Pension:
The low pensions and lack of facilities in Nepal are some compelling reasons why many Gurkha veterans (both young and old) have opted to migrate to the UK in recent times in the hope of a better living condition. This has also had its negative consequences on the older veterans and many are now living a life of misery even in the UK. Again, had their pension been sustainable back home, this misery could have been averted. The payment of proportionate pension to Gurkhas means a sustainable livelihood in their own country resulting in less migration to the UK. Although the choice of moving to Britain is an individual right and decision, the increase in Gurkha pension will not only stop migration but a sizable chunk of Gurkhas and their families who have been living in the UK would chose to return home to Nepal. In the long term the pension increase will also take substantial financial burden off the UK Government from areas such as the housing, NHS and education to Gurkhas and their families that are estimated to be much higher compared to increased pension payouts. Therefore, to compensate for the discriminations and unfair financial deals, all Gurkha veterans should be paid retrospective pension (from the date of their discharge) regardless of what the UK law says as the TPA was signed way before any new laws were passed in the UK regarding retrospective pension. Compensation: This is another important issue that needs to be addressed immediately by the UK Government. Gurkhas were paid extremely low rates of pay and allowances during their service compared to the Commonwealth soldiers in the British Army (this includes extremely low payout packages during redundancies and normal termination of service) Gurkhas were separated for many years from their wives and families in the most inhumane way owing to the discriminatory rules forced upon them. This has been a major cause of distress and family break-downs amongst many Gurkhas.
The millions of pounds paid by the Gurkhas as taxes and NI have gone missing in the system. As a result, the Gurkhas who are now settling down in the UK are issued with a new NI numbers and their previous contributions were not carried forward to their new NI account. Owing to this inappropriate action by the UK MOD, the Gurkhas have been deprived of the state pensions and other benefits. These need to be seriously investigated by the UK Government and the Gurkhas are to be fairly compensated for the unfair loss of pay and allowances during the service. This will particularly help the old and frail who do not have many years to live and are too weak to work to support their families.
Gurkha widows will have to be provided with the same facilities as the British widows in all respect. There are no state benefits for widows in Nepal. After the death of husbands the Gurkha wives face unimaginable financial and social hardships as the already low pension of their husbands gets significant cuts and there are no Government mechanisms in Nepal to support destitute individuals. British/ Commonwealth soldiers who serve for at least two years get a preserved pension at the age of 60; however, in the case of Gurkhas, thousands of veterans who have served for over nine years still live without any pension. Therefore, those Gurkha veterans with enough service to qualify should be awarded the preserved pension as per their British/Commonwealth counterparts.
Gurkha children over the age of 18 years should also be granted the ILE/ILR to facilitate them to come to the UK and live with their parents for the reasons stated here-in. By culture and tradition, Nepali people live together in a joint family. The children are (although grown-ups) dependant on their parents and other members of their families on various things including education and religious/ cultural obligation. In return, the Gurkha children also support and contribute towards family up-keep and maintenance and look after their parents during old age. We have a very inter-dependant culture and society where the parents and children live together and help each other throughout their lives. During the death of parents, it is religiously and culturally, of utmost importance, that the biological children are present in the funeral. No friends, bystanders or even the relatives are allowed to touch the dead body during the last rites except the biological children. Those veterans who have grown up children, but are not allowed to come and live with their parents in the UK, will face both the religious and cultural dilemma during circumstances as mentioned herein. It will also cause problems of inheritance of religion, culture and properties in the UK if the grown up children are separated from their parents. It must be noted that the Gurkha children were NOT born over aged; had the British government allowed Gurkhas to settle in the UK from day one (like they do to the Commonwealth nationals) many thousands of Gurkha children would have had the opportunity to live, study and grow up in the UK. Therefore, it would be a cultural and social injustice not to allow the children over 18 years to join their families in the UK.
Retired British soldiers and their families get hundred percent free medical facilities through the UK systems. However, in the case of the Gurkhas and their families in Nepal, the medical treatment facilities are very basic. The Gurkha Welfare Trust spends a very negligible amount on health services in Nepal for the veterans and their families. There are no state benefits or NHS in Nepal. One main reason why the older generations are moving to the UK in large numbers is because of the better medical facilities. It is therefore only fair that the British Government provide the best medical facilities available for the Gurkha veterans and their families in Nepal that would also encourage the migrant Gurkhas to return to their own country. Tripartite Agreement: The “Tripartite Agreement of 1947” that was signed over sixty four years ago by the Governments of Nepal, India and the UK has not been honoured by the UK Government in a way that it should have been. The TPA should be fully honoured as it allows for no discrimination to the Gurkhas and directs the signatories to treat Gurkhas in line with their parent armies. In light of the changed circumstances and once the outstanding issues highlighted on this website have been addressed and resolved, the TPA should be reviewed and a bilateral treaty on Gurkhas should be signed as part of the TPA by the UK and the Nepal governments for equal treatment to Gurkhas (both retired and serving) and to avoid any potential discrimination in the future. |
This is one of the main issues of the on-going Gurkha campaign. Gurkha pension should be substantially raised to make it proportionate to that of the Commonwealth nationals in the British Army. A Gurkha MAJOR who has served for 35 years gets fewer pensions than a Commonwealth national who has completed 22 years of service to say the least. We believe that the solution to this is to give Gurkhas a “proportionate payment” to maintain equality. We are NOT arguing that a Gurkha soldier with 15 years of service should be paid exactly the same pension as a Commonwealth soldier with 22 years of service. However, a “Proportionate Rate” will be the most logical and justifiable basis for increasing the Gurkha pension. This is to say that if “a Commonwealth national in the British Army with 22 years of service gets £22 a month as pension, a Gurkha soldier with 15 years of service should get £15 a month as pension”. Although Gurkhas have been declared as an integral part of the British Army and have served under the same Queens Regulation as the rest of the British army, separate rules and terms of services were forced upon Gurkhas that set out discriminatory rules like low pay and allowances, low quality accommodation and food, long term family separation and early retirement at fifteen year point (if not promoted further). Therefore, the choice of the length of service to retire at 15 years point was not that of the Gurkhas but was forced upon them by the UK Ministry of Defence.
Despite the low perks compared to the rest of the British Army, the Gurkhas were made to pay the UK taxes and the National Insurance (NI) and were issued with temporary NI numbers in their pay slips. However, the money collected from the Gurkhas as taxes and National Insurances were never deposited with the UK Inland Revenue department by the UK Ministry of Defense. 
| UNITED BRITISH GURKHAS EX-SERVICEMEN’S ASSOCIATION 9 Rhodes Moorhouse Court, Morden, SM4 5NR United Kingdom Phone: 0208 2862877 - 07506 600360
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