Scheme workers likely to get EPF benefit

 Allowing the respected authorities to bring in more unorganised sections under the Employees’ Provident Fund armpit, the Centre Board Trustees of the EPFO has unanimously decided to extend the social security benefits offered by them to more workers, particularly those working under the scheme workers category like Anganwadi workers, Anganwadi helpers, mid-day meal workers and ASHA workers. According to the report, there are nearly fourteen lakh Anganwadi workers, around twelve lakh Anganwadi helpers, at least twenty-five lakh mid-day meal workers and over ten lakh ASHA workers in our country. If the government approves the recommendation given by the CBT of the EPFO, a rough total of sixty-one lakh more workers will get the social security benefits rolled out by the EPFO. Under the provisions of the Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, the centre government has the power to include more establishments under the EPF armpit by simply publishing a notification stating that. Presently, the contributory rate of the ordinary, organised, workers is twelve per cent of the total income; whereas, dismissing the trade unions’ arguments that the government should pay the share of contribution, which a worker -in this case, a scheme worker- has to remit to the EPF fund from his income, for the scheme workers, the CBT has recommended to reduce the contributory rate from 12% to 10 % for the scheme workers. Many see this step as an initial move aimed at extending the social security provisions to a level in which all of our workforces enjoy the benefit of the EPF.

Vinod

Photo Courtesy : Google/ images may be subject to copyright