Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has rejected the Opposition charge that the government planned to raise the pension age of its employees under the cover of doing it in the case of KSRTC staff. Mr Vijayan was replying to an adjournment notice given by Mr V.T. Balaram (Congress) alleging that the government wanted to raise the pension age of its employees to 60 years.
Mr Vijayan also said that the committee headed by Sushil Khanna of IIT-Kolkata had pointed out that if the pension age was increased to 60 years, the corporation could save Rs 450 crore. This could be utilised to create a corpus fund to pay the pension on time, he said. The Opposition staged a walkout after Speaker P. Sreeramakrishan rejected permission for the motion. Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran earlier pointed out that the proposal was one of the recommendations suggested by the expert committee to tide over the crisis faced by the KSRTC.
“It is only a suggestion. Both the ruling LDF and Opposition parties have to debate the matter," he said. He also reminded the Opposition that the UDF government had decided to raise the pension age of those who joined government service after April 1, 2013, including those who joined the KSRTC. Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the LDF, which came to power with the promise of jobs to youngsters, was denying employment opportunities to them by increasing the pension age. Mr Chennithala also alleged that the LDF government was imposing an indirect ban on new recruitment in government sectors. The UDF also warned of an agitation if the government went ahead with the proposal.
