Govt employees to stage protest outside Vidhan Sabha tomorrow

The Purani Pension Scheme Prapti Front, a state-wide body of government employees demanding the restoration of Old Pension Scheme, held a meeting of its state committee and announced a protest march leading to Punjab Vidhan Sabha from March 1.

State convener of the Front, Atinder Pal Singh and Majha zone convener Gurbinder Singh Khaira said it has been decided to continue the struggle for the Old Pension Scheme by rejecting the UPS (Unified Pension Scheme) proposed by the Centre. They said that the Punjab government’s decision to put the notification dated November 18, 2022 on the back-burner and give instructions to the bureaucracy to implement the UPS is a big betrayal of the employees.

“Pension is included in the State List, which gives the state government authority to take a decision. During the budget session, a memorandum will be given to all the cabinet ministers and MLAs from March 1 to 7 on the issue of pension against the Punjab government’s breach of promise. It has also been decided to hold a one-day hunger strike in front of the homes and offices of ministers and MLAs across Punjab on the occasion of Labour Day,” said Khaira.

Apart from this, a large number of employees will join the Punjab Employees and Pensioners Joint Front and hold four consecutive days of rallies and march towards the Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh to demand the restoration of Old Pension Scheme for employees during the budget session.