PSU asks for bond from employees who have undergone training

PSUs seek to ground execs taking flight after training

FACED with the exodus of technical personnel after expensive,
company-funded training, public sector companies such as RITES,
National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) and Steel Authority of India Ltd
(SAIL) have asked their staff to sign a bond to serve the organisation
for a fixed number of years. The state-owned firms earlier mandated
only new recruits to work for at least 2-3 years, failing which they
had to compensate the company according to the service agreement. In a
number of instances, technical staff left the companies engaged in
consultancy and infrastructure development just after a company-funded
foreign training programme.

"We require that executives sign a bond for serving the company after
they return from the training," a senior RITES official, who did not
wish to be identified, said. Private firms often poach employees from
their public sector counterparts for quality manpower. After the
implementation of Sixth Pay Commission recommendations, the
differential between the salaries of state-owned companies and those
of the private sector has come down but it still remains significant.

"Though the Sixth Pay Commission has done a lot to align compensation,
it is still a far cry from the emoluments such professionals can make
in the corporate world," Transearch International head of
infrastructure practice Rahul Mathur said. In a bid to check flight of
talented personnel, some of the state-controlled firms requires the
person to pay all the expenses incurred on him by the company.

Steel major SAIL spokesperson said the company makes employees sign
bonds in case of some specific training programs. "If the cost being
borne by the company on one employee is an average of Rs 4-5 lakh, it
becomes imperative to get these bonds signed. Usually, the time period
is 2-3 years," he said. NTPC, another public sector company, gets a
one-year bond signed if an employee goes for a week-long training. The
number of years of mandatory service is linked to the period of
training one undergoes. The power sector utility sends around 100
employees across levels for training abroad, which includes technical
training in a new technology as well as managerial training. "Sectors
such as oil & gas and power have attracted private investment
relatively recently, because of which PSU talent is in hot demand for
its obvious exposure to manage such large and complex projects," Mr
Mathur said.
..................Mahima Puri & Nirbhay Kumar / The Economic Times