India Inc goes an extra mile to support families of COVID-19 victim employees
India Inc is going the extra mile to support the family members of their staff with financial, medical, and other support, besides the help it has extended to the Centre, state, and district administration.
As thousands continue to die and several lakhs get infected daily from the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, India Inc is going an extra mile to support the family members of their staff with financial, medical, and other support.
This is apart from the massive financial support these companies have already extended to the Centre, state, and district administrations, and the non-profits.
Earlier this month, glassware major Borosil offered two years salaries to the families of its four employees who died due to COVID-19. On May 1, Borosil Group Managing Director Shreevar Kheruka also announced educational, medical, and insurance help to them, adding that the same will be extended to any future eventualities.
Similar steps were announced by Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, and TVS Motor last week.
Two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto said it will pay salaries for two years to the family of the employee who dies due to the pandemic and fund the education of children of the deceased apart from medical insurance for five more years.
Salaries up to Rs 2 lakh per month for 24 months, education assistance for two children of Rs 1 lakh per child per annum up to 12th standard, and Rs 5 lakh per annum per child for graduation will be offered under the assistance policy, Bajaj said.
Realty major Lodha Group has promised to pay 12 months salary to the family of any of its associates who dies of the pandemic.
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Renewable energy player Renew Power — which lost an employee to the pandemic — is offering three months' full salary and 50 percent of the wage for the next two years to the family of the dead besides offering education support and insurance for five years. It employs around 1,300 individuals.
State-owned oil major Bharat Petroleum said it will supply 400 tonnes of gaseous oxygen free of cost along with free water and power to a make-shift 1,500-bed COVID-19 hospital opened last Friday at a school run by Kochi Refinery, its Executive Director and Incharge of Kochi Refinery Sanjay Khanna said.
BPCL is already supplying 100 tonnes of medical oxygen to the hospitals run by Kerala since last month for free.
In fact, Wall Street major JPMorgan's Asia-Pacific Head Filippo Gori said the investment bank has set aside $3.8 million for the care of its over 35,000 employees in India.
He added that the support will be in the form of medical insurance, ambulance service, partnerships with its clinical service providers and hospitals for hotel and in-home quarantine, doctor-on-call service, and vaccination reimbursement support.
Tobacco major ITC is bearing the medical expenses of employees who have been infected by the virus, besides extending a loan facility to employees for treatment of some family members who are not covered under the company's medical policy.
Software major Accenture is offering home care services for its employees and family members quarantined at home, besides offering quarantine rooms in hospital-managed hotels in seven cities.
Cloud computing firm VMware has doubled the wellbeing allowance to close to Rs 60,000 for each employee to help them live a more healthy and balanced life.
Amazon on Sunday said it will help its sellers procure 9,000 oxygen concentrators for customers. The first batch of 1,000 oxygen concentrators have already landed and are now available for purchase for consumers and business customers.
Sun Pharma, besides paying two years salaries, will also pay for the education expenses of the children of the demised employees up to their graduation. The pharma major — which employs over 27,000 individuals — will pay a minimum of Rs 25 lakh and a maximum of Rs 1.2 crore, depending on the employee's salary.
Automaker TVS Motor said, in case an employee dies due to the pandemic, the bereaved family will be paid up to three times the gross annual salary to the family and fund the education of their two children till they finish under-graduation.
Automaker Mahindra on Sunday offered COVID-19 health insurance of Rs 1 lakh and pre-approved emergency financial support to farmers on tractor purchases made in May under the M-protect COVID-19 plan as part of its customer-centric initiative.
Mahindra is also covering the vaccination expenses of all of its dealership employees, numbering around 80,000, while also providing one-year medical insurance of Rs 1 lakh for treatment.
Telecom major Airtel on Sunday rolled out COVID-19 support for its customers on its digital platforms.
Under the initiative, Airtel has integrated a bouquet of support resources and related information in the Airtel Thanks apps such as an SOS for medicines, oxygen, plasma donors, ambulance, hospital beds, and testing centres, besides booking for the vaccination.
State-owned NTPC augmented its pandemic care facilities across the country by adding over 500 oxygen beds in New Delhi, besides 1,100 isolation beds at its plants in different states.
Edited by Suman Singh
