2024-03-18 17:09:35
Dissatisfaction is growing over the amendments to the Universal Pension Scheme Rules-2023. This discontent is intensifying among the government and non-state autonomous bodies after amending the rules and promulgating them in gazette form.
It is learned that due to the change in the rules, the newly joined government and autonomous organizations will not get any government pension directly. Instead they have to be compulsorily included in the ‘verification’ scheme incorporated in the Public Pension Scheme Regulations.
The leaders of the Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers’ Association have already called the change ‘discriminatory’ in a statement regarding the change in the rules. They urged the government to withdraw the amended rules immediately. Federation President Prof. Dr. Md. Akhtarul Islam and Secretary General Dr. Nizamul Haque Bhuiyan made this claim in a statement sent to the media last Saturday.
Meanwhile, the government is going to launch a new scheme called ‘Pratya’ to revive the slow-moving public pension programme. From July 1, new employees of self-governing, autonomous, state-owned and statutory organizations and their subordinate bodies will come under the ‘Praytaya’ program under the universal pension system. That is, the existing four pension programs under the universal pension system in progress, migration, protection and equality are optional, but it has been made mandatory for new workers in the respective institutions. At the same time, the officers and employees currently working in these institutions who have a minimum service period of 10 years, can come under the ‘certification’ program if they want. In that case they have to surrender their existing pension benefits.
Recently, two separate notifications of the Ministry of Finance published in the form of gazette one of the newly joined officers and employees of self-governing, autonomous, state-owned and statutory bodies and their subordinate bodies have been brought under the universal pension scheme and the other has amended the Universal Pension Scheme Rules 2023. A new scheme called Pratyaya’ has been added.
As per the amendment in the law, the verification scheme is also mandatory for the new recruits in self-governed, autonomous and state-owned organizations after July 1 this year. Retirement rules applicable to the respective institutions or organizations shall not apply to them.
Incidentally, government employees currently deposit money in the General Provident Fund (GPF) and autonomous and state-owned enterprises in the Payable Provident Fund (CPF), in return for which the government pays 11 to 13 percent interest. Pensioners get this money after retirement. Government employees who get salary from the revenue sector keep the money in GPF. And those who get salary from outside the revenue sector, keep the money in CPF.
The revised rules regarding the Pratyaya Scheme state that under the scheme, 10 percent of the basic salary received by the officer or employee of the concerned institution or organization or a maximum of five thousand rupees, whichever is less, will be deducted from the salary of the concerned officer or employee and equal to -The amount will be paid by the concerned institution or organization and then both the amounts will be deposited by the concerned institution or organization as coppers of the concerned officer or employee. The rules mention four levels of monthly subscription (2 thousand, 3 thousand, 5 thousand and 10 thousand taka) of Pratyaya scheme, the amount of monthly subscription can be increased or decreased. In this scheme, the rate of monthly contribution will be calculated on the basis of the basic salary, as there will be scope for variation of the rate of contribution and the rate of contribution will be paid in whole rupees instead of fractions and the pension payable monthly will be calculated on the basis of the actual rate of contribution.
Besides, with the approval of the government, a new clause has been added in the amended law that the National Pension Authority can change the monthly subscription rate of any scheme if necessary. In the amended rules, the definition of state-owned enterprise is said to be – any business enterprise, company bank, insurance, financial institution or any institution related to industry and trade or similar, owned or vested in the government or any autonomous or self-governing organization or financed by more than 50 percent of the government. .
The revised rules regarding the definition of self-governing or autonomous body state that- any authority, corporation, commission, body, public university, institution, council, academy, trust, board or foundation, etc., by any name established or constituted by any law for the time being in force Why, they would be included.
It is known that there are about 400 self-governing, autonomous, state-owned, statutory or homogeneous organizations and their subordinate organizations, which have more than 4 lakh officers and employees. Meanwhile, people, organizations and prominent people from different classes and professions are already giving various opinions about the new ‘Prayatya’ program announced under the universal pension management. It is not yet clear whether the pension benefit of any organization will increase and the financial benefits of any organization will decrease in the new system. Apart from this, there is discussion and criticism about not including the officers and employees working in the ministry/department as well as the secretariat in the new program.