Coal India unveils golden handshake for its executives

Arpan Mukherjee

CALCUTTA, Nov 6: Coal India has notified a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for its 20,000-odd executives, its first for this cadre. The scheme, notified on Thursday, is open to wholetime executives other than personnel in the medical wing, which is facing a shortage of manpower. The company's board had approved the scheme at its meeting on September 14.

The "Executive Voluntary Retirement Scheme 1998", circulated through an office memo, will remain in operation for six months. It is open only to those executives who have completed 50 years of age and 20 years of service on the date they accept the scheme.

Sources say this scheme, as approved by the board, had targeted at least 1,500 Coal India executives. The posts of employees opting for the VRS will be surrendered.

In 1982, Coal India had proposed another scheme -- under the common coal cadre -- but had implemented it partly. Only officers were included in that scheme. Thursday's memo says the 1982 scheme will remain inoperative during the tenure ofthe latest VRS.

Coal India's office memorandum number CIL/C-5A(vi)/50718/101 details the options for the VRS package, mode of payment, and notice period. The executives can opt for either of two options, both of which involve staggered payments. The options include:

Ex-gratia payment equal to one-and-a-half months salary for each completed year of service on the last pay drawn by the person on the date of submission of the application for the VRS, or

Monthly salary at the time of retirement multiplied by the unfinished service period before the date of retirement, whichever is less.
The ex-gratia amount will be divided by the number of months of service left before retirement, and it will be paid on a monthly basis till the age of 60 years. In case an executive dies after accepting the VRS, the legal heir will be entitled to receive the ex-gratia payment every month.

In addition, executives will receive other payments, which include:

Leave encashment for the unused earned leave,and half-pay leave encashable according to rules. This will be payable in full at the time of voluntary retirement.

Provident fund, gratuity, and pension according to rules.

Transfer benefit for self and family in line with the Travelling Allowance Rules on superannuation.

The executives will have to address their VRS application to the Coal India chairman, and route it through the chairman-cum-managing directors of their respective companies. Sources say this scheme is attractive for the executives stationed outside the headquarters, but not for the others.

About 16,000 executives are stationed in the field (mines). The field executives will only lose out on the monthly coalfield allowance of Rs 700.

They will be able to save on the house rent, which they have to pay on their own, they said. City-based executives are, however, unlikely to opt for this scheme, as they get a house-rent allowance (HRA) of Rs 1,500, and city-compensatory allowance of Rs 400. The HRA is likely to be hiked toRs 4,000 per month after the recommendations of the justice Mohan Committee is implemented.

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