AP pension scheme: Teachers’ fury, Jagan’s obstinacy portend tough days

The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government’s confrontation with employees and teachers over Andhra Pradesh’s controversial Compensatory Pension Scheme (CPS) seems to have no end. 

The government’s recent use of intimidation and aggression tactics to quell protests by teachers and employees against the pension scheme shows not only its disinterest in fulfilling its poll promise to scrap CPS but also its growing unpopularity among employees.

Unfulfilled poll promise

Employees and teachers covered under the CPS, which came into existence in 2004, have been demanding its scrapping and the restoration of the old pension scheme for a long time. While the predecessor Chandrababu Naidu government had promised the teachers a model that would have partially met their demand, Jagan hijacked the issue in his favour. 

While campaigning for the 2019 Assembly elections, he assured the  employees that he would scrap CPS within a week of being sworn in as chief minister. He incorporated the assurance in the YSRCP’s election manifesto too.

Even though YSRCP had a landslide victory in the 2019 Assembly polls, the promise was not fulfilled. Now, around 4 lakh CPS employees and teachers have demanded that the CM implement his poll promise. Jagan, however, has been dodging the issue for more than three years on one pretext or the other.

Also read: Andhra parents, teachers protest, but Jagan is going ahead with school merger

The anger of the employees became palpable when, on February 3, thousands of state government employees including teachers and pensioners hit the roads of Vijayawada to participate in a rally demanding the implementation of the 11th Pay Revision Commission (PRC)’s recommendations. Defying restrictions imposed by the police, more than a lakh employees and teachers choked the roads, raising slogans against Jagan while the police watched the unfolding drama in utter confusion.

Intimidation tactics

When the demands were still not fulfilled, several teachers’ associations gave a call for a mass protest called ‘Million March’, scheduled for September 1, to press their demand for the scrapping of the CPS. But the run-up to the protest turned ugly when the government, alarmed by the February 3 march, unleashed unprecedented repression against the employees to stop them from reaching Vijayawada for the rally.

Bind-over notices that they won’t participate in the Million March were served to teachers across the state on Monday (August 31) itself. Hundreds of leaders of the CPS employees’ associations were taken into custody and notices under Section 41 A of CRPC were slapped on them. They were not allowed to go out of the police station the whole day.

The word was spread that police and intelligence departments would use facial recognition cameras and mobile apps – installed at bus stops, railway stations and checkposts across the state – to identify those taking part in the protest.  Police said the details of teachers or employees identified would be recorded, and disciplinary action would be taken against them.

The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) was asked not to allow the protesting teachers to board their buses. Private operators were also instructed not to take them to Vijayawada. Even hotels were kept on alert. 

Police personnel also visited the houses of teachers to counsel their families on the consequences of participating in the Million March. Constables were kept on guard outside classrooms to keep watch on the movements of teachers.

According to the unions, 10,000 to 15,000 teachers were forced to sign the bind-over notices from each district. As the intimidation looked unbearable, the CPS Employees’ Union had to call off the Million March and revoke the call to lay siege to the Chief Minister’s residence. The march was reportedly postponed to September 11. It clearly shows the government’s resolve not to entertain the demand of employees on CPS.

As a symbolic gesture, lunch-hour demonstrations were staged before collectorates across the state on September 1, as it was on this day in 2004 when the orders of implementing CPS were given effect.

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R Applaraju, president of the Andhra Pradesh CPS Employees’ Association, expressed shock over the coercive tactics used by the police to intimidate the employees and their families to derail the Million March.

“We have been agitating peacefully since 2005. Now, the same government, which promised the scrapping of CPS to get employees’ support at the time of elections, is gagging our voice by using force,” Appalaraju rued.

Why CPS is being opposed

Under the previous pension scheme, the employees were eligible to receive 50 per cent of their last-drawn basic pay and DA as pension after retirement.

To avoid the growing burden of pension bills, the then UPA government came up with a new scheme called the CPS. Andhra Pradesh, under the Congress regime led by then chief minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy, was the first to dispense with the old scheme to implement the CPS.  

CPS norms mandate employees to contribute 10 per cent of their salary towards a pension fund which is matched by an equal amount by the state. The amount is kept in a centrally monitored pension fund. Upon retirement, the employee would get 60 per cent as gratuity and the remaining 40 per cent would be invested in stocks and debentures. The returns would be given to employees as pension.  

As there was no clarity on the amount one would get under CPS and the likely impact of fluctuations in the stock market on their pension money, employees grew sceptical of the scheme and demanded the restoration of the old pension scheme. 

“Under the old scheme, employees used to get an assured amount as pension and benefits of PRC. They retired without any uncertainties. But CPS makes no such guarantee. Their monthly pension may not be more than ₹2,500, which is equal to the old age pension given by the state,” said Chirla Kiran, a leader of CPS employees from Tirupati.

GV Narayanareddy, co-chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Employees Joint Action Committee (APJAC Amaravati), said the CPS was no match to the old pension scheme.  

“At the time of announcing CPS, the government said employees would get more than the amount they would get under the old pension scheme after retirement. But this has not been proven in practice. Employees are kept in the dark about the management of the fund, who does it and it would ensure more pension to them than the old scheme. Lack of clarity and confidence on the management of the fund is forcing employees to rightfully demand the restoration of the old scheme,” Reddy said.

Alternative GPS proposal

Realising that the rollback of CPS is not possible, the state government has proposed an alternative market-linked Guaranteed Pension Scheme (GPS). Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, advisor to the government on public affairs, has said that the new pension scheme would ensure that an employee gets 33 per cent of the pay he or she gets at the time of his/her retirement, which is higher than the pension CPS is expected to offer.

But employees are not convinced, as they fear they will lose several aspects of social security in the proposed scheme.

Also read: Why Andhra school teachers are planning massive protests

“The employees would lose many aspects of social security in the proposed market-linked pension schemes. The recommendation of the pay revision commission would not apply to CPS or GPS. They would also lose DA and many medical benefits. The life of the retired employees would become miserable under new schemes,” said Chirla Kiran.

Andhra Pradesh Teachers Federation president Hrudaya Raju and Andhra Pradesh Employees JAC chairman  Bandi Srinivisarao said nothing short of restoration of the old pension scheme was acceptable to the employees.

Many leaders said that when Jagan needed the votes of these employees in 2019, he promised to scrap the new pension scheme. But now he has reneged on the demand as he thinks his freebies would fetch him votes.

Growing gulf 

The relationship between Jagan’s government and the employees, especially teachers, has been marred by the way the PRC recommendations were implemented and by the government’s attitude towards teachers.

Employees are disgruntled because the state government fixed the fitment lower than interim relief (IR) while implementing the PRC’s recommendations. Even though the government had initially promised 27 per cent IR, it later fixed the fitment at 23 per cent. The fact that leaders of employees association toed the government’s line on this created a wedge between the leaders and employees with the latter feeling betrayed for foregoing several benefits.

As for teachers, they are terribly upset by the introduction of English medium without proper infrastructure and merging of schools which they said would increase their workload and decrease promotional avenues.

Also read: Andhra schools’ transition from Telugu to English medium has roots in the far past

Many leaders acknowledge a widening gulf between the government and employees. It’s bound to get larger if the disputes are not settled amicably. 

“There is no proper mechanism to deal with the employees and teachers, which led to a clash between the two ideologies: Employees think their grievances are genuine and the government believes that employees ought to toe the line. With the election year approaching, they are expected to harden their stance and the relationship is set to further deteriorate,” an employees’ union leader commented on the condition of anonymity.