Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 30: After scrapping New Job Policy and ban on SMS service in pre-paid mobile telephones, the Government has decided to woo over 4.5 lakh strong force of Government employees by increasing their retirement age, a long pending demand of the employees for which they earlier had to face Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA). Simultaneously, the Government would increase by two years the qualifying age for the Government jobs from 37 years to 39 for general category youths and from 40 years to 42 years for certain category youths including Scheduled Castes (SCs).
Official sources told the Excelsior that the National Conference-Congress coalition partners have in principle agreed to increase retirement age of the Government and Public Sector employees from present 58 years to either 59 years or 60 years.
“Some of the Government representatives were of the view that the retirement age of the Government employees should be increased to 60 years at par with the Government of India employees while some others have favoured to confine it to 59 so that job opportunities were not blocked for a long time,’’ sources said, adding that a final decision would be announced within the next few days after taking all stakeholders into confidence.
The Punjab Government had last year increased retirement age of the Government employees from 58 years to 59 years and simultaneously increased qualifying age for Government jobs for a year. The State Government employees had been struggling for the past quite some time for increase in the retirement age from 58 years to 60 years. However, the Government hadn’t conceded their demand and enforced ESMA and arrested several Union leaders to break their strike.
Realizing that the Government employees and their families not only voted en block against the NC-Congress Government during just concluded Parliamentary elections in which the Alliance lost all six seats but also canvassed against the coalition partners, the Government has yielded to the employees and decided to increase their retirement age from 58 years to either 59 or 60 years depending upon the consensus.
“At the same time, the Government would announce a comprehensive package for the unemployed youth by advertising all available vacancies in the Departments to contain anger of the youth, which could simmer with increase in retirement age of the employees,’’ sources said, adding the Government was studying how many jobs could be blocked with increase in retirement age by one year or two years before taking a final decision.
However, to keep the unemployed youths in good mood as they too voted against the Alliance candidates, the Government had decided to increase qualifying age for the jobs from present 37 years for general category candidates to 39 years and certain selected category candidates from 40 years to 42 years including the Scheduled Castes.
The Government feels that increase in qualifying age of the unemployed youth would contain anger among them, which could arise due to increase in retirement age of the employees. However, sources said, apart from increase in qualifying age, the Government would also announce comprehensive package for the unemployed youths by announcing nearly 40,000 posts including some on adhoc basis to maintain balance between employees and unemployed youths.
“Once the coalition partners reached a consensus on increase in retirement age from 58 years to 59 or 60 years, a formal approval would be made in the Cabinet,’’ sources said.
It may be mentioned here that the Government and Public Sector employees had been agitated for past several years to increase their retirement age at par with the Central Government employees i.e. 60. However, the Government never listened to their demand and when the employees went on strike, the Government tried to crush the agitating by invoking ESMA and arresting their leaders.
Sources said the Government was now likely to overrule all objections, raised repeatedly against increase in retirement age of the employees from some quarters within the Government and go ahead with its decision to raise the retirement age by one or two years.
Immediately after suffering debacle in the Parliamentary elections, the Government had revoked New Job Policy, which had come into effect from January 1, 2011, which had rendered the fresh recruits to virtually daily wagers for first five years as they were entitled to very meager wages.
The Government has also lifted ban on SMS services in pre-paid mobile telephones and also decided to slash power tariff bills by at least 50 per cent for which it was trying to find a way out.
Sources said the Government could also announce some more populist measures in the next couple of months before Model Code of Conduct comes into force for the Assembly elections.
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