NIFR wants new pension scheme for railway staff to be scrapped

The National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NIFR) today demanded scrapping of the new pension scheme for the railway employees and continuation of the old one.
"The Centre had issued orders that the railway staff appointed on or after January 1, 2004 would fall under the new pension scheme," NFIR general secretary J G Mahurkar told reporters here today.
It means the government had no pension liability since the Pension Fund created under the Act was to be administered by a private insurance company, which would invest the fund in the share market, which only went to benefit the corporates, he added.

"Under the new scheme, the widows of the railway employees appointed on or after that date (January 1, 2004), will not be entitled to get pension. Therefore, we want the old pension scheme to continue," he said.
The NFIR in its general council meeting held on April 28 and 29 in New Delhi, also passed the resolutions to withdraw of New Pension scheme, stopping outsourcing of railway, filling up 1.5 lakh vacancies in safety category, among other things.