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BPCL to offer VRS before selloff

Gaurav Raghuvanshi & Pradeep Puri

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, which is slated for disinvestment in the current year, has sought the government's permission to offer a voluntary retirement scheme to its employees.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation is also seeking to offer a better VRS package to its employees based on the Indian Oil Corporation model.

The ministry of petroleum and natural gas had prepared a Cabinet note on the VRS package proposed by the two companies, official sources told Business Standard adding that the issue was expected to be taken up for discussion by the Cabinet soon.

The VRS package, which was essentially the same for both the companies, involved paying one-and-a-half months' salary for each year of service completed or number of years remaining, whichever was less, officials said, adding that the scheme was similar to the one offered to the Indian Oil Corporation employees earlier.

The package also included payment of a percentage of the salary of the employee till his or her notional age of retirement in addition to benefits like gratuity and provident fund.

Confirming the move, a BPCL official said the company was looking at cutting jobs in certain departments to increase its valuation ahead of the government shedding 26 per cent of its equity in favour of a strategic partner.

The petroleum refining and marketing company was yet to identify the number of employees, out of its total staff strength of 12,000, who would be offered the golden handshake, the official said.

"We have sought permission for offering VRS to employees. Once the Cabinet clears the proposal, we will identify specific departments to which the offer will be made. It will not be an across-the-board offer," he said.

When contacted, a senior ONGC official said the company was looking at offering a more attractive VRS scheme to shed between 4,000 and 5,000 employees out of its total staff strength of about 39,000.

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