NEW DELHI: For the first time in a decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet representatives of the central government employees on Saturday to discuss a slew of significant issues ahead of a possible announcement of a new pension scheme.
The Personnel Ministry has sent an invitation to JCM secretary Shiv Gopal Mishra and other members of the staff side of JCM to meet the Prime Minister.
The new pension scheme will be the focus of the meeting, and representatives of Central government employees, among others will present it. Shiva Gopal Mishra, Secretary of the Staff Side of the National Council (JCM) — a body fighting for the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) — confirmed the meeting and expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister for addressing this long-standing issue.
Restoration of the old pension scheme is also expected to figure among the key issues during the meeting.
Expressing a positive outcome, Mishra said if their demands are met, more than 16 lakh central government employees, which include 8 lakh railway staff, are expected to benefit.
The meeting, scheduled to take place at the Prime Minister’s residence, will involve ten members of the Joint Consultative Mechanism (JCM). According to sources, officials from the Personnel Ministry are also expected to be present at the meeting.
Mishra noted that staff representatives have been seeking an audience with the Prime Minister to discuss the old pension scheme and other related issues for some time. “We are thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for calling us for a meeting on a slew of issues, prominent one related to the new pension scheme. We are hopeful that the meeting with him will yield positive results for us,” he told this newspaper.
As per an official data, as on March 31, 2023, there were over 67.95 lakh Central government pensioners in the country, including the defense pensioners. The railways alone accounts for nearly 15 lakh pensioners followed by 4,32,968 from telecom and other departments.