Telangana Government Workers Reject Centre’s Pension Plan
Hyderabad: In a strong show of resistance, state government employees covered under the New Pension Scheme (NPS) have expressed their firm opposition to the Unified Pension Scheme approved by the Union Cabinet on Saturday. The employees reiterated their longstanding demand to abolish the NPS and reinstate the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) that was in force until 2004.
The National Movement for Old Pension Scheme (NMOPS) secretary-general, G. Sthitaprajna, voiced the employees' dissatisfaction with the new Unified Pension Scheme announced by the Centre. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, he stated emphatically that the government employees would not accept the new pension system, which requires them to contribute a portion of their salary towards the pension fund.
Sthitaprajna highlighted the perceived flaws in the new system, referencing the Central Civil Services Rules of 1970 as a benchmark for how pensions should be managed. "If a government employee deposits 50 per cent of their salary during their service period as a monthly contribution, how can the government take 20 per cent and return only 30 per cent to the employees under the new Unified Pension Scheme? Would any employee invest in a pension fund knowing they would incur a 20 per cent loss over 25 years," he asked.
Sthitaprajna said, "The decision on pensions should be made in the same manner as in the old system," he argued, questioning the logic behind investing in a scheme that might lead to a 20 per cent loss over the years.
He called on the Central government to reconsider its stance on the pension system, emphasising that the new scheme did not meet the expectations of government employees who fear financial instability in their retirement years.
Supporting the demand for the OPS, Telangana CPS Union general secretary Kalwal Srikanth and Naresh Goud urged the Telangana state government to deviate from the Central government's pension policies. They called for the implementation of the old pension system specifically for Telangana state employees, insisting that the OPS would provide a more secure and reliable future for retirees.