Latest news with #EPS-95
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Denied higher pension, retirees' association pleads CJI to intervene
Nagpur: Alleging grave injustice to lakhs of retired persons, Employees Pension (EPS-1995) Coordination Committee has written to Chief Justice of India Bhushan Gavai seeking his intervention after a Supreme Court bench dismissed a key petition filed by Powergrid Retired Employees' Association related to EPS-95. The committee claimed the Supreme Court verdict has denied rightful pension benefits to senior citizens who retired before September 1, 2014. In a letter dated May 20, the committee's national general secretary Prakash Pathak and national legal advisor Dada Tukaram Zode have demanded "sympathetic intervention" from the CJI, citing "arbitrary and unjust treatment" by a Supreme Court bench, which, they alleged, failed to address core grievance regarding misinterpretation of earlier apex court orders. "For the first time since 2004, we are not getting justice from the top court," said Pathak, referring to a decades long legal struggle to secure higher pension based on actual salary. "Till 2016, 10 special leave petitions (SLPs) filed by Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) were rejected. But since 2019, the trend has reversed against the pensioners." The letter points to Kerala high court's 2018 verdict, which held EPFO's pension scheme amendments illegal — a decision later upheld by the apex court in April 2019. However, the committee alleged that subsequent review petitions and SLPs filed by the EPFO and the Centre were processed in an "inconsistent" manner, with fresh benches taking up matters already decided by three-judge benches. The association particularly flagged a paragraph — 44(v) — in the November 4, 2022 judgment by the top court. "The EPFO later misused this paragraph to issue circulars dated December 29, 2022, and January 25, 2023, which effectively excluded pre-2014 retirees from the benefit of higher pension, triggering around 77 subsequent legal applications — all of which were dismissed," said the association. "This pension scheme is meant for social welfare and security in the old age of workers. The court should protect such right to life," the letter reads. It also claims that dismissal of Powergrid staffers plea was done "without considering facts and merits," causing distress to elderly pensioners across the country. The committee has also enclosed a copy of an earlier letter addressed to the apex court, expressing dismay over the verdict. Seeking urgent remedial action, the committee has requested the CJI to examine the case for fairness and consider an appropriate inquiry "in the interest of justice to pensioners across the country."
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Business Standard
13-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Over 4 million Beedi workers likely to get relief on pension math
Labour min to examine classifying beedi industry as 'seasonal' establishments Premium Shiva Rajora New Delhi Listen to This Article In a move that could benefit over 4 million beedi workers in nearly 8,000 establishments covered under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), the Union labour ministry is going to examine classifying the beedi industry as 'seasonal' establishments. The move will relax the 'non-contributory period' (NCP) norms under the Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995 (EPS-95) for beedi workers, making it easier for them to qualify for pension benefits. A non-contributory period (NCP) refers to a period when an employee is absent from work and does not receive wages. During such periods, no contribution is made to the employee's provident fund (PF)
