Hyderabad: Government employees in Telangana are unhappy with the new Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) announced by the Union government. They see it as yet another way the government is trying to take away their rights. In response, the Telangana Non-Gazetted Officers’ (TNGOs) union has decided to hold protests. On September 1, employees will wear black badges and demonstrate at the Martyrs Memorial.
For a long time, employees in Telangana have been asking the State government to bring back the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). The current Congress government in the State had promised to do so. However, just as the employees’ unions were pushing for this, the Union government announced the new UPS on Saturday. This move has faced strong opposition.
Mujeeb Hussain, the State General Secretary of the TNGOs Central Union, expressed his disappointment with the UPS. “This is an unwelcome step as the Government will be providing pensions from the deductions made from the salaries. Who will agree to this?” he told The Hans India.
Mujeeb further explained that the Congress government had promised to implement OPS in its election manifesto. The TNGOs plan to remind Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of this promise on September 1. “About three or four states have already implemented OPS in the best interests of the employees. We hope the State Government can find a solution with the Centre, especially since Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has placed the entire responsibility on the State for contribution,” he added.
Leaders from the National Movement for Old Pension Scheme (NMOPS) are also critical of the new pension plan. They argue that the pension scheme based on employee contributions is unfair. S Pragna, the Secretary General of NMOPS, pointed out that under the 1970 Central Civil Services rules, government employees are entitled to OPS. “After contributing 50% of their salary during service, employees will only get back 30% of it. What kind of welfare is this, where the government employee faces a 20% loss after investing in 25 years of service? The Centre should reconsider this,” she said.
