Archive · 22 Sep 2026
Power Employees Protest Pension Shift, Citing State Employee Disparity
Power-sector workers in West Bengal held a peaceful protest about their retirement benefits.
They want to move from one type of savings plan to a pension-based plan.
The workers say government employees in the state already receive the pension-based arrangement.
They say many power-sector workers hired after 2009 were placed under CPF or EPF instead.
Workers from several state-owned power utilities joined the demonstration.
Retired power-sector workers and another employees’ group supported them.
The forum says the utilities can afford the change without an immediate extra financial burden.
It gave officials a memorandum and asked them to resolve the issue quickly.
The Forum of Electricity Employees, Engineers and Officers, West Bengal held a peaceful protest outside Vidyut Bhavan in Salt Lake.
The group demanded that employees covered by CPF/EPF be allowed to switch to the GPF-cum-pension scheme.
It said power-sector recruits after 2009 receive CPF/EPF, while Bengal government employees receive the GPF-cum-pension scheme.
Employees, engineers and officers from several state-owned power utilities participated, with pensioners’ and workers’ groups supporting them.
The forum submitted a memorandum seeking discussions and an expedited resolution from the power department and utility authorities.
- Who
- The Forum of Electricity Employees, Engineers and Officers, West Bengal, along with employees, engineers, officers and supporting groups.
- What
- A peaceful protest demanding an option to switch from CPF/EPF to the GPF-cum-pension scheme.
- When
- Monday.
- Where
- Outside Vidyut Bhavan in Salt Lake, West Bengal.
- Why
- The forum says power-sector employees recruited after 2009 face different retirement benefits from Bengal government employees and wants the disparity addressed.
- Organiser
- Forum of Electricity Employees, Engineers and Officers, West Bengal
- Location
- Vidyut Bhavan, Salt Lake
- Demand
- An option for serving and retired CPF/EPF members to switch to the GPF-cum-pension scheme
- Affected employees
- Power-sector employees, engineers and officers covered by CPF/EPF
- Recruitment cutoff cited
- Employees recruited after 2009 were placed under CPF/EPF
- Participating utilities
- WBSEDCL, WBSETCL, WBPDCL and DPL
- Submission
- A memorandum was submitted to the principal secretary of the power department and utility authorities