State’s decision to raise retirement age flayed

Government staff affiliated to Tamil Nadu Government Employees Association staged a demonstration in front of their offices here on Friday condemning the government for raising the age of retirement to 59.

Employees of the Public Works Department, Joint Registrar of Cooperative Societies Office and Panchayat Union Office staged a demonstration and raised slogans against the government.

State vice president of the association M. Gnanathambi said that between May 2020 and April 2021, around 30,000 government employees from across the State were expected to retire. “By increasing the retirement age, the government has robbed graduates of the opportunity of filing these vacancies across various departments,” he said.

The move has also affected thousands of employees who were expecting to get promotion this year, he added.

Earlier, the government announced freezing of Dearness Allowance at the current rate till July 2021 and suspension of earned leave encashment for a year for all government staff and teachers.

“The government says that they have announced these measures in view of the financial position of the State, during the current fight against COVID-19 pandemic. But, they have disregarded the efforts of government employees who are in the forefront in the fight against the pandemic,” he said.