The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has written to the Centre demanding a higher wage ceiling of Rs.25,000 per month for its social security schemes raising the possibility of more workers being added to the provident fund pool.
All employees earning salary of up to Rs.25,000 per month will be eligible to receive provident fund savings. At present, EPF is optional for workers earning more than Rs.15,000 per month.
“It was (unanimously) decided that a proposal should be sent immediately to the Central Government to increase the wage ceiling under EPF & MP Act, 1952 and Schemes framed thereunder to Rs 25,000 per month,” according to the minutes of the meeting of EPFO’s sub-committee on contract workers, held on November 7.
Trade union leaders, who were a part of the EPF committee, argued that “even in the Seventh Pay Commission, the minimum wage was Rs.18,000 per month which might be further increased as the trade unions had been demanding a higher minimum wage of at least Rs.21,000-Rs.22,000.”
“As the minimum wage itself had become more than the existing wage ceiling of Rs.15,000 per month for EPFO, it was high time that wage ceiling in EPFO be also increased,” Hind Mazdoor Sabha’s A.D. Nagpal said.
Previous revision
The previous wage ceiling was revised in September 2014 when the limit was increased from Rs.6,500 to Rs.15,000 per month.
Recently, the Labour Ministry had recently raised the threshold wage limit for coverage of Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) from Rs.15,000 to Rs.21,000 per month allowing more workers to get health care benefits.
At present, around 3.7 crore active members are subscribed to EPFO out of which about three crore workers are those in the earning category of Rs 15,000 and below. Both employer and employee contribute 12 per cent each of the latter’s income towards EPF.
Railway employees
The EPFO has written to the Union labour ministry demanding inclusion of 13 lakh Indian Railways workers under its fold.
In the meeting, EPFO’s Central Provident Fund Commissioner V.P. Joy said “many contract workers are deprived of PF benefits on account of the fact that the Central Department or organisation where they are working does not come under the purview of EPF & MP Act, 1952.”
