The inaugural and exchange-of-views meeting of the ‘50% Pension Surrenderers Welfare Association, Bangladesh’ was held on Saturday at Hosaf Tower in Malibagh, Dhaka. Dr Ruhul Amin Chowdhury, convener of the organisation, presided over the meeting.
Retired government employees from different parts of the country and leaders of the organisation attended the event.
The meeting discussed the return of the surrendered 50 percent pension, ensuring the legitimate rights of pensioners and addressing disparities in pension policies.
The speakers said no policy or provision has yet been introduced to return the surrendered amount to those who gave up 50 percent of their pension under a government order that came into effect on July 1, 2017.
They pointed out that, on the other hand, government employees who had opted to withdraw 100 percent of their pension earlier were later given an opportunity to receive pension again after a specified period.
Describing the situation as discriminatory and inhumane, the speakers said it was unjustifiable to apply different policies to retired government employees of the same country.
They stressed that the disparity must be removed to ensure financial security and dignity for pensioners in their post-retirement lives.
The meeting called on the government to formulate the necessary policy and provisions for returning the 50 percent surrendered pension and take immediate steps to implement the measure.
Fazlul Haque Monwar, Khandaker Abid Ahmed, Md Monirul Islam Sheikh, Md Faruk Ahmed Chowdhury, Marzina Khatun and other leaders of the organisation and pensioners from different levels were present at the meeting.
