Retired and forgotten

Large numbers of retired employees of Radio Pakistan, numbering over 4000 in total, continue to suffer on account of delayed pensions every now and then. It is now late July and the retirees are still yet to be paid last month’s pensions. Though this is not unusual as pensions can be delayed for up to several months and are often paid in arrears. Meanwhile, the prices of essential goods keep skyrocketing and compounding the financial woes of the pensioners. More often than not, the federal government showers hefty increases on the serving employees and only half of that amount is paid to the retired employees.

In doing so, the policymakers forget the fact that the serving employees enjoy many benefits besides their hefty salaries. Most serving employees live in houses at government expense whereas the majority of retired Radio Pakistan employees live in rented houses as they could not afford their own houses with the meagre salaries when they were employed and their current inadequate and oft delayed pensions.

M Z Rifat

Lahore