OPS: Ramlila Maidan will witness the third big rally regarding old pension on November 3
On October 1, 'Pension Shankhnad Maharally' was organized at Ramlila Maidan itself.
The employee organizations of the Central and State Governments have started moving towards a decisive fight on the old pension. After two huge rallies of central employees, now the third big rally is going to be held at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on 3rd November. All India State Government Employees Federation and many other organizations will participate in this rally under the banner of Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers. Seven demands will be placed before the central government in the rally. The first demand among these is the abolition of 'NPS' and restoration of the 'old pension' system. Apart from this, filling the vacant posts in the Central Government through regular recruitment, ban on privatization, formation of the Eighth Pay Commission and release of arrears of 18 months of DA stopped during the Corona period, these things are also included in the main demands of the employees.
Apart from OPS, these demands are also on the agenda
SB Yadav, general secretary of the Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers, said, demonstrations are being held in a phased manner since last year regarding the pending demands of government employees. According to the manifesto of the Joint National Convention of the employees at Talkatora Indoor Stadium in Delhi on December 2022, the campaign of the employees is being taken forward. Conferences/seminars and demonstrations have been organized in the States also for the demands of the workers. In this series, a rally will now be organized at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on November 3. The demand for OPS has been kept at the top of the agenda of the rally. According to Yadav, the workers demand that the PFRDA Act be amended. Abolish NPS and restore old pension. The departments of the Center and the States which have employees on contract or on daily wages should be regularized without any delay. Privatization should be stopped and the government's intention to downsize government enterprises should be stopped. The rights of the democratic trade union should be ensured. The National Education Program should be abandoned and the Eighth Pay Commission should be formed.
Two rallies of personnel have been held on OPS
The employee organizations of the Center and the States have clearly told the government that they will not accept anything less than the abolition of the unguaranteed 'NPS' scheme and the restoration of the 'old pension scheme' with defined and guaranteed. A rally of personnel was held on August 10 at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi. Shivgopal Mishra, national convenor of the steering committee of the National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) formed for OPS and secretary of the staff side National Council 'JCM', had said in the rally, if the old pension is not implemented before the Lok Sabha elections, then the BJP will Will have to suffer the consequences. Including employees, pensioners and their relatives, this number crosses ten crores. This number is decisive to cause a major upset in the elections.
Lakhs of workers were involved in 'Pension Shankhnaad Maharally'
On October 1, 'Pension Shankhnad Maharally' was organized at Ramlila Maidan itself. It was organized under the banner of National Movement for Old Pension Scheme (NMOPS). NMOPS President Vijay Kumar Bandhu said, old pension is the right of the workers. They will continue with it. Lakhs of employees of central and state governments participated in both the rallies. After that, the issue of 'OPS' was on the top of the agenda of the National Council (JCM) staff side meeting held on September 20. Representing the employees, All India Defense Employees Federation (AIDEF) General Secretary C. Sreekumar had said, we have once again reiterated our demand before the government. NPS should be abolished and the 'old pension scheme' should be reinstated as soon as possible. If the government does not agree then there will be a strike in the country leaving the pen and the wheels of the railway will be stopped
Many drastic steps like Bharat Bandh
According to Sreekumar, if the government does not implement the old pension, then many drastic measures like 'Bharat Bandh' will be taken. Employee organizations can go on nationwide indefinite strike for old pension. For this, there will be a strike ballot across the country on 20th and 21st November. Opinion of employees will be taken. If the majority is in favor of the strike, then government employees at the Center and in the states will go on an indefinite strike. In that situation, if the trains stop, the employees of the Center and the states will leave their pens.
Employees of the Center and the states have come together to restore the old pension. Almost all the employee organizations of the country are unanimous on this issue. Various corporations and autonomous organizations of the Center and States have also said to join the fight for OPS. The employees have appealed to the government in every possible way for restoration of old pension, but their views were not listened to. Now the only option left for them is indefinite strike. In the rallies of 10th August and 1st October, lakhs of workers from all over the country raised slogans about 'OPS'.