THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Retirement age of State Government employees should be raised to 58 considering the increase in life expectancy, UDF convener P P Thankachan said here on Thursday. “There may be some initial protest, but it would die down in a couple of days like when the raise in pension age to 56 was effected,” Thankachan said at a function organised by the Kerala Electricity Employees Confederation to honour Electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammed for raising the retirement age of KSEB staff to 56.Thankachan said the unemployment rate based on the statistics from employment exchanges are incorrect. "Many of the registrants are working in the private sector. Hence, citing the huge unemployment rate against increasing retirment age is a farce,” he said.The function also witnessed several Congress leaders endorsing Thanckachan’s views on raising the retirement age to 58. K Muraleedharan MLA, who delivered the keynote address, said that the government should raise the retirement age in phases to avoid largescale protests.“Those who threatened to spill blood on the streets when the retirement age was raised to 56 have disappeared from sight,” Muraleedharan said.Aryadan Mohammed said that raising of retirement age would only benefit the government. “An employee at the age of 55 gains an experience in field which no educational institution could provide. The government should not lose their experise by giving them a premature retirement,’’ he added.
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