over 10 months since they ceased to work (though they report to duty),has changed the situation.

The main cause of the current roadblock is the time-frame of the pay-out that works out to a maximum of Rs 17.5 lakh for a 50-year-old worker who would retire at 60. Around 1,000 workers are in 50-52 years of age, and it is at this segment that the VRS seems aimed as the terms are that at least 1,100 must opt for the scheme if the others are to get Rs 2,500 hike in their salaries. The majority (1,450) of workers are 45-50 years of age, the remaining being between 40 and 45 years old.

According to a member of the workers union, if the company agrees to a one-time payment, nearly 1,500 workers will sign up for the VRS. While this will entail a single outgo of around Rs 250-275 crore for BAL, the recipient workers’ income tax liability will also go up substantially, an industry observer pointed out.

More Stories on : Trade & Labour Unions | Two/Three Wheelers | Bajaj Auto Ltd

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
SAT sets aside SEBI directive on Mysore Cements open offer

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line