Maha Govt staff to revive agitation for Old Pension on Nov 8, Indefinite strike from Dec14

Nearly 17 lakh government and semi-government employees in Maharashtra have announced a "Family March" on November 8 to demand the reinstatement of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). They have also warned of an indefinite strike from December 14 if their demands are not met.

The employees are unhappy with the state government's approach towards their demand for OPS, which provides a stable source of income post-retirement. They are also demanding the cancellation of the indirect privatization of the education sector and the filling of all vacant posts.

"The meeting of the coordination committee of all government-semi government employees unions was held as the state government is ignoring the demand for OPS and it was decided to take out ‘Family March’ across the state in each district and tehsil on November 8 over the district collector office and tehsildar office with the slogan ‘My family, My Pension’. Later, we will go on indefinite strike from December 14 for the demand of OPS," announced Vishwas Katkar, convenor of the coordination committee of the government employees union.

The demand of OPS for government employees, including teachers, came on the political agenda during the campaign for legislative council elections in teachers and graduates' constituencies held in January this year. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced that the government would think positively on the issue, but the OPS issue had done political damage to Shinde-Fadnavis as the BJP lost Nagpur and Amravati to Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidates.

After that, state government employees went on strike from March 14 during the budget session of the legislature. The strike ended on March 20 after the state government appointed a committee under the former IAS officer Subodh Kumar to look into the demand for OPS. But since then, the state government has not come forward with any proposal regarding the pension issue.

"The Subodh Kumar committee on OPS was given three months’ time to submit the report. But now it’s over seven months and no development as far as the report and state governments response is concerned. Against this backdrop, the meeting of the coordination committee of various 219 employee unions of government-semi government employees, teachers and others was held. All representatives expressed displeasure about the state government’s approach and ignorance of the demand of OPS. So, we have decided on the family march on November 8 at the district collector’s office at the district headquarters and tehsildar office on tehsil level. and then indefinite strike from December," said Katkar in a statement. Katkar also said that the co-ordination committee would like to share the side of employees on the report of the Subodh Kumar committee.

The other demands of employees include cancelling the indirect privatization of the education sector, no recruitment on a contract basis and filling all the vacant posts immediately through the proper system.

What is the Old Pension Scheme?

The Old Pension Scheme (OPS) is a pension scheme by the government in which a government employee gets 50% of its basic and dearness allowance after retirement as a pension. Government employees do not contribute to OPS. It gives a stable source of income post-retirement.

The OPS was scrapped in Maharashtra in 2005, and replaced by the New Pension Scheme (NPS). In the NPS, government employees contribute 10% of their basic pay to their pension, and the government invests the contributions in pension funds. The returns on the investments are linked to the capital market.

Why are government employees demanding the restoration of the OPS?

Government employees prefer the OPS because they do not have to contribute to it, and it provides a guaranteed pension. The NPS, on the other hand, is a market-linked scheme, and the returns on the investments are not guaranteed.

Government employees also point out that the OPS continues to the spouse after the death of the employee, while the NPS does not.

What is the Maharashtra government's stance on the OPS?

The Maharashtra government has not yet announced its decision on the OPS. However, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said that the government is considering the issue positively.

The government employees' protest is likely to put pressure on the Maharashtra government to restore the OPS. However, the government will also have to consider the financial implications of restoring the OPS, as it would be a costly proposition.