THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Youth organisations owing allegiance to different political parties are against raising the retirement age of government employees. They cite the peculiar situation in Kerala — a high number of unemployed educated youths and inadequate opportunities in private sector — as reasons why Kerala cannot adopt the raise implemented by the Centre and several other states.
DYFI state secretary V K Sanoj said raising the retirement age was not a good idea in the current situation. “The retirement age is 60 for employees under the Union government and many state governments. There is some merit in arguments favouring a raise in retirement age. But considering the Kerala situation, the cons outweigh the pros. Youngsters can’t be asked to wait two or three more years for their dream job,” Sanoj said.
He said the proposal can be considered only when more job opportunities arise in the private sector. “The state government’s Knowledge Economy and industrial development programmes are making good progress. The situation will certainly change in future,” he said.
Youth Congress state president Rahul Mamkootathil said increasing retirement age will have far reaching consequences in Kerala society.
“Kerala is witnessing demographic changes, given the rise in the number of elderly persons and the overseas migration of youngsters. They are moving out of the state because they don’t get good jobs here. Age revision and the subsequent dearth of opportunities would worsen the situation,” Mamkootathil said.
He said the number of new appointments in the government sector has already dropped. The number of new recruitments through the PSC has stayed low despite a large number of retirements in recent years. “For the cash-strapped government, a raise in retirement age will be a relief. But the future of youths cannot be sacrificed for that,” Mamkootathil said.
The Yuva Morcha too wants the government to continue the status quo. “Kerala cannot follow the model of the Union government or other states on this issue. There are about 50 lakh unemployed youth in the state. Unlike other states, opportunities in the private sector are very low in Kerala. A raise in retirement age would be thoroughly unfair to the youngsters,” said Yuva Morcha state president C R Praphul Krishnan.
He alleged illegal appointments were on the rise under the LDF government. “The number of appointments by PSC has been low in recent years. Backdoor appointments are on the rise. People owing allegiance to the ruling parties are given backdoor appointments. They are hired on a temporary basis and later made permanent,” he said.