A delegation of Himachal Pradesh Pensioner's Joint Front led by its President Atma Ram called on Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu here today and apprised him of various demands of the Front. The delegation also submitted a demand charter to him.
The Chief Minister assured the delegation that their demands would be considered sympathetically. He said that over the past three and a half years, the present state government has taken various measures for the welfare of employees as well as pensioners despite discontinuation of RDG and financial constraints.
He said that the state government has reinstated the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) to 1.36 lakh government employees in the first Cabinet meeting, but the Union Government has stopped financial assistance of Rs. 1600 crore for implementing OPS. Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the state government has released the full arrears arising from revision of pay scales of pensioners above the age of 70 years.
He further said that the state government has also cleared all the gratuity and leave encashment of Class-IV employees retired between 1st January, 2016 to 31st January, 2022. Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh, Principal Advisor (Media) to Chief Minister Naresh Chauhan and office bearers of the Front were also present on the occasion.