Report of Mazdoor Ekta Committee (MEC) correspondent
The right to pension has been a major issue for agitation by many sections of the working people in our country. Employees of the central and state governments have demanded the scrapping of the New Pension Scheme (NPS) and bringing back the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). Pensioners covered by the Employees’ Provident Fund Pension Scheme 1995 (EPS-95) have been on strike to demand an increase in their minimum monthly pension to Rs 7,500, up from the current Rs 1,000 that was set in September 2014. Retired Armed Forces personnel have been waging a prolonged struggle with the demand for ‘One Rank, One Pension’.
The right to pension is a burning issue in the context of the ongoing election campaign for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. Mazdoor Ekta Committee (MEC) has been actively campaigning for the right to pension, as part of these agitations. As part of this campaign, MEC organised a meeting on the subject ‘Pension is Our Right’ on May 12, 2024. The meeting was addressed by Shri KK Singh of Lokpaksh; Dr Darshan Pal, President, Krantikari Kisan Union; Colonel Pramod, Retired, Indian Army; Shri Subhash Bhatnagar, Secretary, Nirman Mazdoor Panchayat Sangam; Dr Maya John, academic and activist, Centre for Struggling Women; and Shri SP Singh, General Secretary, South East Zone, All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA).
The meeting was widely attended by activists of various political parties and organisations, trade unions and workers’ organisations, kisan organisations, women and youth organisations, as well as those organising for the rights of workers in Britain, Canada and Australia.
Welcoming all the participants, Shri Birju Nayak of MEC gave a brief review of the work that MEC has been doing, to build and strengthen the unity of workers in different sectors, as well as of workers and kisans.
The struggle for the right to pension, he pointed out, was drawing in large sections of the working people, not only in India but in many countries across the world. Workers in the government services, in public sector enterprises and services, armed forces and security personnel, school and university teachers, workers in hospitals and health services, kisans and agricultural workers, construction workers and other informal sector workers, are all demanding, as their right, adequate pension in order to lead a dignified existence after their long years of service to society.
Shri KK Singh explained that the right to security of livelihood includes an income which will ensure adequate food, clothing, shelter, education, health care, etc. for a worker’s family, not only during the years of work but after retirement as well. The worker has contributed to society during his entire working life; therefore, he is entitled to social security after he is no longer able to work. After independence, the government introduced pension mainly for workers in the government sector and public sector units, while the workers in the private sector were not given any pension. Over the years, particularly since the 1990s, the right to pension is being attacked by the bourgeoisie and its spokespersons.
Shri KK Singh spoke of the prolonged struggle of the ex-Servicemen of the Armed Forces for ‘One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) and the ongoing struggle of para military forces for pension. He elaborated on the New Pension Scheme (NPS) which is mandatory for all government employees who joined service after 2004. This does not guarantee the worker a fixed monthly income or a minimum monthly income after retirement. The money collected in the workers’ pension corpus is invested in the share market and the workers’ post-retirement income is subject to the uncertainties in the share market. The Old Pension Scheme (OPS) had guaranteed the worker a fixed pension income of 50% of his last salary and Dearness Allowance. The pension being received by employees currently retiring under the NPS is a very paltry amount, just Rs 2000 – 5000 in many cases, which is hardly sufficient to survive on. This is the reason why the NPS is being opposed by government employees throughout the country. As a result of the struggle, some state governments have been forced to promise to restore the OPS.
Crores of working people are not entitled to any kind of social security or pension, he said. The Agniveer scheme introduced by the Modi government is yet another cruel attack on the aspirations of millions of working class and kisan youth, who cherished hopes for a secure future after their years of military service. He observed that every government works to serve the interests of the big corporate houses to maximise their profits. The massive revenue collected by the government by taxing the people is placed at the disposal of the corporate houses, they are given tax concessions and loan waivers, while crores of working people are denied pension and any form of social security. Security of livelihood and pension after the working years are the responsibility of the government. We have to organise to establish a new system in which these will be guaranteed as a right, he concluded.
Colonel Pramod explained that the right to pension is being targeted by the capitalists and their government, because the capitalists do not want to share even 1 % of the massive profits they are making, for the well-being and social security of the workers. A person who spends the best years of his life working in the factories, fields or in the army, is being denied a dignified life after his working years. This is a big attack on society, he said. Criticising the Agniveer scheme, he condemned the government for depriving these youth, who are risking their lives for the defence of the country, of security of service and post-retirement pension. We must work for a future where the well-being and security of all the working people will be guaranteed, he concluded.
Shri SP Singh was critical of the government, which looks upon pension for workers as a burden on society. Describing his work in the Indian Railways as part of the Loco Running Staff, which consists of Loco Pilots and Guards, he said that all Railway workers are greatly affected by the cut-back in pension. He informed the participants that under the OPS the Loco Running Staff are assured pension of half of 1.55 times their last salary, unlike other government employees who are assured a pension of half of their last salary. This is because of the extremely difficult and hazardous conditions of work. The Loco Running Staff have to work at temperatures of 60-65 degrees Celsius! Pension is our right, not a privilege! Let us use the occasion of the Lok Sabha 2024 elections to raise the voice of millions of workers of our country, for restoration of OPS and for assured pension, not only for government workers but for all sections of workers, he concluded.
