Delhi: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) affiliate Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh will be holding a nationwide protest seeking a hike of minimum pension from Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 on January 20. BMS workers will organize a one-day sit-in protest outside Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) offices and submit a memorandum to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The minimum pension under the EPS95 scheme is Rs 1000 but the BMS is demanding that the amount should be hiked to Rs 5000 per month. If the government agrees to their demand, more than 65 Lakh pensioners will be benefitted. Mazdoor Sangh has been demanding a universal pension scheme according to which the pension should be 50% of the last drawn salary.
BMS leaders had raised the issue during the pre-Budget consultation meeting between the government and the Central Trade Unions held in December last year when the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was also present in the meeting.
As the budget session of parliament is scheduled to begin next month, Central trade unions are gearing up for a series of protests on various issues, pension is one of them. According to the BMS, the Ministry Of Labour had given in-principle acceptance that EPS95 pensioners should be covered under Ayushman Bharat Medical Scheme as the old-age pensioners were unable to get treatment at the super-specialty hospitals.
Talking to ETV Bharat, Binay Kumar Sinha General Secretary of Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh said that they have been raising this demand for a universal pension scheme for a long time but the government despite giving assurances, has not acted upon it. He further said that he was hopeful that the government would make an announcement on this issue in the upcoming budget.
Meanwhile, the BMS workers will gather at 130 EPFO offices across the country on Thursday and hold demonstrations to build pressure on the government.
Read: Sangh Parivar outfits to discuss "Bharat-centred education" in Hyderabad meeting
