Optel extends last date for VRS again

Aditya Malaviya

Bhopal

Optel Telecom, a government of Madhya Pradesh undertaking, has decided to extend the time limit for accepting applications under its Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS), by another six months. This is perhaps for the third time that the company management has extended the date for accepting applications under the VRS. It is also stated that the issue of privatization of Optel is being delayed by another few months with effect to the extension of date. 

Optel management introduced VRS for first time in November 2000, during which about 128 employees had sought premature retirement. But a financial crunch decision on these applications could not be taken and consequently was deferred. In the process, management decided to extend the date for accepting more such applications by another six months. 

There were rumors about under going talks for selling off Optel to a corporate conglomerate by the end of March, but the deal went sour and could not thus be finalized, which further delayed the privatization of the undertaking. 

Production today has been brought to a grinding halt since crore of rupees are needed to pump the undertaking to begin production, something that neither the MP government nor banks are willing to lend. Matters are rumored to have come to such a pass that the company management is hard pressed to even dole out salaries of its current employees every month. 

If reports are to be believed, employees have not been paid their salary for the last three months. Then there is the issue of the dismissal of some employees of the firm, which has now reached the High Court. The dismissed disgruntled and stung employees have now decided to take matters in their own hands and give the company a hard time during its own hard time.