Strength is Strategy: Pangs of Pension Parity

Date: Thursday, 16 July, 2009, 8:20 PM
We want justice for Services. It has been denied all along and diabolically. Recent announcement on the substantial increase in the pension for the Personnel other than the Commissioned Officers and the implication towards OROP is proof enough, in my opinion.

We want parity in pension. Parity means ‘equality’. (I wonder how one can modify parity.) We want the grant of pension as proof of ‘equality’ between two soldiers (the word soldier includes all ranks in all the three Services). If there are two soldiers equal in rank and length of service, there pension has to be equal. This is parity. This interpretation is not just ours; even the learned judges of the Supreme Courts have said, so time and again. Of course, it is, again, a matter of interpretation. The Government does not accept this interpretation.

Hence, the question is how we can make the Government to accept this interpretation. Do we by any chance plan to compromise by making some contingent plan to get some substantial increase in the pension for the ESM and call it modified ‘Parity’?

The tables I have drawn are based on absolute parity within the framework of the pay revision and the pension rules. But these tables are meaningless till the attitude of the Government changes to see logic. Hence we have to work out a strategy to coerce the Government. One effective coercive force is strength. Thus strength is strategy.

We have to focus not on various tables for pension but how to prove our strength that supports whatever our proposal is. There can, of course, not be two opinions on the table being on the basis of Absolute Parity in Pension.

Let us focus on a single point of action; action to build and prove solidarity of the Servicemen on the issue of Parity of not only the pension but all other matters, as well.
Regards,
RN Radhakrishnan (Retd Major General)