Assam govt employees ramp up pressure, demand restoration of old pension scheme

Guwahati:  Lakhs of Assam government employees has decided to intensify their agitation demanding the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).

Leaders of opposition political parties of the state have also extended their support to the demand of the government employees, claiming that adequate pension is a right of the workers.

The All Assam Government NPS Employees Association (AAGNPSEA) at a meeting in Guwahati on Monday took the decision.

The meeting was organized by the AAGNPSEA in collaboration with Joint Coordination Committee for OPS Assam and the Joint Forum for Restoration of OPS Assam here.

The AAGNPSEA, along with other workers' bodies and unions, have been carrying out agitations for the restoration of OPS in the state in a phased manner.

Among the resolutions adopted at the meeting was the demand to cancel the National Pension System (NPS) and to provide pensions to all workers, employees and teachers of the state government under the OPS.

The meeting also demanded the repeal of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Act (PFRDA) Act, 2013, immediately.

The Act seeks the establishment of an authority to promote old age income security by establishing, developing and regulating pension funds to protect the interests of subscribers to schemes of pension funds.

The agitators said that clauses of NPS are included in the PFRDA Act, 2013, and without the repeal of this legislation, employees will face problems even if any state government reverts to OPS.

The organization in a statement said the conference also decided to intensify the struggle for the benefit of the working class if the state and central governments do not take a positive stance to their demands.

Speaking at the meeting, author and professor of Gauhati University Akhil Ranjan Dutta said that the economic and social reins of a country should never be handed to those at the top of the income bracket.