Kerala government to raise retirement age in select PSUs; avoids general order

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government has started taking steps to increase the retirement age in all public sector undertakings. To overcome the protests, the strategy has been adopted of considering each institution separately and making a decision without issuing a general order.

At the start of the second Pinarayi Vijayan government, there was a proposal to raise the retirement age from 58 to 60 across all state-run undertakings. However, strong opposition led the government to drop the idea of a general order and instead adopt a strategy of issuing separate decisions for individual institutions.

In its latest Cabinet meeting, the government approved an increase in the retirement age at the Kerala Livestock Development Board Ltd (KLD). This marks the sixth PSU where the retirement age has been raised during the current government’s term.

Other public sector bodies that have already implemented a higher retirement age include the Kerala State Coir Workers' Welfare Fund Board, NORKA Roots, Kerala Feeds Limited, the Institute of Human Resources Development (IHRD) and AYUSH. Kerala has a total of around 150 public sector undertakings.

The retirement age in central public sector undertakings is 60, a benchmark often cited by the state while justifying the move. Following protests against issuing a uniform order, the government had announced the formation of an expert committee to study the issue.

However, in the absence of a report from the committee, the government has clarified that it is proceeding with retirement age revisions on a case-by-case basis, including the recent decision covering the KLD Board.