While considering some of the requests of the employees during the discussion on the newly introduced Guaranteed Pension Scheme (GPS) in place of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), the empowered Group of Ministers (GoM) informed them that it will be rolled out as per the recently introduced Ordinance. At the same time, the Ministers explained the benefits of the GPS, difference between the GPS and CPS and reportedly clarified the doubts raised by the employees, on Tuesday during a meeting at Andhra Pradesh Secretariat on Tuesday.
The GoM, including Ministers Buggana Rajendranath (Finance), Audimulapu Suresh (Municipal Administration & Urban Development) and Botcha Satyananarayana (Education), and Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy (Govt Adviser for Public Affairs), along with the officers concerned participated in a meeting with the leaders of various employees unions, the Joint Staff Council, over the disputes related to the newly proposed GPS. Though, majority of the leaders from various associations participated, the unions allowed the CPS employees to discuss and raise their issues in the meeting, which lasted for more than three hours.
AP Secretariat Employees Association president K. Venkatarami Reddy said that the Ministers informed that they would go ahead with the GPS and explained the benefits of it to the CPS employees.
Bopparaju Venkateswarlu, AP Amaravati JAC Chairman, said that the CPS employees asked for the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), but the Government maintained that it would go ahead with the GPS. At the same time, the government explained to them that the GPS had certain advantages over the CPS, including 50% guaranteed pension and DA for every six months. The CPS employees also asked for addressing other problems like providing health cards, considering the employees of 2003 notification under OPS and others.
The employees associations leaders informed that the GoM would have one more meeting shortly, before finalising the GPS. The government was also considering to give the employees a choice, whether they wish to continue in the CPS or to shift to the GPS.
