Visakhapatnam: Salary hike brings cheer to Coromandel International staff

Visakhapatnam: At a time when employees in various organisations facing pay cuts and job loss, here is a company that stands as an exception even as pandemic continues to rage. The new wage agreement introduced by the Coromandel International Limited management brings cheer to the employees as it is in consultation with the union and supervision of the Joint Commissioner of Labour.

What turns out to be an added advantage for the employees is that the agreement brought by Coromandel Fertilisers in October this year is effective from November 1, 2019. With the new pay revision in place, each employee will now get an additional income of Rs 9,700 in excess each month. This apart, the employees are now entitled to receive an annual increment of 46 per cent.

In addition, the house rent allowance (HRA) is raised by 25 per cent which aids in drawing an extra income of Rs 5,000 through the component. "Medical allowance has been doubled from the present Rs 1.25 lakh to Rs 2.50 lakh. The exercise of the pay revision takes place every four years in accordance with the employees demands," says A Ramaraju, joint secretary of the Coromandel Fertilisers Employees Union.

Normally, those working in industries need to shell out a sizeable amount to avail transport. But the management of the Coromandel Fertilisers is providing the facility to the employees at a cost of Rs 35.

However, there is no variation in the rates of the items offered to the employees at the canteen as the rates on the menu card continue to be the same. Hailing the decision, vice-president of the union P. Sudhakar says, "Discussions between the management and the union about the pay revision commenced last August. But due to the outbreak of the pandemic, it got delayed in implementation. But it is worth the wait."

The new agreement will benefit close to 400 employees working in various departments and the decision comes as a major relief to them, especially in times of the pandemic.