Telcos offer average salary hike of 7%

MUMBAI: Wages across India's telecom sector have risen by an average 7% this year, with smaller companies loosening their purse strings a little more than their larger peers in a sluggish market. 

The pay increase at market leader Bharti Airtel, which has seen its share slip lately, has been 4-5%, said two people familiar with budgeting at the company. The Sunil Mittal-controlled company has reported 13 consecutive quarters of profit decline, and has significantly lagged Vodafone India and Idea Cellular in capturing new market. 

Bharti declined to comment but a company executive, who did not wish to be named, said, "What can you expect with an overarching environmentthis, and the general performance of the company." 

The pay increase at No. 2 operator Vodafone India and Telenor's Indian arm, Uninor, has been about 8%, people with knowledge of the matter said. Vodafone India's HR Director Ashok Ramachandran said the company urges its staff not to quit if salary is the only motivator. "My aim at every stage is to see if a person was promoted, was the organisation there to help him succeed." 

Uninor said, "We are a growth company. This means that while we against the industry, we also place increased emphasis on business growth and performance and our remunerations are structured to reflect this." 

Topping the increment list, according to people in the know, is Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Communications with 9-10% hike. The company declined comment on the matter. 

A close second is Sistema Shyam's MTS brand with 9% increase. The gap in pay increase between market leaders and their smaller peers has not surprised analysts, though. 

"That is traditionally the case. Smaller companies have to incentivise employees to show commitment to the future; especially at this time when consolidation is happening," said Hemant Joshi, partner at Deloitte. 

India's telecom sector has been reeling since the Supreme Court of India last year cancelled 122 telecom licences in a case of graft involving sale of spectrum in 2007-08. 

Ever since, industry experts have maintained that new entrants are unlikely in the sector, and the incumbents will dominate the space as more than four operators are not viable. 

"We try to keep our employees happy, because telecom requires specialised skillset. But there have been many layoffs and cut backs in operations, so this year there is talent available in the market," a human resources executive at one of the top three Indian telecom operators said. 

While Vodafone has already issued pay hike letters, othersBharti Airtel, Reliance and Idea are in the process of doing so.