Only 50 respond to Biman offer for voluntary retirement
Staff Correspondent
The Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) offered to the Biman officials and employees has received a lukewarm response, with only 50 officials responding to it in the last two days.The Biman staff members are in a dilemma over responding to the scheme, Biman sources said. Many Biman officials and staff said that they would wait till the last date for availing the scheme to decide whether they would respond to it or not. Even the staffs and employees, who have completed 25 years in service, are so far not willing to take the offer, sources said. Only those, who have a few months left to complete their total service tenure, have decided to leave under the VRS, the sources added. The trend towards responding to the scheme would be clear within the next week, Biman officials said. On Tuesday, Biman Bangladesh Airlines offered the VRS in order to downsize its staff to 3,400 by axing about 1,500 current employees. The scheme is part of the government plan to turn the national flag carrier into a public limited company (PLC) and therefore to make it a healthy and profitable commercial venture. The Biman employees interested in taking the benefits under the VRS will have to apply in a prescribed form by June 20, a circular said. The Biman authorities, however, did not mention what actions they would take if they do not get desired response under the VRS.
| 
