During the 49th annual meeting of the National Council–Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM) held last week, the employee forum raised several key pension-related demands before Cabinet Secretary T. V. Somanathan. The meeting comes at a time when the 8th Pay Commission has been constituted to recommend the next set of salary and pension overhaul.
According to employee representatives, pension revisions only during Pay Commission cycles fail to adequately address inflationary pressures faced by pensioners.
The staff side of NC-JCM, therefore, sought a mechanism for pension updates every five years.
Another major issue raised was the demand for higher family pension benefits for dependents.
The staff side opposed the existing provision that limits family pension to 30% of the notional pay of a deceased employee or pensioner.
At present, full pension is calculated at 50% of the employee’s last drawn average pay along with dearness allowance.
Employee unions also urged the government to relax rules for disabled dependent children receiving family pension.
The NC-JCM staff side demanded removal of the requirement mandating submission of “No Income Certificates” for physically disabled dependent children.
The restoration of OPS for a section of employees recruited during the transition to the National Pension System (NPS) was another key demand.
The forum argued that employees appointed against vacancies notified before December 22, 2003 — the cut-off date for NPS implementation — should be granted OPS benefits. Similar consideration was sought for compassionate appointments where applications were submitted before the notification date.
Additionally, unions proposed expanding the definition of “family” to include widowed dependent daughters-in-law for family pension eligibility.
According to employee representatives, the Cabinet Secretary directed the Department of Personnel and Training (DOP&T) to examine the proposal in consultation with the Ministry of Law.
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