Delhi: Indian Railway Employees Federation Holds Protest Demanding OPS

New Delhi: The Indian Railway Employees Federation (IREF) and Front Against NPS in Railways held a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and the scrapping of the New Pension Scheme (NPS) and Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). Hundreds of railway employees from across the country participated in this demonstration.

Addressing the protestors, Amrik Singh, National Executive President of IREF and National President of Front Against NPS in Railways, urged employees not to fill the option for the UPS that is to be implemented from April 1.

Singh said UPS would be harmful for the future of the employees, “We will not rest until the OPS is restored,” he said, adding that about 60 lakh Indian Railway employees and their families across the country would April 1 as ‘black day’.

Sudama Prasad, Member of Parliament (MP) from the CPI-ML (Liberation), and a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways, launched a scathing attack on the government, accusing it of making policies “only for the profits of big capitalists like Adani-Ambani.”

Prasad accused the government of “snatching jobs from the youth and trying to grab the land of farmers”, adding that this movement by railway employees was an “important fight against privatisation of the country.”

Rajiv Dimri, National General Secretary of All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), said preparations for the privatisation of Railways was going on in “full swing.” He said on May 20, on the call of all central trade unions, there would be a nationwide general strike, and called upon all railway employees to participate in a big way.

IREF General Secretary Sarvjeet Singh announced that a nationwide mega demonstration would be held in Delhi on May 1, demanding restoration of OPS, in which lakhs of employees are expected to participate.

Sunday’s protest saw the participation of hundreds of employees from across the country, including Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, Eastern Railway, South Eastern Railway, West Central Railway, Northern Railway, North Central Railway, North Western Railway.

The IREF leadership said if the government fails to reinstate the OPS, their movement would be intensified.

OPS, NPS, UPS: What is the Difference?

Old Pension Scheme (OPS): Under OPS, assured pension is provided by the government to retirees, which is equal to 50% of the last salary drawn. Dearness allowance (DA) is also included in it.

National Pension System (NPS): Implemented in 2004, this scheme includes contributions from both a employee and the government, but the pension amount is not fixed and depends on stock market fluctuations.

Unified Pension Scheme (UPS): This scheme, which will come into effect from April 1, 2025, is a modified form of NPS, in which some changes have been made, but there is no assured guarantee like in OPS.