Huge participation in mass convention held in Guwahati for scrapping NPS & restoration of OPS

Jan. 31: Thousands of employees participated in a mass convention organised by the Assam Government NPS Employees’ Union at Lokhra in Guwahati on Sunday. Loud slogans “Scrap NPS, Restore OPS” echoed throughout the convention site. The Central Government had introduced the National Pension System (NPS) with effect from January 1, 2004 (except for armed forces). Since its introduction, employees of all government sectors have been protesting to scrap the national pension scheme and restoration of the old pension scheme.

It is with this aim of restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), that the Assam Government NPS Employees’ Union was established. Since the NPS covers employees recruited after 1 January 2004 and the age of retirement is 60, most employees are yet to avail the new pension. But a few are retiring now and as per the NPS regime they can withdraw 60% of their pension contribution in bulk and out of the remaining 40% they get barely ₹700 and ₹800 every month as annuity after remitting 10% of their salary for 15 years! So the paltriness of the NPS scheme is gradually dawning upon them and so the anger mounts.

As such, reverting to the old pension scheme was voiced in a strong way today in Assam. State government NPS employees in large number participated in the mass convention in Guwahati held on 31 January and voiced demands for scrapping the scheme immediately. Many employees organisations including Assam College Teachers’ Association (ACTA) also actively participated in the meeting.

If there is a single demand that commonly figured in the recent protests of the Central and State government employees, public sector workers in defence production, telecom, railways and banks as well by some workers in the private sector, it is the scrapping of the New Pension Scheme (NPS).

Why the employees are opposing the New Pension Scheme?

Under the old pension scheme, the employees would get assured interest from the government for their accumulating pension fund. But under the NPS, the workers’ savings would be invested in the stock market and their pension amount would be decided by accruals from the share market. Private pension funds would invest their money and make a profit for themselves.