MYRTLE A BARSE – a scholar in Mumbai (India) had made a meticulous study of the Social Implications of Voluntary Retirement Scheme. His finding was published in the ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY, Vol. 36, No. 52, December 29, 2001. This study is one of the best stuies on the subject in India. The startling findings are still relevant, particularly in the context of proposed large scale VRS in state owned BSNL in India.
I quote below some relevant lines from the thesis to share it with my friends and comrades.
“Is voluntary retirement really voluntary? Do workers voluntarily resign and leave?If the worker chooses to voluntarily retire, then why are firms inclined to offer inducements to the workers to make him accept the voluntary retirement scheme?”
“The picture that emerged was that after acceptance of VRS, the euphoria of being in possession of such a large amount of money is short-lived, i dies due to boredom.”
“In a society geared to the central value of work, retirement frequently means a loss of status and the absence of routines that may have structured an individuals life for years – it creates a void difficult to fill. Retirement spells the loss not only of a job, but also of contact with others at work.”
“The plight of these VRS recipients (or as trade unionists call them retrenched workers) has to be considered in the light of the prevailing conditions of unemployment and underemployment in the country. Abysmal poverty has been the bane of Indian society and the root cause is large scale unemployment and underemployment. Thus, VRS is no different from retrenchment.”
“His (a VRS recipients) wife, like most other members of of our society, believes, that the the position that ones family occupies in society depends to a great extent on the occupation of the husband and on how successful he is in that occupation. Thus, the consequences of the loss of a job for a worker and his family should be treated as a problem, which should concern all of society.”
EXPERIENCE NARRATED BY SOME VRS RECIPIENTS TO THE AUTHOR:
“The distinct picture that emerged from the responses of the recipients was that they experience a a sense of rejection, of betrayal by the firm/company with which they had shared a mutual trust over long years.”
“VRS only benefits people who have a market value; those without adequate educational qualification or skills should definitely not accept VRS. This is because the returns remain fixed. If no additional support is possible, persons with family liabilities will find themselves in deep trouble.”
“It is extremely difficult to get another job, again it is very difficult to adjust to a new lifestyle.”
“After having worked for so many years you get used to a busy life and an active life. Adjustment to a life after VRS thus becomes difficult.”
“VRS leads to a loss of identity and status in society. Work gives an individual both a social identity and status in society…. Retirement makes an individual suffer a role-loss and the loss of status too of this non-earning member…. Retirement creates social, economic and psychological problems for individuals and quite often for households.”
– Mihir Dasgupta