Thiruvananthapuram:The opposition Congress and the BJP on Tuesday expressed strong protest against the CPI(M)-led LDF government's decision to raise the retirement age of employees of all state PSUs to 60 years, charging that it was "betrayal" of the youth of the state who are dreaming a career in the public sector.
KPCC chief K Sudhakaran, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala and BJP state chief K Surendran took strong exception to the government decision and warned of protests by opposition youth outfits against it. The decision to enhance the retirement age without considering the concerns of the young generation cannot be accepted, Sudhakaran told reporters here.
The Congress party and the United Democratic Front (UDF) are of the opinion that more employment opportunities should be created for the youth. "The unemployment rate is high in Kerala. The number of unemployed persons is also very high. The Left government has failed to create job opportunities," he alleged.
Satheesan charged that the present decision to raise the pension age in PSUs was an initial step to raise the pension age in the government service as well. "When unemployment is high, the decision to increase the pension age without consulting the opposition or youth organisations is a betrayal of the youth," he said.
The CPI(M) and the coalition partners, which had taken a strong stand against the raising of pension age before, have now taken a treacherous decision when they got a second term in office, the LoP added. Questioning the silence of youth outfits of the ruling party, the leader also warned of agitation by the Youth Congress against the government's decision.
Lashing out at the Vijayan government, BJP state president Surendran alleged that the decision would turn Kerala into a hub of unemployment and the Left dispensation has openly declared a war against the youth of Kerala. Vijayan, who had earlier announced that he would never enhance the pension age, once again proved that his words were worthless, the BJP leader further charged.
The Kerala government has enhanced the retirement age of employees of most of the state PSUs uniformly to 60, drawing sharp criticism from a left-wing youth organisation. The order was issued on Saturday based on the recommendations of an expert committee, which conducted a comprehensive study on the formulation of a common framework for pay/ wage structure of PSUs in the state except Kerala State Electricity Board, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation and Kerala Water Authority.
The expert committee had recommended that the retirement age of employees of all state PSUs shall be enhanced uniformly to 60 as in the case of central PSUs. However, this will not be applicable to those employees who have already retired in accordance with the prevailing rules. The state leadership of the All India Youth Federation (AIYF), the youth wing of the Communist Party of India (CPI), protested against the government's decision to enhance the retirement age to 60, terming it a move against the unemployed youth. CPI is the second largest partner in the CPI(M)-led LDF in the state. (PTI)
