Retirement age in KSRTC to be raised from 56 to 60
The LDF government is planning to increase the retirement ageof KSRTC employees from 56 to 60, a move that makes eminent economic sense and is a politically bold decision considering that it contradicts the CPM’s stated position on the need to create fresh jobs.
The proposal, initiated by the finance and transport departments, will be considered by the Cabinet soon, after which it will be implemented by the corporation that currently employs 44,500 people, of which 35,000 are permanent employees.
It is reliably learnt that the government has also decided to cap the maximum pension at Rs 25,000, which will reduce the present financial burden from pensions to Rs 42 crore from the current Rs 60 crore. With this, the corporation will be able to save Rs 200 crore every year.
The proposals are part of a series of measures to revive KSRTC which has been in the red for a while. They are learnt to have been finalised in a series of meetings in which finance minister T M Thomas Isaac, transport minister Thomas Chandy, principal secretary (transport) K R Jyothilal and KSRTC chairman and managing director M G Rajamanickam attended. Weekly coordination meetings of the two departments have been going on for a couple of months to closely monitor the overall financial stability of the organisation.
KSRTC follows Kerala service rules (KSR), under which the retirement age currently is 56 years but it is not legally binding on the corporation. The corporation has been set up by a road transport corporation act which does not stipulate rules with regard to retirement age. “It will be easy for the government to implement the new decision as it needs only a Cabinet decision and a government order,” sources said. KSRTC CMD Rajamanickam refused to comment on the matter, while finance minister Thomas Isaac could not be reached.
Sources said that KSRTC is presently spending Rs 60 crore on pensions for 38,000 pensioners every month. Once the decision is implemented, the corporation will not incur additional burden by way of pensions for the next four years. The corporation is currently overstaffed, with the number of staff per bus ratio in KSRTC 6.79, which is the highest among RTCs of southern states.
