LOCAL Gurkha hunger strikers met with a top politician this week after calling for better pension support.

The meeting was in response to the hunger strike in August, with two of the hunger strikers, Gyanraj Rai from Reading and Dhan Gurung from Basingstoke, Labour MP for Reading East, Matt Rodda, and Labour MP for Portsmouth South, Stephen Morgan, also present at Westminster.

The 13-day hunger strike was calling for equal pensions for Gurkhas who retired before 1997, as they are not eligible for a full UK armed forces pension.

Those who served from 1997 onwards had the opportunity to opt into the Armed Forces Pension Scheme, a scheme with much higher rates than the previous Gurkha Pension Scheme due to a change in immigration rules.

The strike was called to a close on 19th August 2021 following the governments agreement to hold talks with the Gurkhas.

At the meeting, the Shadow Defence Secretary, John Healey, pledged to support the Gurkhas in their mission to get a fair hearing and greater justice from the government.

There are approximately 600 Gurkhas, and their families, in Reading; and Rodda believes we owe a great deal of gratitude to them in our community.

Rodda, said: “We owe the Gurkhas a debt of honour for their outstanding service to this country. I am calling on the Government to treat the Gurkhas decently and to speed up negotiations on the pensions issue.”

Following the strike, the Government agreed to establish a bilateral committee with the Nepali embassy, and representatives from the Gurkha community, the first of which is set to take place next month.