Government will stand with pensioners in their struggle, says Minister V. Sivankutty

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Minister for General Education and Labour, V. Sivankutty, said that the government will extend full support to the struggle of pensioners under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS). He was speaking while inaugurating the PF Pensioners’ Association Thiruvananthapuram District Convention. The minister said the fight of pensioners is not just about financial demands but also about recognition for their service to the nation and the right to live with dignity.

Pointing out the injustice in the EPS scheme, he stated that it was cheating workers by diverting a major share of their Provident Fund savings at retirement and providing them with only a meagre pension in return. If workers had invested the same money in post office recurring deposits or National Savings Certificates, they would have received two or three times the current pension amount, he added.

According to the minister, the policy changes made by the central government have harmed the workers. "In 1995, Parliament had declared a minimum pension of Rs 500, but it was ignored. After long struggles, it was raised to Rs 1000 only in 2014. Even today, more than 23 lakh pensioners do not receive even Rs 1000. In contrast, the Kerala government provides Rs 1600 as social security pension to elderly people above 60 years, even if they have not contributed anything," he said.

He also referred to the shocking reply given by the central government in the Rajya Sabha to a question raised by MP John Brittas. Out of more than 81 lakh EPF pensioners, over 96% get less than Rs 4000 per month, and more than half of them get below Rs 1500. Meanwhile, the current PF fund value is about Rs 10 lakh crore, and last year alone, it earned Rs 58,668 crore as interest. Yet, only Rs 23,027 crore was spent on pensions. The minister assured that a petition will be submitted to the Union Labour Minister on this issue and that a resolution will also be considered in the next session of the Kerala Assembly. He reaffirmed that the Left government in Kerala will always stand with the pensioners in their struggle.