THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Drawing flak from various corners, the state government has freezed the decision to enhance the retirement age of employees of state public sector units, except three, to 60. The Cabinet meeting on Wednesday made the decision. This follows widespread criticism against the decision in the backdrop of the high unemployment rate among youths.
The Opposition parties had launched wide protests against the government decision. The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) affiliated to the ruling CPM and AIYF, the youth wing of the CPI, had also threatened to resort to public protest if the government did not repeal the order.
The order enhancing the retirement age was issued by the Finance Department on 29 October. The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) were the exempted ones. The order said the enhancement will not be applicable to employees who have already retired.
The government order was based on the report of an expert committee appointed for the formulation of a common framework for pay structure in PSUs. It listed certain criteria for the PSUs for implementing pay revision. One is that the statutory audit of the organisation should be up to date. It will be based on the revised classification of the PSU as per the norms fixed based on audited accounts. The unit should be profit making for three years consecutively before the submission of pay revision proposals. Also, the organisation should have executed an MoU with the administrative department concerned.
According to the order, the PSUs will be classified into four categories based on their total score. The categories are diamond, gold, silver and bronze. Salary promotion and transfer of employees will be linked to the categorisation.