Employees, pensioners in Punjab and Haryana dismiss UPS, call for implementation of OPS

Employees, pensioners in Punjab and Haryana dismiss UPS, call for implementation of OPS

Government employees from across the country gathered at the Ramlila Maidan to demand the restoration of the OPS. File photo

Vikas Vasudeva

CHANDIGARH  27.08.2024 

Several State government employees and pensioners in Punjab and Haryana, who have been demanding restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), have dismissed the Union government’s latest Unified Pension Scheme (UPS)

In Punjab, where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government announced the restoration of the OPS in 2022, its implementation is yet to see the light of day.

As the delay in the release of standard operating procedures (SOPs) following the OPS notification continues, employees and pensioners under the banner of the Old Pension Scheme Restoration Sangharsh Committee have expressed their anguish on different occasions. With the Centre’s UPS announcement, employees have only grown more anxious. Employees currently under the National Pension System (NPS) have asked the State government not to consider implementing the UPS, and instead, implement the OPS in Punjab without further delay.

‘Not in our interest’

“We are against the Centre’s UPS as it is not in the interest of the employees or pensioners. We urge the AAP government to not consider the UPS. In fact the Punjab government had in 2022 announced the restoration of the OPS, but we are still waiting for its implementation. The State government issued the OPS notification in 2022. Later, it constituted a committee to formulate the SOPs for implementing the OPS, but it’s going to be close to two years now and yet the Punjab government has not come out with the SOPs or details about the scheme,” Jasvir Singh Talwara, State convener of the joint employee-pensioners’ front, told The Hindu.

“To step up our struggle, we will stage a march towards Punjab State Assembly on September 3, during the ongoing session of the Assembly. We want the AAP government to immediately implement the OPS,” Mr. Talwara said.

In neighbouring Haryana, where the Assembly election is due on October 1, the restoration of OPS for government employees has emerged as a key poll issue. Members of the Pension Bahali Sangharsh Samiti (Haryana) are travelling across the State in support of their demand to restore the OPS. They too have dismissed the latest UPS.

“We are against the UPS and it’s only the OPS that we want to be restored. We are going across the State in a phased manner with our OPS Tiranga march and are urging people and political parties to extend support to our demand of restoring the OPS,” Vijender Dhariwal, president of the front, said.