Through your esteemed newspaper, we, the retired pensioners of National Bank, draw the kind attention of Mr. Khurshid Shah, Opposition Leader of the National Assembly, for consideration of our prolonged deserving issue with regards to annual increase in our pension.
The management of the National Bank has stopped the annual increase in pensions since the last six years and despite many letters written to the President of the bank and various appeals through media, no attention has been given by him to this matter. The lethargic attitude of the bank is not understood. Every year more than eight thousand retirees including old aged and disabled, desperately wait for an increase in their pension but their expectations are turned down.
As our concern fell on deaf ears, we appealed to the Finance Minister and Prime Minister through letters and media, requesting to look into our issue and direct the president of the bank towards necessary action. Regrettably, no action was taken by them. Due to the stoppage of an annual increase, the amount of pension is frozen at an initial stage which has resulted in miserable financial conditions for the retirees. A class of pensioners who had retired in between the period 1999 to 2003, were badly affected due to this rigid retirement policy of the bank. The bank has hardly increased the pension seven time in the past fifteen years.
In the year 2010, a class of pensioners after receiving no remedy from the president of the bank or the Finance Minister and Prime Minister, knocked the door of the Apex court in regards to the blocked facilities and release of annual increases. Years have passed, and the cases are still under hearing and no decision has been awarded. The present hike in the prices of daily utilities has put the retirees in a miserable condition due to their frozen pension.
National Bank is an autonomous body of the Federal Government and all of its affairs are administered by the Finance Department. All the perks and facilities are availed by the President and Board of Directors, and on the other side, the old and senior retirees are not given an annual increase. The financial position of the bank is very strong and it is earning billions in profit in billion every year.
We, the retirees of the bank appeal to the Opposition Leader Mr Khurshid Shah to look into this deserving issue and use his good influence on the President of the Bank to show pity for the poor and aged pensioners of the bank and release all the annual increases that have been stopped since the last many years.
MAHMOOD AHMAD MINHAS,
Lahore, September 30.