Telangana employee unions welcome KCR\'s assurance on OPS

Hyderabad: Government employees unions welcomed Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao's assurance of considering restoration of the old pension scheme (OPS) in place of the existing contributory pension scheme (CPS). Rao gave an assurance on Friday after leaders of employees’ unions met him in Delhi.

Of the 3.5 lakh government employees and teachers in Telangana, about 1.7 lakh employees were appointed after 2004 and are covered under the CPS. The demand to scrap CPS gained momentum after Punjab became the fourth state to scrap the CPS and revert to the OPS following Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The newly-formed Congress government in Himachal Pradesh is also reviving the OPS.

The 1.7 lakh employees and teachers covered under CPS came together to form TSCPS Employees Union and have been agitating against it CPS since 2018. TSCPS employees union president G. Sthitaprajna, is leading the National Movement for Old Pension Scheme (NMOPS), the national forum agitating against CPS in all the states.

Commenting on Rao’s assurance, Sthitaprajna said, "It's a positive step towards scrapping CPS. The CM gave a patient and promised to come out with a policy decision on restoring OPS."

Telangana Udyogula Sangham president Padmachary said that CPS employees and their family members were facing mental agony for long as there will be no social security for them under CPS unlike OPS. Fluctuations in the stock market will impact their returns as the funds will be invested in stock markets.

"It's a good sign that the CM has agreed to look into the issue. Some non-BJP ruled states have reverted to OPS and we hope that this would be a reality in Telangana soon," he said.