Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU/SRINAGAR, Mar 28: Demanding restoration of Old Pension Scheme, protest demonstrations were held by All India Pension Restoration United Front (AIPRUF)/ JK Teachers Association (JKTA) and J&K United School Teachers Association (USTA), here today.
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AIPRUF/JKTA protest was held under the leadership of Bhupinder Singh and Tirth Singh Balwal while Rajiv Kumar led the USTA demonstration.
While addressing the protest demonstration, Bhupinder Singh appealed Government to scrap new pension scheme and restore old pension scheme in favour of all teachers and employees appointed after 01.01. 2010.
He said that NPS was great injustice with the employees as well as their families as it does not guarantee minimum pension to retirees. “An MP or MLA who wins and serves for five years gets pension throughout his life whereas the employees, who serve for more than 40 years are denied an old age pension after retirement,” Singh said .
Tirth Singh Balwal appealed the Lt Governor J&K to consider the genuine demand of NPS employees and restore old pension scheme.
J &K United School Teachers Association (USTA) held similar protest for restoration of old pension scheme under the leadership of Rajeev Kumar and also highlighted other demands of teachers, including repeal of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which allegedly promotes centralisation and corporatization of education.
They also demanded implementation of norm-based transfer policy, transfer policy for Grade 2 and 3 teachers, especially married female, filling up vacant posts of Masters, Headmasters, Lecturers and fourth class by DPC and teachers by new appointments, regularization of all incharge Lecturers, Headmasters, ZEOs, and other officers instead of assigning look after charge.
They were also demanding to provide Laptop, computer teachers and extra budget to carry out day to day activities in each school, start pre-primary classes in each school by providing required trained teachers and other infrastructure, withdraw teachers from all type of non-academic duties, etc.
While speaking, Rajeev Kumar and Roop Chand expressed their concern over the unwanted delay in DPC of Teachers to Masters and Masters to Headmasters due to which large number of schools are running headless for last many years.
Reports from Kashmir said that the Jammu and Kashmir Employees’ Coordination Committee also protested for restoration of Old Pension Scheme.
The employees assembled at Partap Park, Press Enclave and raised slogans in support of their demands. They claimed that the scheme was detrimental to an employee’s post-retirement life because the meager NPS pension is insufficient to cover the price of medicine.
According to employees, the future of employees and their families is in jeopardy under the privatized new pension scheme (NPS), which is exposed to a high-risk stock market.
They said that under the NPS Scheme, many senior citizens are receiving a meager monthly pension despite the fact that the cost of basic necessities is skyrocketing.
“In 2010, the government abolished the OPS and replaced it with the National Pension System. Three states have already done away with the OPS. We, too, want the government to scrap NPS and replace it with OPS because NPS appears to have no benefit, “said Hatim Qayoom, a protestor.
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