Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 6: The Coalition Government’s decision of enhancing the retirement age of State employees from 58 to 60 years has sparked anguish among the unemployed youth who are mulling to take to streets on the issue.
A number of unemployed youth of Jammu met today at Toph Sherkhana and rejected the Government decision on enhancement of retirement age. Asking the Government to roll back the order, the meet unanimously resolved that unemployed youth would not tolerate the enhancement in retirement age, which would be opposed tooth and nail.
“The biggest problem in the J&K State is unemployment and if the retirement age is enhancement, the scope of employment will definitely further decline,” said Jyoti Sharma, who is looking for a suitable job.
“This action will increase only unemployment among the youth. It is purely a political stunt to increase the vot bank ahead of Assembly elections in the State,” said Rohit Khajuria adding that such action would only spread insecurity and unemployment among the youth.
Poonam Sharma, another participant of the meet, stressed that the Government should think twice about the youth of the State before implementing the order on enhancement of retirement age. “If the Government has shortage of staff, it should recruit new by providing employment to youth but enhancement of retirement age is not the solution,” she explained
Meanwhile, activists of National Secular Forum (NSF) also held a protest against the State Government for enhancing the retirement age of employees from 58 to 60 years.
Addressing protesters, NSF president Sukhdev Singh said that under the prevailing circumstances, the enhancement in retirement age was irrelevant and injustice with the thousands of unemployed youth who were feeling frustrated in search of jobs.
“If the Government is really sincere to solve the problems of its employees, it should remove pay anomalies in different grades, introduce running grade pattern and give representation to the wards of the retired employees in the Government services”, he said and appealed Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to withdraw the decision of retirement age enhancement for providing opportunities to unemployed educated youth of Jammu and Kashmir.
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