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New Delhi/Mumbai, Sept. 20 The GMR and GVK groups, which are modernising the airports at Delhi and Mumbai respectively, may have to pay for those employees of Airports Authority of India (AAI) who decide not to take up employment being offered by the new private sector consortium running the airports.

Currently, only about 8 per cent of the total AAI workforce in Delhi and about 6 per cent of the workforce in Mumbai has taken up the employment offers made by the private sector companies running the airports.

This is below the 60 per cent workforce absorption that the private sector companies were to complete within three years of taking over the airports, said an official source.

However, a spokesperson of Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) told Business Line that under the OMDA (operation, management and development agreement), the private companies were just supposed to make a job offer to 60 per cent of the AAI workforce.

He added that around 100 more people could join MIAL between now and May 2009, not as part of the job offer but on individual basis. MIAL is a joint venture between the GVK-SA consortium and AAI.

The GMR group had agreed to take all AAI employees working at Delhi airport, although only 8 per cent of the workforce accepted.

Official sources told Business Line that with the mandatory three-year tenure of AAI working at the two airports coming to an end in May next year and few opportunities for offering them employment elsewhere in AAI-run airports, VRS (voluntary retirement scheme) is the best option.

The option may have to be given to about 5,000 such employees at the two airports.

“The employees who are likely to take up the offer would most probably be grade three and four employees who are unlikely to be able to relocate. In the given circumstances the best option is to offer a VRS scheme as these employees may not be willing to move out of Delhi or Mumbai for family reasons.

The contours of the scheme will have to be worked out. The financial impact on the Government will be limited because as per the agreement the private sector company has to provide employment to a majority of the workers,” a senior Government official said.

Commenting on the financial impact of the VRS scheme on MIAL, the spokesperson said, “We would not know the financial impact right now because it is not yet decided as to how many of the remaining employees will be transferred to other AAI projects and how many will opt for a possible VRS.”

Of the 2,596 AAI employees in Mumbai two years ago when GVK took over the modernisation work, 157 have joined the company.

After retirement and transfers of the remaining, around 2,100 employees are still working in AAI in Mumbai, he said.

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