Govt Employees To Protest For Old Pension Scheme on 8 Nov

The Shinde-Fadnavis government, which is already struggling to resolve the Maratha reservation issue, now faces another challenge. 17 lakh government and semi-government employees have decided to march across the state on 8 November to demand the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).

Employee unions have also threatened an indefinite strike beginning 14 December in response to the OPS demand.

During the campaign for legislative council elections in teachers' and graduates' constituencies held in January of this year, the demand for OPS for government employees, including teachers, was on the political agenda. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde stated that the government would consider the issue positively; however, the OPS issue had done political damage to Shinde-Fadnavis, as the BJP lost Nagpur and Amravati to MVA candidates.

Following that, state government employees went on strike beginning 14 March during the legislature's budget session. The strike was called off on 20 March after the state government formed a committee led by former IAS officer Subodh Kumar to investigate the demand for OPS. However, the state government has not made any proposals regarding the pension issue since then.