I WOULD like to bring attention to the Employees’ Old-Age Benefit Institution and clarify that this pension is not just for government employees but also for those who work for private and non-governmental organisations.

Initially, the pension amount was Rs1,500, which was increased to Rs3,600 in 2010. In the 2013 budget, it was announced that the minimum pension for all pensioners would become Rs5,000 but it was not applied for EOBI pensioners.

In 2016, the finance minister announced a minimum pension of Rs5,200 for EOBI. It is a pity that a retired grade one government servant has a pension of Rs100,000, but we get Rs5,200. No one listen to us. Salaries and allowances of MNAs, MPAs and advisers increased in this tenure by 100 per cent within minutes but no one speak for us, the labourers who spent 30 or 40 years in government and semi-government organisations and are now living in a miserable condition.

On Sept 11, 2018, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, Zulfi Bukhari, announced that minimum pension would be increased to Rs10,000 but sadly that announcement was not implemented as we are only getting Rs6,200 as per a notification. This is mistreatment and exploitation.

Muhammad Ibrahim Khalil Abbasi

Thatta

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2019