More than one million Punjab government employees have demanded that they should be paid group insurance during their life span or at the time of retirement rather than after their death.
Advisor Accounts Affairs and Incharge Mohtasib Punjab Pension Cell, Wazir Ahmad Qureshi told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that each employee monthly pays certain amount on account of Group Insurance throughout his service period which carries the span of 35 years on average, but he is not paid in his life neither at the time of retirement nor during pensionary period.
Ombudsman Office received more than 2,500 applications of the serving and retired employees on the issue of Group Insurance. This is a fact that an amount of more than one billion rupees is deducted annually from as many as one million employees of Punjab Government.
Qureshi who is retired Accountant General Punjab said Balochistan Government was paying to its retiring employees on account of Group Insurance and denial of Punjab Government in that regard was discriminatory and unjust. The Punjab Government employee should also be paid certain amount on account of Group Insurance at the time of retirement following the justified policy of Balochistan Government, he added.
He said pensioners had raised certain questions on the disbursement of amount of sum assured at the time of retirement; as to why the Group Insurance was not being paid during the life span of an employee or even after retirement as pensioner; as to why the employee must taste the death to get benefits of Group Insurance for his heirs? This is a unique kind of insurance which never matures during the whole life of an employee.
The pensioners further lamented that not a single penny was paid in case of partial or even total disability of an employee or pensioner although he was notified for retirement as invalid employee, clinically alive but physically and mentally dead for family and society, such employee is also denied group insurance.
The employees further pointed out that Group Insurance subscription was compulsorily deducted at source from the salary of each employee and it continued till retirement so where an amount of billion of rupees deducted on said head of account goes? they questioned.