‘Revive old pension scheme’

Coimbatore: Members of Tamil Nadu Primary School Teachers Federation on Tuesday expressed their opposition against the finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan’s recent statement in the assembly that the government could not bring back the old pension scheme.
The members from the association’s district chapter held demonstrations at some of the block education offices in the district demanding the state government implement the old pension scheme by scrapping the new pension scheme.
District secretary of the association A Thangabasu said, “One of the promises made by the DMK in its poll manifesto last year was to bring back the old pension scheme. Chief minister MK Stalin also promised to implement it when he was electioneering for the last assembly election. But, the finance minister recently informing the assembly that they could not implement the old pension scheme has worried us.”
He sought clarification regarding this from the chief minister. As a token of protest, he said the members had staged a demonstration in front of block education offices in the Coimbatore district to register their demand to bring back the old pension scheme.
“The state government is yet to fulfill the poll promises made for teachers and government staff. Instead, our rights are being taken away,” he said.