HUGE TALENT POOL

 

HUGE TALENT POOL 

Too much of a good thing can be dangerous

The retirement age for Govt. Employees was 58 or 60 when the state of Kerala came into being. I believe the latter is correct. In 1957 the Govt. brought it down to 55. It was raised to 56 in 2012 by the Oommen Chandy led Govt.

 Retirement age for Central Govt. employees is 60.

In Kerala the entry point to Govt service is 36 in General. It is above 40 for special categories. I could be wrong here.

When people are retired at 56, they are at their peak performance level. Sending them home with pension serves them well, but not for the state or the people. The pensioners have the fire in them. And life span has gone up over the years.  The Govt. pays the pension to former employees for doing nothing. Certainly one can argue that pension is the deferred payment of wages.

When the employees serve the Govt. there is value for money. Once they become pensioners the Govt. or the people get no value for money. It makes no economic sense.

Added to that the ever-galloping inflation forces the Govt. to revise the Salaries of Govt. servants and consequently the pension periodically. No harm there. It is natural justice.

The contention is that when people have nothing to do, they become Lotus Eaters. The question is, is it right? Transforming creativity to laziness is the worst any Govt. in its right senses can do.

Pay Pension by all means. Enhance it from time to time. People have to survive and lead a decent life. But make use of the huge talent pool that is unwittingly converted to the status of Lotus Eaters.

There is no harm in raising the retirement age to 60 in Kerala. Why do we hesitate to fall in line with the Central Govt. pattern? It could be that there is an ocean of the unemployed waiting to get into Govt. service to secure their lives. But how many are really getting in? A miniscule minority. The real function of a successful Govt. is to generate alternative opportunities for its people.

The pensioners too have to be employed to get the best out of them. And do not send them home at 56 when there is still fire in them. Idling away  creativity at the prime is the harbinger of economic disintegration.

Too much of a good thing can be dangerous.