A State-level convention of the Odisha State Government Employees’ Coordination Committee was held here on Saturday against privatisation of the pension scheme in the name of reforms.
A base paper released by the committee cautioned that in 2008 when the US was passing through economic recession, it invested `97 lakh crore in the stock market out of the social security pension fund which pensioners could not get back.
Similarly, millions of employees in the world are consistently resorting to agitation, particularly in France, Italy, Span, Portugal, Greece and Britain, protesting against such privatisation of pension schemes.
Without learning any lesson from the global economic recession and the privatisation of pension schemes of other countries, the Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA) of India is deliberately trying to deprive the Government employees and teachers of getting their legitimate pension in the name of so-called economic reforms, said the base paper.
According to the new scheme of pension, the employers are deducting 10 per cent of their employees’ basic monthly salaries and the amount is reportedly being invested in the share market, the return dividend of which is quite uncertain, alleged the employees.
While this new pension scheme has been implemented by the Central Government from January 2004, the Odisha Government introduced it from January 2005 only in the name of the so-called economic reforms. Even though the Central Government amended the pension Act in 2011 making provision for 26-per cent foreign investments, the law has no provision for safe return of the dividends to the employees which is quite devastating, the coordination committee alleged.
The convention, among others, was attended by committee president Jyoshnamayee Dei and general secretary Nirmal Das and Ganjam district president Sephali Das and secretary Sanjay Mallik and Narottam Parthasarathi.