Golden handshake rules for major port trusts issued

Under new guidelines, posts falling vacant on voluntary retirement will be abolished

The shipping ministry has issued guidelines for a special voluntary retirement scheme and has asked the major port trusts to follow them.

The guidelines state posts falling vacant on voluntary retirement will be abolished and the scheme will be applicable to employees who have completed 10 years of service and 40 years of age.

Port trusts have been instructed to offer voluntary retirement to employees whose services can be dispensed with and not to highly skilled workers. The six-month scheme will apply only to regular employees and it will have to be funded internally.

Employees opting for retirement will be entitled to an ex gratia payment of 45 days' basic pay plus dearness allowance for each completed year of service or the value of emoluments due for the balance term of service, whichever is lower. They will also be eligible for terminal benefits like the cash equivalent of accumulated earned leave, gratuity and pension.

Those accepting the golden handshake will not be eligible for re-employment in ports. However, there is no bar on their re-employment by the government. India has 13 major ports, of which 12 are run by the government. In 2013, the United Progressive Alliance government had informed the Lok Sabha it was contemplating a special voluntary retirement scheme for major ports. There were reports last year that Visakhapatnam Port was planning to offer a golden handshake to 1,500 of its 4,500 employees.