‘Flag march' by Punjab govt employees demanding restoration of OPS in bypoll-bound Ludhiana West on June 12

Indian Express

2 days ago

Government employees from over 50 departments in Punjab are planning a large protest called a 'flag march' in bypoll-bound Ludhiana West on Thursday, June 12. The protest, organised by the Purani Pension Bahali Sangharsh Committee (PPBSC) and the Central Provident Fund Employees Union (CPFEU), aims to demand the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for more than 2 lakh employees recruited after the implementation of the National Pension Scheme (NPS), popularly known as new pension schme, on January 1, 2004.
Organisers accuse the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab of failing to fulfil its pre-election promise to restore OPS within six months of taking office. They express frustration over government spending on advertising while neglecting employee issues. The protest is expected to include vehicle mobilisation and distribution of educational posters to raise awareness among voters ahead of the Ludhiana West Assembly bypoll on June 19.
Speaking to The Indian Express, PPBSC convener Jasvir Singh Talwara said, 'Employees from across Punjab will gather in Ludhiana West to expose the unfulfilled promises of the AAP government, even after more than three years in power.'
Sukhjeet Singh, convenor of the Punjab unit of CPFEU, said, 'Before coming to power, Bhagwant Mann's AAP had assured NPS employees that OPS would be restored within six months of forming the government. However, even after three-and-a-half years, the employees have received nothing beyond an incomplete notification.'
Both Talwara and Sukhjeet accused the government of spending crores of rupees on hollow advertising campaigns to build its image, while failing to allocate funds for restoring OPS. 'This has led to widespread anger and resentment among more than two lakh government employees in the state,' they said, adding that extensive preparations have been made to bring this issue to the public's attention through the march.
'If political roadshows are allowed, why not employee protests'
Sources reveal that officials and leaders from the ruling party have allegedly advised employees not to gather in large numbers in the poll-bound Ludhiana West constituency on June 12.
Responding to this, Talwara questioned, 'When political parties can organise roadshows, why can't we protest against the false promises made by the state government? We are being approached by authorities not to bring in more than five vehicles. Our appeal to the voters of Ludhiana West is to vote for anyone but the AAP. It is time to teach this arrogant government a lesson.'
The Ludhiana West bypoll follows the death of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Gurpreet Gogi Bassi, who died on January 10 due to an accidental discharge of a firearm at his home. The major candidates in are Sanjeev Arora (AAP), Bharat Bhushan (Congress), Parupkar Singh Ghuman (Shiromani Akali Dal), and Jiwan Gupta (Bharatiya Janata Party).
Talwara said, 'The AAP already has 93 MLAs. Winning one more will not change much for them, but losing this seat will send a strong message that they must take employee, farmer, industrial and public issues seriously.'
Ajitpal Singh Jassowal, a PPBSC member, said large-scale mobilisation of vehicles and cadre is being organised, with duties assigned at the block level. 'During the flag march, employees will also distribute posters highlighting the AAP government's betrayal and breach of trust. These are meant to educate voters and encourage them to make an informed choice,' he said.
Unfulfilled promises
The AAP promised the implementation of OPS in its 2022 Punjab election manifesto. Later, ahead of the Himachal Pradesh elections in October 2022, employee unions in Punjab threatened to protest at the Ridge in Shimla to expose the non-implementation of OPS by the AAP government in Punjabm at a time when the AAP was contesting in Himachal Pradesh.
To pacify protest plans, the Punjab government made a verbal announcement of OPS implementation just ahead of the Shimla protest. A formal notification followed on November 18, 2022, shortly before Punjab employee unions planned a four-day protest in Gujarat, also a poll-bound state then, to expose the AAP's inaction. Both protests were postponed after this, but as of now, OPS still has not been implemented.
'Unlike Himachal Pradesh, where OPS was implemented after the Congress government came to power in December 2022, Punjab continues to 'study the possibilities',' said Talwara.
'Now, they are asking us to switch to the unified pension scheme, but our demand is for full implementation of OPS.'
Sukhjeet explained the technical differences between the two pension schmes and said, 'Under OPS, employees used to contribute to the General Provident Fund (GPF) up to 50 per cent of their salary, with a minimum of Rs 2,000 per month. This money was retained by the state government, and the scheme provided a fixed, lifelong monthly pension—50 per cent of the last drawn salary—adjusted for inflation through dearness allowance (DA).'
In contrast, he said, under NPS, 10 per cent of the basic salary is deducted from the employee, and the government contributes 14 per cent. 'This corpus is then invested through the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), which comes under the Centre. Upon retirement, 60 per cent of the corpus can be withdrawn, while the remaining 40 per cent is converted into a monthly pension payout.'
Union members assert that the pension from NPS is far less than that from OPS and not lifelong.
Leaders such as Ranbir Singh Uppal, Lakhwinder Singh Bhaur, Karamjit Singh Tamkot, Jaswinder Singh Jassa, Jagseer Singh Sahota, Varinder Vicky, and Bikramjit Singh Kaddon have been holding meetings at various locations to mobilise employees and finalise arrangements for the June 12 march.
As Ludhiana West prepares to go to polls on June 19, all eyes will be on the show of strength by Punjab's government employees, and whether their collective voice leads to a renewed push for restoring OPS.