More than 20 lakh employees of the Uttar Pradesh government went on a strike recently demanding that the old pension scheme be restored.
The new pension scheme that the State has introduced has not been received very well. Under the new scheme, the Government’s share has been increased from 10 per cent to 14 per cent. This means, the employees will be required to contribute four per cent more than they were earlier.
The strike right now has not affected the health and power sectors. However, if the demands are not met by the Government soon, the protestors warn that health and power services will also be involved.
Several government offices in the capital, Lucknow, were closed in support of the protest.
However, the teachers’ unions in the State have not joined the strike as they feel the new pension scheme is for the good of the employees.