PGI nurses hold protest march, want old pension scheme back

Chandigarh, March 29

Members of the PGI Nurses Welfare Association today took out a protest march from the gate number 1 of the institute to Sector 17 for restoration of the old pension scheme for all employees of the state and Central governments, who joined after January 1, 2004, and scrapping of the National Pension Scheme.

Around 300 nursing staff, along with the National Movement for Old Pension Scheme (NMOPS) Punjab and Haryana units, participated in the protest.

The protesters, who were carrying placards ‘Scrap NPS and Restore OPS’, also asked staff of the GMCH-32 and the GMSH-16 to extend support to them as they were also affected by the NPS.

Subsequently, a memorandum was handed over to SDM Tejdeep Singh Saini addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We dedicated ourselves in the fight against Covid. It was no less than fighting a war. Should we not be covered under the old pension scheme? The Rajasthan Government has already announced to cover all government employees under the old pension scheme. The Chhattisgarh Government is also planning to implement it. If these two states can do it, why can’t it be implemented at the central level,” said Satyaveer Singh Dagur, general secretary, PGI Nurses Welfare Association.