ROURKELA: While confusion over implementation of pension scheme for public sector steel employees has infuriated the trade unions of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) of SAIL, the RSP Executives’ Association (RSPEA) and Steel Executives’ Federation of India (SEFI) hope for its implementation by October. Incidentally, the Union Ministry of Steel on Thursday issued a circular on pension scheme allowing SAIL and five other Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) to implement the scheme after considering factors like affordability, capacity to pay and sustainability of the CPSE concerned.
RSPEA president and SEFI member Bimal Bisi said for executives, the scheme would be applicable from January 2007, while non-executives would be covered from January 2012. He said SAIL had accumulated about `2,500 crore for the pension scheme, but it was diverted elsewhere, adding that he has information that the scheme would be launched in a phased manner from October.
Bisi said in the first phase, retired executives from January 2007 to January 2015 and retired non-executives from January 2012 to January 2015 would be covered which requires about `750 crore. He claimed in line with Steel Ministry’s guidelines, SAIL has initiated negotiation with LIC to act as Fund Manager and after finalisation of necessary modalities, an implementation roadmap would be submitted to the Ministry in a fortnight for final approval.
He said among the steel CPSEs under the Steel Ministry, the SAIL and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam have 90 per cent of the total employees and both SAIL and RINL have geared up to implement it in a phased manner. Bisi differed from trade unions’ view representing workers and said SAIL is now gradually recovering from three consecutive years of loss. Even if in phased manner, pension scheme is needed urgently as many retired executives and workers have died without availing of benefits.
General secretary of BMS-affiliated Rourkela Ispat Karkhana Karmachari Sangh (RIKKS) HS Bal blamed the Ministry for creating confusion. He said the pension agreement was signed in November 2016, but the affordability clause is being forced upon employees to delay implementation and create confusion.