Government employees on strike to demand restoration of old pension scheme.

▫️Rayat Samachar▫️

Mumbai (Gurudatta Wakdekar) 15.3.2023 

  Lakhs of state government employees went on strike on Tuesday demanding the reinstatement of the old pension scheme in Maharashtra. Due to this, many services including administration are likely to be affected.

Paramedics, sweepers and teachers working in state government and municipal hospitals are also participating in the strike. The teachers have participated in the strike while the 10th and 12th exams are underway in the state. The Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister had appealed to the employees not to go on strike.

The workers went on strike on Monday after talks between the government and trade unions failed. On Tuesday, the employees made slogans in front of government offices and hospitals with one mission, restore the old pension.

Founder and Advisor of State Gazetted Officers Federation G. D. Kulthe said that a day earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had announced the formation of a committee of senior bureaucrats to monitor the demand for implementation of old pensions of state government employees and submit a time-bound report. Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had appealed to government employees not to go on strike.

Chief Minister Shinde said that the participation of employees is important in the development of the state. People's representatives and administration are the two wheels of the chariot. So the government is not against the principle behind the demand to implement the old pension scheme. The mentality of the government is to find a way out of this.

After the retirement of the officers and employees, a way will be worked out to maintain their social security. A committee of administrative officers and retired employees will be appointed in this regard. The committee will submit its report within the prescribed time frame.

The roadmap for the states that have implemented this old retirement plan is yet to be finalized. Whatever policy the State Government adopts in connection with this scheme, care should first be taken to ensure that retired employees are not at a loss.

Founder and Advisor of State Gazetted Officers Federation G. D. Kulthe, President Vinod Desai, and General Secretary Sameer Bhatkar through a statement requested to implement the old pension scheme on 26th December 2022, 1st March and 12th March 2023.

A meeting was held with the Chief Secretary on Friday, March 10. The Executive Committee of the Federation met on Monday, March 13. Central leaders say that the number of government employees appointed after 2005 is about 40 per cent. All of them should get the old pension. Due to the non-implementation of the old pension scheme, there is a lot of dissatisfaction among the employees