BBD offers high severance pay

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned Bank Bumi Daya (BBD) will provide up to Rp 150 million (about US$17,000) in severance pay to bank officials who choose to resign or take an early retirement.

"BBD employees who have been with the bank for five to six years are entitled to good severance pay if they want to resign," BBD's director, Ira Hendraman, was quoted as saying by Antara on Monday.

Hendraman said the merger of the four state banks -- Bank Dagang Negara, Bank Ekspor Impor, Bank Pembangunan Indonesia and Bank Bumi Daya -- into Bank Mandiri had resulted in the redundancy of many employees.

"We want all 8,000 employees of BBD to continue to work, but the facts say otherwise. BBD's employees have to compete with employees of the other three state banks to pass the Bank Mandiri recruitment test," Hendraman said.

Bank Mandiri is currently selecting 18,000 of the 26,000 employees from the four state banks.

BBD's severance pay offer, amounting to about 50 months' salary, contrasts with the severance package offered to employees of the 38 banks recently closed by the government.

The employees of those closed banks who worked for less than one year will receive two months' salary as severance pay, while those having worked for four years or longer would be entitled to 10 months' salary. (02)