As per the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in November 2022 to provide pension on full salary, the Visakhapatnam Regional PF Commissioner’s Office has commenced issuing demand notices in Sept 2023 to 2984 eligible employees and hundreds of retirees of Visakhapatnam Steel out of which, about 1800 people have deposited about Rs.410 Crores to RPFC Visakhapatnam. Normally on deposit of contributions, pension shall be granted within two three months as per the Scheme.
Accordingly, pension orders have been issued to 10 retirees in March 2024 but pension has not been credited to their bank accounts. Later those pension orders have been reversed restoring the old pension, on the ground that Zonal Commissioner has sent a report to the headquarters against eligibility of VSP pensioners to the higher pension. The matter has been pending at headquarters for the past 14 months without any decision. This issue was also raised in the CBT meeting held on the 30th of last month by Mallesham, a CBT member from BMS. Retired Steel employees who have paid lakhs of rupees one year ago year are facing a lot of difficulties as they do not have any other monthly income. This matter has also been brought to the notice of the Honorable Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha Member Sreebharat. He has also brought it to the notice of the Union Labour Minister. Durg Lok Sabha Member Vijay Baghel has also met the Union Labour Minister and requested that the steel employees be sanctioned pension on full salary as per Supreme Court judgement.
Today, the higher pension aspirants who have paid the demanded money have met in SEA Bhavan at Steel Plant premises. The meeting was attended by Visakhapatnam Steel PF Trust Chairman HK Jha, and he was asked to immediately talk to RPFO Visakhapatnam to implement the pension. Addressing the meeting, Steel Executives Association President Katam Chandra Rao, General Secretary KVD Prasad, and Steel HR DGM Retired Vasa Murthy explained the need for pension and the efforts made so far for the implementation of pension. Convener Kumaraswamy and Dwaram Swamy, who presided over the meeting, called upon everyone to fight together in the coming times until they get pension on full salary.
Retired Steel Executives Association President, Maturi Srinivasa Rao said that a new ad hoc committee will be formed soon for the Steel Pensioners Association and called upon to be prepared to approach the Supreme Court again if full pension is not implemented by January as the Minister had promised. Steel Provident Fund Trust President Jha said that he will meet the Regional PF Commission next week. He also said that they have discussed the issue several times during the past one year and have written letters to the Delhi EPFO and the Union Labor Minister.
State BMS leader MVS Naidu said that Mallesham, CBT Member is taking special care of the issue of Visakhapatnam steel employees on behalf of BMS and is talking to EPFO officials.
All the members present at the meeting unanimously resolved to form an ad-hoc committee within a week and fight for full pension. A resolution was passed appealing to the central and state governments to provide pension on full salary for a better life to the Steel employees who had contributed immensely to the growth and development of the national economy. More than 200 steel employees who have completed 58 years of age participated in this meeting. T Srinivasa Rao, executive member of the Employers’ Association, proposed the vote of thanks.
