Dimapur, August 28 (MExN): Announcing its stand on the issue of raising the retirement age of government employees, the Naga Students’ Federation has unequivocally stated that “any decision arrived at between state government and employees without the presence of NSF would be a futile exercise.”
Sensing the recent demand of government employees for raising the retirement age from 57 to 60 years, the NSF had on August 22 convened a consultative meeting with former leaders and federating units.
President of the student body, Imchatoba, in a press communiqué informed that the NSF has set up an ‘Analyzing Desk’ comprising of four members to look into the matter and to guide them towards this task.
“Ever since the emergence of contentious statehood of Nagaland as its 13th state under the Indian union, every successive Government and the Bureaucracy could not bring pragmatic approach to absorb the mushrooming educated Naga youths other than to opt for white-collar jobs,” the president stated. “In this backdrop, the Naga Students’ Federation in the past had to struggle against all odds in the interest of thousand of upcoming students towards strategizing opportunity for employment.”
Consequent upon the demand of the Confederation of All Nagaland State Service Employees Association (CANSSEA) for lifting the retirement age from 55 to 58 years in 1991, which evoked a positive response from the State government, the NSF had been compelled to launch “fast unto death” as the last choice upon the government for redress.
As a result, an agreement was signed between the NSF and the government of which the ceiling of superannuation age was fixed at 57 and 33 years as length of service “whichever is earlier.”
However, the decision of the government was challenged by CANSSEA in the Guwahati High Court, Kohima Bench and the length of service was quashed. “This led to the tampering of age for many Government employees, which is prevailing till date.”
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