Why the 2009 Retirement Act from public services be reviewed and amended?

Ruovihulie Angami, Adviser & Spokesperson, NGSEF [dropcap]I[/dropcap]t was done so hastily without thorough debate or studying the pros and cons of the affects/effects being faced since then. It will be more profitable for the Naga society when more persons can depend on a senior employees who are still in service or retire within 2/3 years so that their children who are about to finish their higher studies are not withdrawn/discontinued for lack of financial support due to their retirement. More people can rely or get support from serving senior employees but not on a single junior employee. Good governance can be provided by more experienced employees with proper work culture and well experienced with dedication, sincerity, punctuality and hard working culture. The present Retirement Act is not fully solving unemployment problem of genuine candidates due to backdoor policies of appointment without proper advertisement or recruitment policies. The Retirement Act, 2009 cannot fully compensate the unemployment problem due to absence of industries and other job generated facilities in our State. If the fund coming from the Government of India is meticulously utilized, there should be no dearth of fund even for development, which is a lame excuse. Almost all the old-timers or age-tampered government employees have gone already on retirement and if the present innocent are also to retire, we foresee a big gap in change of guard between the senior and junior employees and therefore, should allow few senior ones to guide the juniors for another 1 or 2 years more. If the junior ones want to oust their seniors, they also shall face the same fate unless the present Act is amended. Keeping 60 years as age superannuation is a false hope for many government employees because only 10% are retiring by age while 90% are retiring on reaching 35 years length of service causing heavy pension at a time. If the whole country is using the yardstick of 60 years as age superannuation, why should Nagaland State maintain a separate or peculiar Retirement Act which is ridiculous to other States? The NGOs and even the CANSSEA may leave the matter to the wisdom of the government to resolve this issue amicably at the earliest for which the NGSEF is on the job lest the same problem is faced by other other government departments like Police for non-availability of DGP from the Nagaland Cadre for the next 1 or 2 years and also mass retirement in that department due to mass recruitment on the same day/ month/year causing a threat for security challenge. Even if 35 years length of service is removed or enhanced to 38 years or only 60 years age superannuation is used for retirement, it is not compulsory or by force that all should remain in service. They can avail voluntary retirement or full pension facilities if someone is no more interested in service or not able to perform duties efficiently and sincerely which can be decided by their respective department. Since 2009 Retirement Act was passed in October 2009, this Amendment Act should be passed w.e.f the 1st October 2014 by the government after a gap of 5 years which is quite enough for observation of its defects so that Nagaland Government may not continue to fail the hands of an experienced office-goers who are punctual, sincere, hard-working, dedicated in duties as the Forum stands for “Dedication and sincerity in service” as its motto. Finally, both God and the future generations shall bless upon the right steps taken by the stakeholders and shall curse the unreasonable steps being taken by the concerned authority depending upon the situation and circumstances facing the Naga society today. We should also like to remind the Editor of Nagaland Post not to generalize all government senior employees as “lazy, inefficient and insincere” as per his editorial column sometimes back and to admonish him to do an unbiased publicity for the right cause so that our kind government will take the right or wise decision at the right time for the welfare of the common people in general and senior employees and our government. As for our age group, it will be good if we could avail the benefit and if not also we want our juniors not to continue to suffer due to the Retirement Act, 2009 from public service which is full of defects.