Over 15,000 BSNL employees rush to opt for VRS package on day one

• As many as 15,000 employees enrolled in the scheme on the very first day.
  
• Eligible employees are keen on enrolling for the scheme as rumours that the company capped the VRS packages for 80,000 employees — is doing the rounds.
  
• The VRS scheme will be available till December 3, 2019 till 5:30 pm.
• After implementing the bailout package for BSNL and MTNL, the union government plans to trim the retirement age of employees to 58 years.

Employees at BSNL who have been receiving their salaries two weeks late for the last few months are rushing to apply for the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) package offered by the company. As many as 15,000 employees enrolled in the scheme on the very first day on November 6, according to sources.

Two days back, the debt-ridden telco announced VRS for employees aged 50 and above.

Eligible employees are rushing in to apply for the scheme as rumours that the company capped this offer for 80,000 employees only — is doing the rounds.

While the telecom player has around 176,000 employees, as many as 106,000 fall under the eligibility age. The telco was hoping that 80% of the employees would opt for VRS.

“The number of persons in the organisation are far higher than the competitors. We are looking forward to reduce 70,000 to 80,000 employees, and make it attractive for the employees, so that they can see value in the VRS," Pravin Kumar Purwar, Chairman of BSNL said a few months back.

Even after the scheme is implemented, the telco will have 100,000 employees on its rolls.

Reducing headcount is important for both BSNL and MTNL who are being dragged down by debt. As the government is implementing the rescue package, both these state-owned companies which will be merged — want to modernise processes and get ready to compete in the market.

The VRS scheme will be available till December 3, 2019 till 5:30 pm. The government will infuse a total of ₹29,900 crore for VRS settlements and retirement liabilities of BSNL and MTNL.

MTNL too announced the same scheme on November 3.

After implementing the bailout scheme for BSNL and MTNL, the union government plans to trim the retirement age of the employees to 58 years. The current age for retirement is 60 years.

Last month, the government decided to merge BSNL and MTNL. While the merger will take some time to be implemented, MTNL will be considered as a subsidiary of BSNL till then.

In 2019, BSNL’s revenues dipped and the accumulated losses stood at ₹14,000 crore while MTNL posted a loss of ₹3,388 crore.

See also:
BSNL’s VRS package is out and valid till December 3 — and over half of all employees are eligible

100,000 people working with BSNL vendors are likely to go empty handed

BSNL and MTNL's ₹74,000 cr plan involves purchasing 4G spectrum fees and VRS