New Delhi: The All India Coal Pensioners’ Association (AICPA) has said that around 5.5 lakh pensioners of public sector coal companies have seen their pension amount unchanged for the last 25 years. This on 27 March.
Apart from increase in pension, the pensioners are also demanding provision of dearness relief keeping in view of inflation and levy of cess on sale of coal.
AICPA had earlier organized similar sit-ins at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi in December 2019, July 2022 and December 2022.
The rules relating to pension payable to the employees of Coal India, Singareni Collieries Company Limited, and several other public sector coal companies have been prescribed. Coal Mines Pension Scheme (CMPS) 1998Which came into force on March 31 of the same year.
As per rules, pensioners are paid 25 per cent of their average salary, with the payment also based on the length of their employment.
The payment is to be made from the Pension Fund under the Coal Mines Provident Fund Organization (CMPFO). Contributions to the Pension Fund are made by the employees from their salary and the employer.
The rules state that the commissioner of the CMPFO must review the pension fund every three years, and can recommend its enhancement, revise the pension payout and also revise the contribution amount. Though, the contribution amount has been revised since the rule came into force, the pension payout has not been revised even once.
“As per the rules, the pension scheme should be revised every three years, it has not been revised even once since 1998,” AICPA convenor PK Singh Rathore told ThePrint.
AICPA is the umbrella body under which the dharna will be organized on March 27.
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no revision since 1998
Rathore explained, “For example, if a pensioner used to get Rs 1,000 per month as per the scheme in 1998, they are still getting the same amount.”
“Rs 1,000 may have been a comfortable amount at that time, but taking into account inflation the real value is now around Rs 200-300 a month, which is not even enough to cover basic things like food. This is even less than the amount that the government is giving to people below the poverty line.
According to him, there are about 5.5 lakh coal pensioners in the country, of whom about 50,000 are getting a pension of less than Rs 500 per month.
The pension amount has not been revised, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi confirmed in the Lok Sabha on 8 February, though he said it was because of the way the scheme was designed.
“There has been no revision in the pension provided to the retired employees of Singareni Collieries and other coal companies covered under the Coal Miners’ Pension Scheme, 1998, since it came into force on 31st March, 1998, amid a wide variation in the contribution to the Fund. pension disbursement due to difference,” Joshi said in a written answer for a question.
“When the Pension Fund permits, the BoT (Board of Trustees of CMPFO) may, on the recommendation of an scribe and with the approval of the Central Government, amend the rates of contributions payable under the scheme or the scale of any benefit or the admissible period. Such may be allowed,” he said.
Board of Trustees has blocked increased contributions
According to the minister, the actuarial report was placed before the BOT several times, but each time it was rejected.
Joshi’s written reply said, “The recommendation of the actuary to increase the pension contribution could not be implemented due to the resistance of the representatives of the Central Trade Unions, who are also members of the BOT.”
In fact, in 2021 answer To the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) attached to the Ministry of Coal, which had raised several critical issues with the functioning of the CMPFO, the ministry said the actuary’s report was taken up with the BOT 13 times between 2005 and 2015, but to no avail.
Opposition to the actuary’s recommendations centered around the suggestion to increase employee contributions so that contributions to the pension fund at least match the amount that needs to be disbursed.
A retired officer, who held a senior position and was present during these discussions, said, “The trade unions on BOT made it a political issue, adding that it was an injustice to take away the salaries of the employees in this way. ” ,
Amrit Lal Meena, secretary in the coal ministry, told ThePrint, “The board of trustees of the CMPFO is the competent body that looks after the pension fund as well as the provident fund. Whatever is the eligibility as per the rules, is being given. If there are any additional issues, they can be taken up with the Board of Trustees and they will look into it.”
success after cag audit
In 2017, there was a breakthrough and the contribution to the Pension Fund was raised from 4.91 per cent to 14 per cent with effect from October 1, 2017.
Here too, the contribution amount was revised upwards after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) found irregularities in the financial affairs of the CMPFO.
according to cag reports For the year ending March 2016, it was found not only that non-implementation of actuaries’ recommendations had resulted in “serious losses” to the pension fund, but also “wrongful diversion” of funds from the provident fund. Fund Account for Pension Fund.
The Coal Ministry, in its reply to the PAC, said this was done as it had no option but to borrow money from the Provident Fund to meet the mounting deficit in the Pension Fund.
Since it was a normal transfer of funds from one account to another of the same organisation, and the amount would be returned to the Provident Fund with interest, “no irregularity was committed” by the ministry, it said.
“However, after the CAG audit in its Report 12 of 2017 pointed out that the said diversion of funds was a financial irregularity, the Ministry immediately impressed upon the members of the BoT to resolve the issue and increase the pension fund contribution from 14 per cent 14 percent. A meager 4.91 per cent,” the coal ministry said in its action taken report to the PAC.
‘Insufficient change’
According to the pensioners, the change in contribution is inadequate as it does not address the fact that the previous pensioners have not seen their pension revised.
In a release on Sunday, the AICPA said, “The coal pensioners are compelled to stage this dharna at Varanasi on March 27, 2023, to expedite the process of taking appropriate decisions to meet the demands.” “
Their demands include inclusion of dearness relief component as part of pension to “ensure equal pension irrespective of the date of retirement”.
Another major demand is the collection of a cess of Rs 20 per tonne on coal sold by all government and private coal companies, and linking this cess as a percentage of the cost of coal “to take care of the future increase in pension linked to dearness relief”. ” Is. ,
A coal ministry official, who did not wish to be named, said the issue of dearness relief was a new issue raised by pensioners and was not mentioned in the previous meeting of the BOT earlier this month.
Other demands include following the provisions of CMPS 1998 and revising the pension every three years.
(Editing by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)