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“These features make it close to the OPS. The government has attempted to overcome the shortcomings of the NPS, and we appreciate them,” said Ravindra Himte, general secretary, BMS Representational image
While the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) has welcomed the government’s unified pension scheme (UPS) announced on Saturday, other central trade unions have rejected the new scheme, demanding the restoration of the old pension scheme (OPS).
In a statement on Sunday, the BMS said that the new pension scheme is a better option than the existing National Pension System (NPS) as it includes an assured 50 per cent pension, dearness relief, family pension, increased government contribution from 14 to 18.5 per cent, and an additional lump sum payment on retirement.
“These features make it close to the OPS. The government has attempted to overcome the shortcomings of the NPS, and we appreciate them,” said Ravindra Himte, general secretary, BMS.
However, Himte added that there are still some differences compared to the OPS. For example, the UPS is a contributory pension scheme, whereas employees did not contribute under the OPS, and there is a feature of commutation of pension available in the OPS that is not available in either the NPS or UPS.
“BMS is of the view that some other important features of the UPS are still unclear, such as the ratio of lump-sum payment on exit and the revision of pensions on future pay commissions. For these clarifications, we have to wait until the publication of the detailed notification of the UPS,” Himte said, adding that the BMS will decide its further action in this regard only after a detailed study of the features of the UPS.
Meanwhile, other central trade unions, such as the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), have outrightly rejected the scheme and demanded the restoration of the OPS.
“The package offered by the government in the name of the UPS reflects the same deceptive ploy of depriving government employees of their legitimate dues on account of pension,” said Tapan Sen, general secretary, CITU, in a statement.
The AITUC is of the view that the UPS does not match the OPS, which is non-contributory in nature, and the UPS is merely an extension of the existing NPS, as employees will have to continue contributing 10 per cent of their wages.
“UPS will have a lot of aberrations once implemented. AITUC reiterates its stand to continue to fight for restoring the non-contributory OPS,” said Amarjeet Kaur, general secretary, AITUC.
First Published: Aug 26 2024 | 10:22 AM IST
