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| Raising retirement age, discontinuing pension and exploitation of unemployed Youth | | A Look through the mist | | Daya Sagar | 2/7/2012 10:32:44 PM |
| The story of injustice to and exploitation of the youth looking for government jobs is not ending. The recruitment exercises for government jobs too are inordinately delayed. Those who could hope for direct entry into limited number of available regular government jobs are being stripped of even rare opportunities of timely entry ( in case retirement age is further raised ) and social security ( discontinuation of retirement pension) that was earlier enshrined in government jobs .
To add to the agony of the unemployed aspiring for government jobs there have been demands from existing GOI employees for raising the retirement age from 60 to 62 Yrs and 58 to 60 Yrs by some State government employees. This would surely further reduce even the limited job opportunities available in government departments. No doubt the government employees who are already in service would use all possible resources and influence to get the retirement age enhanced since they are also involved in policy planning. But when we have so many unemployed qualified/ highly qualified youth in the country, where is the justification for raising the retirement age. More over the Government is so short of resources.
If the retirement age is not raised it would not put brakes on regular process of creation of vacancies. In addition the overall establishment cost would go down even after accounting the pension paid to retired employee and salary of the new appointee. Although those in IAS / IPS/IFS/IRS/ even provincial services do not face that much of stagnation due to time bound promotion policies but those in general services do face undue stagnations.
So in case the retirement age is not raised some stagnated employees would also get promoted and encouraged.
It is often argued that due to procedural implications it is very very difficult to punish / get rid off the non performing / inefficient / corrupt government employees. Even the Chief Ministers of J&K have been quoted as haviny said at occasions that they planned to get rid of the dead wood but have not succeeded. So, in case the retirement age is increased in a blanket manner for all, the dead wood , as well as, the unwanted personnel too would indirectly get extensions in a blanket manner. Some people plead that in case the retirement age is raised by 2 Yrs , payment of the General Provident Fund GPF, leave encashment, commuted pension and gratuity by the Government would be deferred by two years. Such logics do not stand before the negative affects of enhanced retirement age like (i) during the extended service period the salaries would further grow (ii) the pension on retirement would also increase (iii) government will have to carry some aged and sick employees for two more years at extra cost (iv) the law & order and crime control departments would have lesser youth in service. So, rather, there is even a need to consider reducing the retirement age instead of raising the retirement age. Better would be to consider proposals like reducing the regular retirement age to 55 years with 20 yrs limit for full pension.
Still a provision could be also kept there that in case some employee is assessed as possessing extra ordinary truthfulness, experience, capabilities and sound health he / she could be considered for extension of two years after attaining the age of 55 Yrs. There would be no harm in case such extensions are repeated in exceptional cases upto the age of even 65 Yrs. This way (i) government will get rid of dead wood / unsuitable elements (ii) the government jobs will not be blocked in blanket manner for new entrants (iii) the wage load on the state exchequer would also reduce.
Earlier GOI has stopped the retirement pension for Government employees recruited after 2003. J&K Government too has done so as regards the employees appointed after 2009. No, doubt the scheme like that of contributory provident ( CPF) fund would be applicable to non pensionable employees. But the CPF is no equivalent substitute to earlier provision of retirement pension. Imagine a government employee getting pension of Rs.40000 per month.( DA is also allowed on pension and pension too gets revised with grade revision). It is as good as the interest one would earn every month for a fixed deposit of over Rs. 50 Lac in a bank. Can the CPF scheme match this? No never. No doubt still there is rush for seeking government jobs. Reason simply rests in there being large numbers of even the educated unemployed. No government employees Union or Association has agitated against the new policy of no pension. The answer lies in the fact that the in place employees unions / associations are managed by those who have been employed earlier than 2010 ( in J&K) and they will be getting pension. To quote it can be said those GOI employees who would be retiring till 2030 or so would be getting pension. The youth entering the government service after 2004 had been desperately looking for jobs and hence can not think of entering into the controversies of pension or no pension. Where as the newly appointed employees, the contractual employees, the consolidated pay employees, the daily wage employees and the casual employees form the mass of the rallies and demonstration conducted by the employee unions lead by regular employees. Along with the politicians even senior in service government employees could be accused of exploiting the unemployed youth in India.
Mr. XXX who had recently joined government service did have some logic when he asked " should not the new regular appointees ( after 2003 GOI and after 2009 J&K Government ), the contractual employees, the consolidated pay employees, the daily wage employees and the casual employees have separate associations ?" Since the service conduct rules that a government employee has to follow are much much stringent as compared to any one working in a private enterprise / business house , there is a fair case for retirement pension for Government servants.
Governments should, therefore. also reconsider the earlier decisions on discontinuation of pension and restore the retirement pension to those appointed after 2003 ( GOI) / 2009 ( J&K) Ofcourse the conduct rules asking government servants to stay away from any kind of economic interest ( direct or indirect other than the wages he would be paid by Government ) / private enterprise in his /her or infavour of any member of his family, has to be imposed without any relaxations keeping in view that even in exceptional cases where it has been allowed it has been more misused.
(Daya Sagar , a Sr. Coloumnist on Jammu and Kashmir Affairs and Social Activist) |
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