Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 30: The recently announced Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) by the Government of India has proven to be merely a rebranding of existing policies with minor modifications. This has resulted in a discriminatory approach towards pensioners under the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and the New Pension Scheme (NPS).
The primary demand of the employees has been the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme. Instead, the Government has misled and deceived a crucial segment of employees who diligently serve the public. Both NPS and OPS pensioners perform the same duties, yet NPS employees are unjustly excluded from the same pension benefits as OPS retirees. This disparity is particularly alarming given that both categories of pensioners are grappling with the rising cost of living. Under the OPS, retirees are entitled to 50% of their last drawn basic pay as pension; however, this standard does not apply to NPS pensioners. While the UPS has provided some relief in comparison to the NPS, it has not adequately addressed the concerns of employees. Under both NPS and UPS, Government employees are required to contribute a portion of their basic pay and dearness allowance. The rationale behind these schemes remains unclear, leading to concerns that the Government is privatizing essential public services. It has also come to our attention that only selected trade union representatives, often referred to as “blue-eyed” leaders were invited to discussions with the Prime Minister of India. These representatives do not truly represent the entire community of Government employees. Their involvement in the meeting appears to be an attempt to create the illusion of consensus. The All J&K Low Paid Govt. Employees Federation (LPEF) strongly disagrees with the decisions made in this context. This was a key topic of discussion in a recent meeting led by Achal Dev Singh, the convenor of the Federation. Prominent members present included Ghulam Rasool Mir, Javed Shah, R.K. Maini, Noor Ussain Malik, Manjoor Kichloo, Shakeel Ahmad Dev, Abdul Hafeez Fani, Anil Verma, Ishar Dass Sangra, Abdul Rashid Bhatt, Nazir Ahmad Magray, Mohd Shawan Bhutt, Mohd Yaseen Ittu, J.S. Awal, Jugal Sharma, Modh Nazir, Tasarf Hussain Shah, Luder Mani, Babu Ram Sharma, and Om Parkash Choudhary. In light of these discussions, the LPEF demanded that the Government withdraw the UPS immediately and extend the benefits of the OPS to all NPS employees.
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