7th pay commission: NPS has birthed big controversy for government employees; money loss feared

7th pay commission: After Centre, many state governments have been giving 7th pay commission benefits to their employees. The employees are also getting the enhanced Dearness Allowance at par with the central government employees. However, lakhs of state government employees are protesting against the New Pension Scheme (NPS).

While the protest has gathered momentum in the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, employees have been raising their voice against the scheme in states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as well.

The UP government employees have started a Rath Yatra on October 29. The Chetna Rath Yatra will pass through 15 districts to unite the employees against the NPS. The employees have already announced the boycott of the 2019 poll-duty if their demands are not met with.

Why are they protesting?
The organiser of Sanyukt Sangharsh Sanchalan Samiti (S4) R K Varma told ZeeBiz.Com that millions of rupees from the NPS fund will be invested in the stocks market and bonds. The pensions of the employees will be based on the return from these investments and the employees have objected to this. The equation, at the end of the day, will lead to major loss of money, government employees allege.  

Varma said that it will be an injustice if the pensions of the employees are decided based on the stock markets investment returns. He alleged that the NPS is not beneficial for government employees who dedicate 30 to 40 years of his life to the government service. Another contentious issue is that there is no guarantee by the government over the payment of the pension fund.

The regional president of the S4, SP Tiwari said that the CAG has exposed the scam behind the NPS and the union will not talk to the government over the issue. They want the restoration of the old pension scheme. Tiwari alleged that an MLA or MP becomes eligible for pension even if he serves for just one day while the employees who serve for 30 to 40 years are not even getting the pensions as per the old rule. 

Does the government have any option?
The protest against the NPS has intensified recently and it may create a trouble for the state government. Uttar Pradesh is a large state with 80 Lok Sabha seats. It's crucial for any party and the government cannot afford to ignore the demand of the employees for long.

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A the Centre, there is also the case of central government employees. Their major demand is that their salary be hiked by a fitment factor of 3.68 times, rather than the current 2.57 times. This will boost minimum salaries to Rs 26,000.