Retired KSRTC staff seek intervention of President, PM amid pension disruption

The petition, outlining eight specific demands to streamline the pension distribution system and related welfare measures for retired staff, is submitted to higher authorities after securing signatures of around 1,500 pensioners

The Transport Pensioners Front (TPF) has sent a mass petition to President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking their intervention to resolve long-standing grievances concerning the timely distribution of pensions and welfare benefits to around 43,000 retired Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) employees.

The association members, who also raised the issue with the Chief Justice of India and the National Human Rights Commission, said the “derailed pension dispersal” was affecting hundreds of ailing patients and poor families in Kerala.

They said the mass petition, outlining eight specific demands to streamline the pension distribution system and related welfare measures for retired staff, was submitted to higher authorities after securing signatures of around 1,500 pensioners. Copies were also forwarded to the Kerala Governor and all State representatives for support, they added.

According to TPF leaders, the “poor planning of new projects and mismanagement of infrastructure” had turned KSRTC into a loss-making venture. They alleged that KSRTC authorities were using the loss to delay pension benefits for thousands of retired employees.

E. Abdul Basheer, TPF (Malabar Zone) president, said the request for pension revision had not been considered since 2011. He also added that elderly pensioners were often forced to approach courts for justice due to the inconsiderate stance of the State government and KSRTC authorities.

The mass petition also included demands to declare the KSRTC a government department and to distribute pension benefits using the method followed by the Kerala State Electricity Board and Kerala Water Authority. Retired employees who signed the petition also called for a unified pension scheme, ending the categorisation of employees based on their retirement period.

Meanwhile, KSRTC sources said many of the issues raised by the pensioners were already under consideration by higher authorities for appropriate action. They also added that policy-level decisions by the State government would be crucial for addressing demands such as creating a new department for KSRTC and implementing a unified pension scheme for retired employees.

Published - October 21, 2024 11:47 pm IST