Notional wage revision for VRS retirees extends to recomputation of retiral benefits when scheme terms and communications support recalculation.

Where wage revision is made effective from an earlier date and the employer's communications and revised VRS terms contemplate recalculation on that basis, employees who opted for voluntary retirement before the date of actual monetary implementation may still claim notional revision for recomputation of retiral benefits. The text also notes that similarly placed employees retiring later had already received the benefit, and that this supported extending the same treatment to VRS retirees. The result described is that denial of notional wage revision was considered unjustified and consequential retiral dues were to be recomputed accordingly.

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Issues: Whether employees who had opted for voluntary retirement before the operative date could claim the benefit of wage revision and recomputation of retiral benefits on a notional basis.

Analysis: The wage revision was made effective from 01.01.1997, while the later office order and related communications showed that the benefit was to operate in a manner consistent with the petitioner's financial restructuring and the revised VRS terms. The earlier circulars and the clarification dated 04.02.2003 indicated that ex gratia and related retiral calculations would be recalculated if revised scales were given effect from 01.01.1997. The Court also noted that similarly placed employees who retired after 01.04.2003 had already been granted the benefit and that the petitioners had accepted the earlier category-wise decision of the Tribunal. In these circumstances, denial of the same notional revision to VRS retirees was held unjustified.

Conclusion: The employees were held entitled to the benefit of wage revision on a notional basis for the purpose of recomputation of retiral benefits, and the challenge to the Tribunal's order failed.

Final Conclusion: The writ petitions were found to be without merit and the Tribunal's direction for extending notional wage revision and consequential recomputation of retiral dues was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: Where wage revision is expressly made effective from an earlier date and the employer's own communications and scheme terms contemplate recalculation on that basis, similarly situated VRS retirees cannot be denied notional revision and consequential retiral benefits merely because they severed service before the later date fixed for actual monetary implementation.

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