MARGAO
Absence of pensionary benefits for the seafaring community echoed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday after Trinamool Congress MP Luizinho Faleiro made a fervent plea to the Shipping Ministry to either enhance the monthly ex-gratia relief to the retired seamen and bring out an honourable pension scheme so that the seamen and their families can live a life with honour and dignity after having contributed so immensely for the country’s economy.
Raising the issue in Parliament, MP Faleiro said it is a shame that the people, who had played a great role in the history of the country are not having a pension scheme and were paid an ex-gratia relief of just Rs 200, which is also stopped today.
Faleiro informed that prior to Goa’s Liberation in 1961, Goa’s economy was a money order economy, with every Goan virtually working abroad. “In every alternate house, there was a seafarer working abroad. I am happy to say the seafaring community had made an immense contribution not only for the economy of Goa, but the entire country through the NRI remittances,” he said, adding ‘During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Goa seafarers did yeoman service’.
“What pains me is though every alternate house in Goa has a seamen, their condition is bad. Due to the overall economic meltdown, there is rampant unemployment and there is hardly any system to give them the pension,” he said, while making a plea to the Union Shipping Ministry to look into the matter since the monthly ex-gratia relief of Rs 200 is also stopped.
Will govt introduce permanent scheme?
MARGAO: The Goa government has three more months to take a call on how to go about the pension scheme for the retired seafarers and widows.
For, the Goa Welfare/Pension Scheme for Seafarers is set to lapse in November this year and it is still unclear whether the government will come out with a permanent pension scheme for the retired seafarers or will continue with the status quo of extending the scheme every year.
The Goa Welfare/Pension Scheme for Seafarers was revived in June 2021 after the pension scheme, which was unveiled by the Manohar Parrikar regime, had lapsed in October 2019. Incumbent Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had revived the pension scheme after an outcry from organisations of seafarers, besides retired seafarers in June 2021 which remained in force for a period of six months. The scheme lapsed in November before the Goa government revived the scheme in January 2022 with effect from December 2021. Incidentally, the beneficiaries of the scheme received the pension only in June 2022 on the eve of International Day of Seafarers on June 25, indicating that the government is still undecided in making the pension scheme permanent.
