BHEL executives aghast over inadequate performance-related pay

Tiruchirapalli, June 6 (UNI) Frustrated over the inadequacy in performance-related payment, executives of the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) are considering direct action plans including one-day mass casual leave, across the country.

The 10,000 odd executives of BHEL, affiliated to the Federation of BHEL Executives Associations, are demanding the implementation of the Justice Mohan Committee guidelines on the performance-related payments to them, Federation President K S N Raju said in a release here today.

Mr Raju alleged that perks and performance-related payments for executives in BHEL were the lowest among all major profit making Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) like NTPC, ONGC, HAL or BEL. The performance incentives drawn by the executives of CPSEs are three to five times more, he charged.

Hence the agiatated executives of BHEL are planning to reject the plant performance payment, as it does not commensurate with the excellent performance of the company and the principles laid down by the Justice Mohan Committee.

The executives had been demanding a New Comprehensive Incentive Scheme in lieu of the old schemes like plant performance payment and special incentive, whose validity had expired in 2002. The new scheme should be based on three components-- Turnover, Net Profit and the rating of the MoU with the government.

The Board-level Committee of Directors formed last year, by the Union Heavy Industry Ministry to go into the performance payments, promotion policy and retention of talent, is yet to begin its task.

Meanwhile, the BHEL management had unilaterally announced a new scheme, even before the Committee met the members of the Federation to elicit their views. As per the new scheme (announced by BHEL Management), the pay is multiplied with an arbitrary factor called neutralising factor, which is 0.6 for most of the executives. Such factor is alleged to be non-existent in other public sector enterprises.

The Justice Mohan Committee had recommended for perks and allowances up to 50 per cent of basic pay, besides performance-related payments of five per cent of the distributable profit for the executives.

The anti-employee attitude of the management would demoralise the the executives and cause a 'Mass Migration' of talented pool resulting in manpower shortage, he warned.

UNI