Cuepacs wants government to retain two per cent annual increment for pensioners

KUALA LUMPUR - The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) urged the government to maintain the two percent annual increment for pensioners until the government carried out a salary adjustment for civil servants.

Cuepacs president Datuk Adnan Mat said the quantum can be retained by offering other forms of incentives like cost of living incentives instead of stopping the procedure immediately.

He added that it was not fair to withdraw incentives or privileges enjoyed by pensioners without replacing with other incentives that are more attractive.

"Based on the recent Federal Court ruling, pensioners would not enjoy any benefit until a salary adjustment is carried out for civil servants. The government must be serious in this issue so that the welfare of civil servants and pensioners can be preserved.

"Cuepacs would like to appeal to the government to not withdraw the two percent annual increment that was agreed upon since 2013, because most of those who benefitted from the previous scheme were from the M40 and B40 groups,” he said in a statement today.

Adnan said Cuepacs also hoped the government will expedite the salary adjustment for civil servants since the salary structure for civil servants has not been reviewed for a long time.

On June 27, the Federal Court ruled that legal amendments introduced in 2013 - which introduced a new pension scheme that adjusts pension payments every year by a two per cent increment - as less favourable to pensioners and as unconstitutional.

The decision meant that the older version of the law containing the old pension adjustment scheme would be restored, as the new amendments in 2013 has been invalidated.

Adnan however, said Cuepacs respects the decision made by the Federal Court to invalidate the amendments made to the pension scheme in 2013. - Bernama