The State Government Employees Association, an umbrella body of 35 different unions of the state government has decided to withdraw their strike after an assurance by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde that the state would resolve the demand of restoring the old pension scheme in a time-bound manner.
Around 17 lakh state government employees have gone on an indefinite strike since Thursday demanding that the old pension scheme be returned.
Earlier Updates
Despite a meeting between state government officials and employee union representatives on Wednesday evening, no resolution was reached. Consequently, the unions chose to proceed with their original plan for the strike starting on December 14.
During the ongoing Winter Session of the state legislature, Ajit Pawar, addressing the Legislative Council, expressed the government’s positive stance on the OPS demand. He indicated that a decision regarding OPS was likely before the next budget session after a thorough review of the committee’s report.
Former Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Devendra Fadnavis had previously conveyed that the government, in principle, was not opposed to OPS implementation. Fadnavis emphasized the need to assess the financial implications on the state before making a decision. Notably, Maharashtra, governed by the BJP, had become the first BJP-ruled state to consider OPS favorably, while the Opposition Congress had been advocating for it nationwide.
