A decision on the interest rate on PF deposits for 2011-12 and fixing the minimum pension to Rs 1,000 a month for Employees Provident Fund subscribers is likely to be considered by the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) in its meeting on Friday.
The meeting is crucial as the Government is thinking of slashing the PF rate from 9.5 per cent to 8.5 per cent, sources said.
All central trade union representatives on the CBT, including those backed by the Congress, said they would oppose any such move.
“We will oppose any move to reduce the interest rate from the present 9.5 per cent,” Mr G. Sanjeeva Reddy, President, INTUC, told
About 30 Members of Parliament, cutting across party lines, have also written to the Prime Minister opposing any move to reduce the PF rate at a time when workers were already facing the “onslaught of price rise.”
On Wednesday, the Union Labour Minister, Mr Mallikarjun Kharge, confirmed in the Rajya Sabha that the “Recommendation of the Pension Implementations of the Committee of EPFO to increase the minimum pension amount to Rs 1,000 per month for its subscribers is to be placed before the Trustees in its ensuing meeting for its consideration.”
He said the recommendation for increasing the minimum pension per month would require 0.63 per cent increase in the contribution of 8.33 per cent made by employers.
As of March 31, 2010, 35 lakh pensioners were subscribing to the EPFO, of which 14 lakh persons are said to be getting a monthly pension of less than Rs 500.
The number of EPFO pensioners getting a monthly pension of Rs 1,000 is seven lakh. In fact, there were even cases where pensioners were getting a monthly pension of a measly Rs 20 a month, sources said.
Central trade unions, which have called for a general strike on February 28, have been demanding a minimum of Rs 2,000 as pension to EPF contributors. Later, they arrived at a consensus with employers on Rs 1,000 per month, which now needs to be to be ratified by the CBT.