BSNL talking to unions on performance-related pay: CMD

BSNL has initiated talks with its employee unions and associations on introducing 'performance- linked pay' as part of efforts to strengthen the state-owned telecom company in a fiercely competitive market.
"We will soon be approaching the third Pay Revision Committee (PRC) with concrete suggestions on having performance-related pay for BSNL," Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd's Chairman and Managing Director Anupam Shrivastava told PTI.
"We have already made one round of presentation before PRC in October, in which we touched upon this aspect. At the same time, we are discussing it with employee associations and unions," he added.
Currently the salary has a component of PSU profitability built into it, Shrivastava said.

BSNL has started clocking operating profit and is firmly on a path to profitability, he said. "We would like to have performance related pay which can truly be attributed to performance of an individual and it should be different from the performance of the PSU."
On the proposal that is taking shape, he said: "We are saying that apart from the fixed pay, there should also be a component of performance-related pay which again will have both fixed and variable elements. The fixed part will be given to all and variable to individuals and groups who have outperformed."

BSNL will consult 6-7 associations and unions, including majority unions (both for non executive employees and officers), to ensure their "participation in a substantial manner to the discussion", Shrivastava said.

Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha has earlier asked the firm to consider implementing 'performance related pay'.
In September-end, the minister had asked BSNL to consider such a proposal saying that the workers need to come out of the mindset that salary will be paid on the first day of each month "whether or not work is done".
"Good workers need to be certainly rewarded...But the mindset that salary will come on the first day of the month whether or not work is done...One needs to come out of that mindset," the minister had said.