8th Pay Commission: Pensioners and organizations like BPS and AIDEF ask to include pension revision, parity and changes to family pension in the ‘Terms of Reference’ (ToR) of the Commission.
8th Pay Commission Pensioners Demand: Pensioner organizations have strongly demanded that the central government should include specific provisions for revision of pensions and family pensions of central government employees retired before January 1 in the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 8th Pay Commission.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been urged to make changes in the official guidelines (ToR) and remove certain contentious words by top organizations such as ‘Bharat Pensioners Samaj’ (BPS), ‘All India Defense Employees Federation’ (AIDEF), NCCPA and FCPA.
Pensioner organizations have demanded changes in the ToR of 8th Pay Commission.
It is not clear in the current ToR about review of pensions of old pensioners.
Demand for equal pensions for old and new retirees.
Pension is a right, strike out ‘unfunded cost’.
What do the organizations need?
The current ToR of the 8th Pay Commission does not make it clear as to the position on the review of pensions of old pensioners and this needs to be corrected immediately, say the organizations.
They claim that the ToR does not mention anything specific about revising pensions for old pensioners, parity between old and future pensioners, revising family pension and other post-retirement benefits. They have, therefore, proposed to insert a provision for revision of pension and pension related benefits under the applicable pension schemes including employees retiring before or after 1st January, 2026.
Call to Remove the Term ‘Unfunded Cost’
AIDEF has also objected to the reference to the ‘unfunded cost of non-contributory pension schemes’ in the ToR. They contend the pension accrued from government service should not be considered merely an unfunded liability. They have demanded that it be withdrawn or substituted forthwith, saying that pension after government service is not a financial burden but a right of the employees.
This implies that the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) is a ‘financial burden’ or ‘unbudgeted expense’ for the government because no contribution is deducted from the salary of the employees for it and the government has to bear the entire cost from its own pocket. They say pension after government service is not a ‘additional burden’ but their legal right.
Also Pension Parity Claim
The organizations also call for the elimination of the differences in pensions between old and new retirees and bringing them to an equal level. The organizations have also suggested the Commission to raise the minimum basic pension to ₹45,000 per month from ₹9,000 per month.
About the Author: Arijita Sen is a Senior Copy Editor at ABP Live’s Business Desk. She has about eight years of experience in the journalism field. She is also interested in crime, features and politics and business. Before joining ABP, she has worked in a number of other organizations.
