Pension

KKPKP is an active member of the Pension Parishad campaign for universal pensions. Members of the union have attended and participated in three Jan Sunwai’s (People’s hearings) in Delhi on 17th January 2013;  Pune on 31st January 2013  and Mumbai on 10th  February 2014.  In each of these hearings, waste picker members of  KKPKP and AIW members from other parts of Maharashtra joined hands with other state-wide MBOs (such as Molakrin Sanghatana, Kashtakari Sanghatan, Hamal Panchayat etc.) and lent their testimonies to press the cause of the elderly disadvantaged in Maharashtra.  Members have also traveled to Delhi on several occasions to be part of the dharnas – specifically, in May 2013 and December 2013, when they camped at Jantar Mantar for over one month. Although there was a feeling of buoyancy and hope after clear assurances from elected representatives and government representatives during the dharna in May, in Delhi, the experience in December was disheartening. Elderly poor, tired of being ignored after sitting in the freezing December cold, attempting to meet the Prime Minister, were arrested and manhandled. Repeated requests for meetings were simply ignored and there was no attempt to act on the assurances previously made.