Biman to offer VRS to 500 staffers

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FE Report
Bangladesh Biman will offer golden handshake to its 500 officials and employees under its ongoing programme of cost cutting to improve the financial position, sources said.
The decision of offering voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) was approved at a recent board meeting of Biman whose operational losses were mounting in the past few years and reached the highest Tk 12.00 billion in the last fiscal year.
Biman has sought Tk 1.25 billion from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to carry forward its latest decision to complete
Continued to page 7 col. 6FE Report
Bangladesh Biman will offer golden handshake to its 500 officials and employees under its ongoing programme of cost cutting to improve the financial position, sources said.
The decision of offering voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) was approved at a recent board meeting of Biman whose operational losses were mounting in the past few years and reached the highest Tk 12.00 billion in the last fiscal year.
Biman has sought Tk 1.25 billion from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to carry forward its latest decision to complete the golden handshake programme, the sources added
Some 1,877 officials and employees were offered golden handshake several months back in the first-leg of manpower rationalisation programme in line with suggestions by the World Bank (WB).
Biman demanded Tk 3.05 billion to complete the first-leg of VRS programme. So far, it received Tk 2.13 billion from the MoF, sources said.
With the latest job cuts, Biman is going to halve its existing manpower which is one of the major conditions put forth by the global lending agency to offer Biman financial assistance.
Biman needs financial assistance badly to procure new aircraft to replace its aged-old fleet. But severe fund crisis has kept the loss-making state-owned enterprise at bay.