nastyleg
01-11-2010, 05:23 PM
UK: Gurkha veterans lose court battle for pensions
(January 11th, 2010 @ 12:03pm)
By SYLVIA HUI
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP) - A British court on Monday rejected a bid by retired Gurkha soldiers to win the right to be paid the same pensions as military personnel from Britain.
The ruling was the latest outcome in a string of high-profile court battles in which the former soldiers from Nepal fought for equal treatment with their U.K. counterparts. Gurkhas have been part of the British military for over two centuries, and have fought in the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan.
About 25,000 Gurkhas who retired before 2007 were not eligible for pension payments equal to their U.K.-based counterparts, the British Gurkha Welfare Society said. They were paid about a third of the monthly pensions given to U.K. soldiers because they were recruited from Nepal and stationed in the Far East.
But those Gurkhas who served after July 1, 2007- when their regiment moved from Hong Kong to Britain- were given improved payments because they had closer ties to the U.K.
Lawyers for the Gurkha veterans sought a judicial review of that policy, arguing that the inferior pension amounted to nationality and age discrimination.
The High Court ruled against the Gurkhas and ordered them to pay the government's legal costs. Gurkha veterans said they would appeal Monday's ruling.
Gurkhas have been part of the British military since the early 1800s and thousands of young men from the poverty-stricken Himalayan hills still apply to join the force every year.
Last year, Gurkha veterans in Britain won a major legal victory when a court granted them the right to settle in Britain after years of lawsuits and lobbying.
http://www.ktar.com/index.php?nid=46&sid=1251124
(January 11th, 2010 @ 12:03pm)
By SYLVIA HUI
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP) - A British court on Monday rejected a bid by retired Gurkha soldiers to win the right to be paid the same pensions as military personnel from Britain.
The ruling was the latest outcome in a string of high-profile court battles in which the former soldiers from Nepal fought for equal treatment with their U.K. counterparts. Gurkhas have been part of the British military for over two centuries, and have fought in the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan.
About 25,000 Gurkhas who retired before 2007 were not eligible for pension payments equal to their U.K.-based counterparts, the British Gurkha Welfare Society said. They were paid about a third of the monthly pensions given to U.K. soldiers because they were recruited from Nepal and stationed in the Far East.
But those Gurkhas who served after July 1, 2007- when their regiment moved from Hong Kong to Britain- were given improved payments because they had closer ties to the U.K.
Lawyers for the Gurkha veterans sought a judicial review of that policy, arguing that the inferior pension amounted to nationality and age discrimination.
The High Court ruled against the Gurkhas and ordered them to pay the government's legal costs. Gurkha veterans said they would appeal Monday's ruling.
Gurkhas have been part of the British military since the early 1800s and thousands of young men from the poverty-stricken Himalayan hills still apply to join the force every year.
Last year, Gurkha veterans in Britain won a major legal victory when a court granted them the right to settle in Britain after years of lawsuits and lobbying.
http://www.ktar.com/index.php?nid=46&sid=1251124