Nagaland government employees hit streets, demand restoration of old pension scheme

A large number of government employees in Nagaland took to the streets on Friday, demanding scrapping of the ‘new pension scheme’ and restoration of the earlier system.

State government employees recruited after 2010, the year the new pension scheme was implemented, converged at the civil secretariat junction here under the aegis of the Nagaland National Pension System Government Service Employees’ Forum (NNPSGSEF).

NNPSGSEF president Moanungsang said the “peaceful dharna” was held to stand in solidarity with the “national strike” organised by the All India State Government Employees Federation (AISGEF).

He said the forum had submitted a representation to the state government in September 2023, but there has been no response.

Also Read: Sikkim becomes first state in Northeast to restore Old Pension System

NNPSGSEF said the old pension scheme provided social security to employees with guaranteed lifetime reasonable pension.

However, the new scheme does not provide social security and guarantees a lower pension per month to long-surviving pensioners, it claimed.

Earlier Sikkim became the first northeast Indian state to restore the old pension scheme.

The government announced the restoration of the Old Pension System for state government employees appointed on or after April 1, 2006. This decision, outlined in the provisions of the Sikkim Services (Pension) Rules, 1990, is set to benefit employees appointed on or before March 31st, 1990, reinstating guidelines on the modalities of the pension system.

This announcement comes amid a series of welfare measures that were announced while aiming at benefiting the people of Sikkim. The announcements were made during the State Level Temporary Employees' Convention held at Public Ground Rangpo on February 9, 2024.