Dr Darshan Pal spoke in support of pension for kisans. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha has raised the demand for a minimum pension of Rs 10,000 for kisans. The agricultural produce of the kisan is the source of his livelihood. The produce of the kisans and agricultural workers provides food and nutrition for the whole of society. Kisans and agricultural workers play a vital role in the society, just like teachers, doctors and all other sections of the working people. Dr Darshan Pal emphasised that we must demand pension as a right, not only restoration of OPS for government workers, but also adequate pension for kisans and all other sections of workers, so that they may be able to lead a healthy and dignified life in their old age.
Dr Maya John drew attention to the fact that in the campaigning for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, both the NDA and the INDIA alliances are silent on the issue of pension. Today the struggle is raging for restoration of OPS for government workers and for pension and social security for all sections of workers, including the informal sector workers. This struggle must and will continue, regardless of whether the BJP led NDA alliance forms the next government or the Congress Party led INDIA alliance does so. Pension is not a privilege; it is our right, she emphasised. The worker contributes to society throughout his working life and society must give back to the worker his due, she said. She pointed out that under various pension schemes such as the National Social Assistance Program, very paltry sums of money are being given to families below the poverty line. She questioned the basis of the government’s definition of ‘poverty line’. ‘Poverty line’ must be linked to the minimum wage, she said and insisted that at least half the statutory minimum wage must be guaranteed as pension. She also spoke of the struggle of university teachers for pension. Dr Maya John refuted the claim of various economists that old-age pension is a burden on society. She pointed out that the attack on the right to pension is part of the all-sided attacks of the capitalists on all the hard-won rights of workers. The struggle for assured pension has to be waged as part of the struggle in defence of the rights of all the working people, she concluded.
Shri Subhash Bhatnagar addressed the problems of the informal sector workers, who comprise over 90% of the workforce in the country today, and who are completely deprived of any kind of pension or social security. He spoke of the work that his organisation and others have done to set up the Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Board, which has been trying to get the government to pay for pension and social security for the construction workers. However, only a very small portion of this corpus has actually been spent on pension for the workers. With the new labour codes being introduced, the BOCW board is likely to be dismantled and the informal sector workers are likely to be denied even the paltry sum they were getting as pension, he cautioned. Shri Bhatnagar emphasised the importance of raising the demand for pension for all sections of workers as a right.
Following the main presentations, there were interventions by several participants. Shri Dalvinder of the Indian Workers Association (Great Britain) described the struggle of the workers in Britain for pension and social security, which are today under attack. Shri Salvinder of the Ghadar International explained how the capitalists and their governments in all countries are cutting back on the rights that workers have won through many years of hard struggle.
Sucharita of Purogami Mahila Sangathan referred to the Pradhan Mantri Shramyogi Maandhan Yojana, introduced in 2019 for informal sector workers, which promises a pension of merely Rs 3000 per month and the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Pension Yojana which promises kisans a pension of Rs 6000 per year, i.e. merely Rs 500 per month! These schemes are an insult to the workers and kisans, she said. She highlighted the plight of women working in the informal sector, particularly construction workers, forced to work in terribly hazardous conditions, with no maternity benefits and child care facilities. Most working women as well as men in the private sector and the informal sector are not entitled to any pension, she pointed out.
Another participant brought out an important point – that pension is actually a deferred portion of the worker’s wages that comes to him when he retires from work. So, it is the worker’s right, not a privilege or dole by the government.
All participants emphasised the need for a universal pension, covering all sections of workers, kisans and working people, and for an adequate pension that will enable the worker to lead a healthy and secure life in his old age. It is the duty of the state to guarantee this to all workers as their right. We must advance our struggle with the aim of establishing such a state. This was the common agreement of all participants in the meeting.
Concluding the discussion, Shri Santosh Kumar of MEC pointed out that the attempt of the ruling bourgeois class to cut-back on pension reflects the clash between two opposing outlooks.
One is the outlook of the bourgeoisie which regards pension paid to workers as a drain on public expenditure. It views pensioners as parasites, denying the fact that they have contributed to creating the wealth of society during their working life. At the same time, it demands that the government hand out every kind of tax concession and incentive to the capitalists to enhance their profits at the expense of the public treasury.
The other is the outlook of the working class. According to this outlook, it is the government’s duty to pay a definite amount of pension to those who retire when they are no longer fit to work, after decades of working. Every worker has a right to an assured pension, defined as a percentage of his or her last salary drawn.
Workers, through their labour, contribute to society during the years they work. It is the duty of society to ensure that they are taken care of in their old age, or when they suffer injuries and are unable to work any longer. The state has to ensure that a portion of the surplus value extracted from the workers by the capitalists is taken back and put into a pension fund for workers. This must be in addition to the contribution of workers from their salaries. For workers who do not have fixed employers, like construction workers, the state must take up the responsibility of building a pension fund for their life after retirement. On no account must the pension funds of workers be invested in speculative activities.
The struggle for a defined-benefit universal pension scheme is entirely just. It is part of the struggle for a society that will be oriented towards the fulfilment of the needs of the working people, not the greed of the capitalists. In such a society, it will be the responsibility of the state to provide a livelihood to each and every adult, to ensure security of employment and a living wage during his/her working life and guarantee a defined and regular pension to every retired worker. Workers must organise to fight to establish such a society, he concluded.