The Hindu Business Line : Kolkata Dock Labour Board seeks Central aid to fund VRS

THE Kolkata Dock Labour Board (KDLB) has sought assistance from the Centre to fund a voluntary retirement scheme to shed a workforce of about 800. Right now KDLB has a total workforce of a little more than 1,600.

It has been estimated that a workforce of 500 will be enough to handle the present volume of business, according to a spokesman for the KDLB. More than 300 would go by way of normal superannuation process.

``A workforce of 500 should be just right for the merger of the KDLB with the Kolkata Port Trust,'' he observed. The merger issue has been hanging fire for a long time.

The KDLB, according to the spokesman, would need about Rs 52 crore to fund the proposed VRS. This was because the proposed package would be offered to those opting for the contributory provident fund (CPF). Right now only a limited number of employees were subscribing to the CPF; the majority were for non-CPF and pension.

Since the subscription to the CPF means that the concerned employees will not be entitled to pension, by tying the proposed VRS with the CPF, the KDLB is trying to get rid of the pension liability.

The pension liability has been a matter of concern to the KDLB authorities. The number of pensioners now is over 6,500 and the monthly burden is Rs 1.86 crore at the pre-revision level.

The revision of the KDLB pension has become due from January 1,1998, but the authorities have been unable to pay at the revised rate because of its financial stringency. It has been estimated that the arrear payment alone will cost Rs 43 crore. The KDLB, therefore, has asked the Centre to provide an additional Rs 43 crore to clear the arrear pension liability.

Right now, the KDLB is so cash-strapped that it cannot even pay the pension regularly. The present backlog is of two months, i.e., the payment made in the current month was actually due for payment in December 2002.

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