NEW DELHI: The Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) implemented by privatisation-bound Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) in 2020-21 saw a total of 1,300 applications being accepted, the highest among previous such schemes. The PSU in its annual report said, of the 1,300 applications, 243 are from officers and 1,057 from workmen.
“Your company successfully implemented the Voluntary Retirement Scheme in the year 2020-21, with the objective to right-size the organisation and reduce redundancies while retaining the requisite talent,” BPCL chairman Arun Kumar Singh said during AGM. The Voluntary Retirement Scheme was launched with the objective of rightsizing the organisation, considering the impending disinvestment and reducing redundancy and improve the performance of the organisation, the report said.
An amount of Rs 778.83 crore has been charged to the Employee Benefits Expense towards VRS compensation. Further, in the context of BPCL’s disinvestment, recognising the loyalty and contribution of employees, the company offered up to 2% of BPCL’s shares at a discount to eligible employees, Singh said. The total number of permanent employees in the public sector undertaking (PSU) stands at 9,251 as on March 31, 2021.
On the other hand, there are 23,450 contract labourers engaged in BPCL (approximately 62% contract labourers in non-project and 38% in project contracts). Total number of permanent women employees is 728, with 530 of them in management, 189 in clerical and 9 in labour. The newly-appointed BPCL chairman Singh has recently stated the Centre intends to conclude the BPCL disinvestment worth over ` 50,000 crore by March next year.