Starting August 29, around 1.4 million government and semi-government employees in Maharashtra will go on an indefinite strike. This comes in response to the state administration's failure to implement a reformed pension program.
Last year, the government formed a committee led by retired IAS officer Subodh Kumar to address concerns over the new pension scheme (NPS). Following the committee's report, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced a revised NPS in March 2024.
The revised scheme guarantees employees a pension fixed at 50% of their last drawn basic salary plus a dearness allowance. However, more than five months have passed since the announcement, and the government has yet to send out any official communication regarding the updated NPS.
On Tuesday, August 13, the Maharashtra State Gazetted Officers Federation (MSGOF) announced its intention to strike on August 29. The MSGOF represents Class 1 and Class 2 government employees. Vinod Desai, president of MSGOF, confirmed the strike.
The strike includes over 840,000 zilla parishad employees and 567,000 state government employees. It will include bureaucrats and teachers. The strike is expected to put force on the ruling government, which is already dealing with the Maratha-OBC reservation issue.
Sources suggest that the employees intend to continue strike until the government issues the notification for the updated NPS. It has also been reported that during a meeting with the chief secretary in June, MSGOG was told that the notification would be released within one to two months.
However, with August half past and the model code of conduct for assembly elections expected to take effect soon, the union argues that the government must act immediately.