Restoration of Old Pension System demanded by All Assam Government NPS Employees’ Association

LAKHIMPUR: The All Assam Government NPS Employees’ Association has initiated a two-day long non-cooperation on August 22 and August 23 to protest against the alleged negligence shown by the Government of Assam towards their demand for restoration of the Old Pension System (OPS). The stir has been initiated as per decision taken at a joint forum of teachers, employees and workers’ associations and unions of the State, organized by the All Assam Government NPS Employees’ Association, in association with the All Assam Information and Public Relations Employees’ Association.

Extending support to this decision, on Tuesday, the Lakhimpur district unit of the organization observed the non-cooperation across the district from Dhaulpur Dhakuakhana. Being worried about their financial future after retirement, despite the ‘so called government claims of being public welfare, reform-oriented and developmental, which has allegedly not been proven in the case of the public servants’, the NPS employees of the district demanded the government to restore OPS and withdraw the NPS.

In support of the demand, the Lakhimpur district unit of the organization submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the District Commissioner of Lakhimpur. In the memorandum, Lakhimpur District unit of All Assam Government NPS Employees Association president Bhaskar Doley and secretary Pradip Baruah said that in the last three years, the association and its district committees had submitted more than hundred of memoranda to the State government as well as Central government to accord benefit of Old Pension System to all the officers, teachers, police personnel and employees under State government as per the provision of Assam Service (Pension) Rules, 1969, but the demand was not fulfilled till date.

“In last few years more than 9,000 teachers, officers, employees of the State Government retired from the government service and now all are facing severe financial trauma as they are all getting very minimum amount of financial assistance in the name of monthly pension from NSDL under NPS. It is now a fact that the NPS has failed to protect the financial needs of the government employees after their retirement,” the memorandum stated.

The memorandum further said that the NPS had forced the retired government employees to seek re-employment to meet their daily needs, which is nothing but a curse in disguise to them.

“The pension is a noble service to the person after 60s, who spent most productive and energetic period by serving the society through the government machinery. At the same time, it is already proved that NPS could never be safe mechanism to provide financial security and necessity to the people at their old age,” the organization added in the memorandum while urging the Prime Minister to repeal the NPS by going with the government principle of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Viswas”. The organization submitted separate memorandum to Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma too in support of the demand.

TANGLA: Along with other parts of the State, the teachers and employees categorized under NPS scheme of Udalguri district also joined the two-day pen down strike to demand the old pension scheme like other employees in the State. The employees under NPS on Tuesday attended their offices and the teachers went to school but didn’t work to join hands with other NPS employees and teachers of the State.

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