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Teachers up in arms against new pension policy
A total of 11 teachers’ organisations, including TSUT F, TPTF and DTFDI on Saturday staged a massive dharna at Indira Park here on Saturday demanding scrapping of contributory pension system and continuation of the old system protecting their pension rights.
Hyderabad: A total of 11 teachers’ organisations, including TSUT F, TPTF and DTFDI on Saturday staged a massive dharna at Indira Park here on Saturday demanding scrapping of contributory pension system and continuation of the old system protecting their pension rights.
Addressing the protestors, Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) chairman Prof M Kodandaram expressed happiness over all teachers’ organisations coming onto a common platform to press the demand. He accused both the State and the Central governments of shirking their responsibility to pay pension to their employees as part of the liberalised economic policy.
Prof Kodandaram hit out at the Centre for imposing a ten per cent cut in the salaries of its employees and handing over the amount to private companies for investing in shares. Describing share market as gambling, which could collapse any time, he questioned the government why it wanted to sacrifice its employees to the volatile share market. He expressed concern over the lack of social and economic stability to the employees in the absence of retirement benefits.
“They face a deplorable situation without being able to meet even the medical expenses,” he pointed out, while calling for pressurising the Telangana government to implement the old pension policy, which is being continued in Tripura and West Bengal.
Addressing the participants, former MLC Prof K Nageshwar described the new policy as no pension, which caused loss to 44 lakh employees in Andhra Pradesh and three lakh in Telangana.
He pointed out that pension was no dole but was a return for the employees’ services. The former MLC hit out at the Centre for effecting a ten per cent cut in its staff salaries and handing over the amount of Rs 84,000 crore to private players. “The government does not even know to where to invest the huge amount,” he added.
He questioned why the Centre was denying the pension benefit to its staff, while the same was being extended to people’s representatives after completing a five-year term. He demanded restoration of the pre-2004 pension scheme, which protects the interests of retired employees.
Teachers Shana of Shivarampally, Venkateshwar Rao (Suryapet), Mahbub Ali (Warangal), Ramakrishna Rao (Tekulapalli), Suradheer of Moinabad poured out their woes to The Hans India. They explained how they were losing on account of the new pension policy.
