Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 1 (IANS) Representatives of Kerala government employees Thursday sought their retirement age raised from the current 55 years even as the state has 4.3 million educated unemployed.


At a meeting called by Finance Minister K.M. Mani, government employees' leaders were of the opinion that the government should raise the employees' retirement age.

Kerala is the only state in the country where state government employees, and school and college teachers retire at 55 years. In other states, the retirement age is 58 years.

Mani told the representatives that he would convey their suggestion to the cabinet.

While the meeting was being held at the state secretariat, youth wing activists of the Communist Party of India-Marxist staged a protest outside, opposing any proposal to raise the retirement age.

According to the latest economic review tabled in the state assembly early this year, the number of job seekers till June 2010 stood at 4.32 million, including 161,641 professional and technical workers and 4.16 million others.