November 12, 2001

    Shri Manohar Joshi, Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises has said that the objective and scope of the scheme is to reorient the employees through short duration training programme for VRS optees of central PSUs is to enable them to adopt new vocations after retirement. The Minister was speaking at the inauguration of reorientation programme for VRS optees of Central PSUs. Shri Sharad Yadav, Labour Minister was also present on the occasion. He added that the retrained employees may engage themselves in income generating activities by taking advantage of available opportunities for self-employment. A lot of responsibility has thus been cast on the nodal agencies. The job of the nodal agencies does not end with training itself. It is expected of them that they would help the trainees in preparing proposal for finance from banks and would help them sort out other problems, he said

    With the increase in ex-gratia payment under the revised VR Scheme, it is expected that more employees from the PSUs would opt for VRS. Consequently, the PSUs and Nodal agencies may also have to gear up to conduct the programmes in the best possible manner so that the released employees are properly counselled and equipped for self employment. He requested the central PSUs and the Nodal Training Agencies to make sincere efforts in implementing this scheme.

    He said that there is a general fear among the employees at the time of disinvestment that they may be retrenched after the management control is transferred to the private hands. "I wish to allay these apprehensions. The protections available to the employees under various labour laws would continue to be applicable to the company even if the company is not in the public sector fold. Besides this, interest of the employees is adequately protected by suitable clauses in the Shareholders’ Agreement. These provisions stipulate that there shall be no retrenchment for the specified period and any reduction in the labour force can be affected only by offering terms that are not less favourable than the Voluntary Retirement Scheme offered by the company on the date of agreement. In short, the Government is doing its best for the continued welfare of the workers."