Under the 7th Pay Commission minimum wage ceiling the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is likely to raise to Rs 25,000 from the existing Rs 15,000.

The proposal drafted by Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will be sent to the Union Government which is likely to be approved, the report suggests.

The decision has been taken by the members of Sub-committee of the Central Board of Trustees, EPFO – the highest decision-making body – on contract workers held on November 7.

According to reports, the EPFO has proposed a hike in the wage limit of all employees drawing basic salary Rs 25,000 would have to contribute to the provident fund. However, those government employees drawing above that limit will have the option to become a member of the provident fund and can have an option to select or reject if they want to.

The move taken by the EPFO comes in the wake of changes in the wage structure in accordance with the proposal of the 7th Pay Commission. Most of the trade union representatives at the CBT sub-committee meeting noting that the minimum wage of the Central government employees after implementation of the 7th Pay Commission report has been hiked to Rs 18,000, due to which the EPFO’s wage ceiling of Rs 15,000 needs to be altered.

The CBT pointed out that there could be a further increase in minimum wages from Rs 18,000 is likely with the trade unions demanding minimum wage to be increased at least Rs 21,000 to Rs 22,000.

In fact, the Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI) is directly linked to the minimum wage ceiling. At present, If an employee is earning up to Rs 15,000 he or she can avail of benefits under the Employees Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI). The scheme provides life insurance of up to Rs 6 lakhs.

Source: FE

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Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Labour & Employment

19-December-2014 18:53 IST

Shri Bandaru Dattareya chairs 205th meeting of Central Board of Trustees of EPF

Claim settlement period reduced from 30 days to 20 days

Union Minister of State (IC) for Labour & Employment, Shri Bandaru Dattareya, today chaired the 205th meeting of CBT, EPF in New Delhi. The meeting was attended by representatives of employers, employees, the Central Governments and State Governments.

During the meeting, certain important issues were deliberated and decisions taken. It was decided that a separate Committee shall be constituted for looking into the question of deployment of EPFO funds for low cost housing, especially matters related to investment. It was decided that ultimate aim would be to benefit the EPF subscribers by providing avenues for housing. It was decided to allow EPFO to open accounts with other nationalized banks in addition to State Bank of India so as to facilitate collection of EPF contributions from employers. The Board recommended that necessary enabling provisions may be made in the scheme. In a major decision, the Board also recommended that the maximum permissible time for EPF claim settlement be brought down from the existing 30 days to 20 days thereby providing quicker service to the subscribers. The challenges posed in the existing investment environment was also discussed by the Board and it was decided that in order to maximize the yield on investment, an expert Committee shall be constituted for making appropriate recommendations. A mechanism for regulating the investments made by exempted funds shall also be worked out by an expert Committee.

The annual report for the year 2014 in respect of EPFO was approved by the Board. As per the report, on an average single day in EPFO, 211 establishments are newly registered and 1,16,206 members are enrolled. Rs 379 crore is received as contribution and Rs. 174 crore is disbursed to beneficiaries. Also, on an average, every single day 49,344 claims are settled and 5.43 lakh member accounts are updated. Also, the organization disposes 778 pubic grievances every single day.

The Board also approved the Revised Estimates for the year 2014-15 according to which 79,377 crore are received (expected) as contribution showing an increase of 14.77%. Out of the above, Rs. 59,346 crore is expected as EPF contribution, Rs. 19,000 crore as pension contribution and Rs. 1,031 as EDLI contribution. Likewise, income (administrative charges) is expected to be Rs. 4,905 crore which is an increase of almost 16% over the last financial year.

SOURCE- PIB

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