Pensions in India

On EPS Pension Scheme
After the order of EPFO to stop the payment of minimum pension of Rs.1000 from April 2015, there were countrywide
protest actions. All the central trade unions protested the government’s failure to continue minimum pension. It is also
a fact that all the pensioners were getting the minimum of Rs.1000.

Dharna in Delhi
Organized by All India Co-ordination Committee of EPF Pensioners Associations, hundreds of pensioners, in
half naked attires, staged dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on 28 April demanding restoration of minimum
pension and other demands. Representatives of state level associations from states including Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Kerala participated. The dharna led by
all India convener M. Dharmajan.
CITU president A.K. Padmanabhan inaugurated the dharna. Those who greeted the dharna include
D.L. Sachdeva of AITUC, Santhosh of AICCTU and
Parliament Members including P. Karunakaran, P.K.
Sreemathi, A.S. Sampath, E.T. Muhammed Basheer.

Pension retained
Next day, on 29 April, Modi cabinet decided to continue
the minimum pension of Rs.1000 and, this time,
Government has made it a scheme in perpetuity i.e. it
will not be year based as was done last time.
Interestingly, the Press Information Bureau
communique says, “A large number of member-
Pensioners under EPS 1995 receive low pensions which
are not commensurate with growing cost of living. The
primary reason behind a meager pension is that it is calculated on the basis of Pensionable service and
average of last 60 months wages”.
This can only be called as a fraud on workers, shedding crocodile tears. The Government talks about
60 months average as pensionable wage. They just want the pensioners to forget that pensionable wage was
calculated as last 12 months average and it is this Government which changed it to 60 months average while
announcing the Minimum Pension of Rs.1000 in August 2014 to be effected from September 2014. This had
resulted in huge loss to all pensioners.
The Cabinet has now approved “compounding grant of continuous annual budgetary support of Rs.850
crores per year on tapering basis”.
This, as we can understand, is due to the huge protest actions of the trade unions all over the country.

EPS to NPS
In continuation of the budget announcement of giving option from EPS to NPS, Government is moving
ahead. An informal meeting with the labour secretary was called on11 May. Only the first 5 unions were
called for this meeting. Vehement protest was registered by CITU and other unions over this issue of selected
invitation. Government agreed not to repeat such selected invitation in future.
All the unions, present, opined that NPS can never be a substitute to EPS. EPS is not a Pension
Scheme. It is only a Saving Scheme. This has already been made clear by trade unions in the earlier
meetings. CITU has told the Government that they should not precede with NPS option and no more discussions
are required on this specific issue on which all trade unions have very clear understanding of being a retrograde move by the Government.