Sun Feb 23 09:12:56 UTC 2025: ## Tamil Nadu Government to Hold Talks with Employees Over Pension Demands

**Chennai, February 23, 2025** – The Tamil Nadu government announced today that a four-member ministerial team will meet with representatives of various state government employees’ associations on Monday, February 24th. The meeting aims to address employee demands, primarily the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme and the reinstatement of withdrawn incentives.

This announcement comes ahead of planned protests by the Joint Action Council of Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Organisation and Government Employees Organisation (JACTTO-GEO) scheduled for Tuesday, February 25th, across all district headquarters. The ministerial team, appointed by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, includes Ministers E.V. Velu, Thangam Thennarasu, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, and N. Kayalvizhi Selvaraj.

While the government hopes to reach an “appropriate decision,” a source suggests that a public announcement following the meeting is unlikely, given the upcoming Assembly session.

G. Venkatesan, president of the Tamil Nadu Secretariat Association, welcomed the talks but cautioned that the associations’ future actions will depend on the government’s subsequent steps. However, Frederic Engels, State coordinator of the Contributory Pension Scheme Abolition Movement, criticized the move as a delaying tactic, pointing to previous talks that yielded minimal results. He noted that the government’s formation of yet another committee to study pension schemes, rather than fulfilling election promises, underscores this strategy. A committee was recently formed to study the Old Pension Scheme, Contributory Pension Scheme, and the Unified Pension Scheme, with the goal of recommending a suitable system for Tamil Nadu.

Read More