Chief Minister Eknath Shinde promised to form a committee to look into the issue, thousands of government employees in Maharashtra embarked an indefinite strike beginning on Tuesday in support of the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). This had an impact on services particularly those provided by state-run hospitals.
Teachers, sanitation workers, and paramedics employees have also joined the strike.
Workers displayed signs with messages like “Only one mission, restore old pension” outside of government buildings and hospitals.
Vishwas Katkar, the convenor of a committee of roughly 35 unions that represent teachers, semi-government employees and state government employees said that their members in all 36 districts of Maharashtra were participating in the stir.
Hospitals, schools, government buildings, tax offices and even district collector offices were fully closed, according to Katkar.
Employees who come under the New Pension Plan (NPS) provide a portion of their salary contributions to the pension fund based on which they are eligible for a one-time lump sum payment upon superannuation.
The New Pension Plan went into effect on April 1, 2004, and the Old Pension System ended in December 2003.
