Union Minister for Labour and Employment M. Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said that the Centre was ready to help the employees in the private sector in increasing their pension amount only if there was consensus among the trade unions, the employers and the Government at the tripartite meetings.
He was replying to the felicitation on his 69th birthday organised here by the Dr. Ambedkar College of Education, of which he is the president. Mr. Kharge said that the Government had an open mind in increasing the pension amount, which was meagre, but the employees' representatives, who participate in the tripartite meetings should agree to increased cuts in the Provident Fund contribution by the workers. The employers also have to make a matching contribution to the fund.
Mr. Kharge said that with labour being a concurrent subject , the State Governments concerned should also play their role in helping the workers. They should try to convince the industrialists and corporate houses for making matching contribution, if the workers agreed to pay more for the fund.
The Minister said that the EPFO had a deposit of over Rs. 3 lakh crore with it and there were suggestions by financial experts that this huge money should be invested for earning more interest. But, this money had been deposited with the State Bank of India on the advise of the Reserve Bank of India. The workers would be affected, if the banks became bankrupt, as happened in some Western countries, he said and added that the Government had to be careful in handling the hard-earned money of the employees deposited with the Fund.
He said that the Medical Council of India had approved the request of the ESI Hospital at Peenya, here for upgrading its Post Graduate Medical Centre and allocated 12 seats and the students would be distributed on merit. The Director of Mines Safety in his ministry had accorded permission for starting its zonal office in the State. The Kudremukh Iron Ore Company had been requested to provide accommodation for the zonal office.
The Congress leader said that the State Government should improve quality service at ESI hospitals by providing more medical and paramedical staff on par with its own hospitals. He said that the people should know that 87.5 per cent of the funds on these ESI hospitals was invested by the Centre, but they were being run by the States.
Minister for Women and Child Welfare P.M. Narendra Swamy, the former Chairman of the Legislative Council and MLC Veeranna Mathikatti, N.L. Narendra Babu, MLA, S. Keshava Murthy and Shivaraj, BBMP councillors, honoured him with a shawl and garland.
