Jammu, May 03: Apni Party provincial president Jammu and former minister S. Manjit Singh on Wednesday said if the party comes to power in Jammu & Kashmir, it will restore the Old Pension Scheme for government employees and regularize the daily wagers.
“It is a long pending demand of the employees and officers in J&K government. Over 4.5 lakh government employees and gazetted officers have been working in different sectors and we support their genuine demand as they are the backbone of society,” Singh said while addressing a trade union of the Apni Party.
This meeting, according to a party statement, was organized by J&K President, Apni Trade Union, Ajaz Kazmi on the eve of Labour Day.
“If this government does nothing to address the issues of the employees, we are committed under the leadership of Syed Mohammed Altaf Bukhari Sahib. We are committed to restoring the Old Pension Scheme in favour of all permanent government employees and officers. We will also regularize all the daily wagers within 60 days of forming the next government in J&K,” he said.
The former minister said the daily wagers were engaged by the previous governments and were not regularized even as most of them have completed 20 to 25 years of service. “Many have retired without getting any kind of benefit for their service from the government. Those who lost their lives or body parts in PDD were also neglected and their next of kin were not considered in the government sector even as daily wagers to earn their livelihood,” he said.
Apni Part will address unemployment by providing ample job opportunities in government as well as in private sectors, Singh added.
