VIJAYAWADA: Even though the State government has decided to come up with an ordinance to implement the Guaranteed Pension Scheme (GPS) in lieu of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), it is holding talks with the employee associations.
However, several employee associations have boycotted the meetings, sticking to their demand for restoring the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
On Tuesday, the Group of Ministers (GoM), comprising Buggana Rajendranath (Finance), Botcha Satyanarayana (Education) and A Suresh (Municipal Administration and Urban Development), Government Advisor (Public Affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, Chief Secretary KS Jawahar Reddy and other officials held talks with the leaders of employees associations at the Secretariat on modalities of the GPS. While leaders of the APNGOs Association, AP Revenue Services Association, AP Government Employees Association, AP Secretariat Employees Association and CPS Employees Association attended the meeting, leaders of teachers associations boycotted the meeting stating the GPS is not at all an alternative to the OPS.
Recalling that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy promised to abolish the CPS and restore the OPS within a week after forming the government, the AP CPS Employees Association leaders sought to know why the government had now reneged from fulfilling the promise.
Speaking to media persons after the meeting, Botcha said the discussions were held in a cordial atmosphere. “Employees association leaders have asked for the inclusion of some more issues in the GPS and the government will look into them,” he said.