Unions Push Back on Using EPFO Funds for Senior Citizen Welfare – What's Your Take?

Senior Citizen Welfare Fund Proposal

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in Budget 2015-16, proposed the creation of a Senior Citizen Welfare Fund using unclaimed deposits of about Rs 3,000 crore in the PPF (Public Provident Fund) and Rs 6,000 crore in the EPF corpus. This corpus will be used to subsidize the premiums of vulnerable groups such as old-age pensioners, BPL cardholders, small and marginal farmers, and others.

Opposition from Unions

Unions opposed using the retirement fund body EPFO's money for other schemes, as well as the proposal to make it optional for workers to pay PF contributions. They also opposed the proposed freedom for employees to choose between social security schemes run by EPFO and others.

Concerns About Provident Fund Diversion

There should not be any diversion of the Provident Fund. The fund is accumulated because the contributors could not claim it due to:

• Being unable to get it processed
• Death of the claimant
• Rejection by PF authorities for one reason or another
• The owner, contractor, or establishment not existing

So, the fund is lying there. Efforts should be made to identify the claimants/beneficiaries and not resort to backdoor methods. Though the category referred to deserves attention, let us identify some other source, but not the hard-earned money of PF holders. Once allowed, the total fund would be drained with dubious systems.

Proposal for Utilizing Funds for Retired Senior Citizens

While the proposal of the Minister is good, it is suggested that the funds may be utilized for the welfare of retired senior citizens who were members of PF while working in public sector undertakings like Neyveli Lignite Corporation and who have been deprived of the pension benefits.

It is unfortunate that Neyveli Lignite Corporation, a Navaratna public enterprise, has failed to take care of its employees who struggled hard in the initial stages and contributed greatly to the growth of the organization from 1953. Many people who joined other organizations are getting a pension. But it appears that Neyveli Lignite Corporation has cheated its employees who toiled for the growth of the organization.

Improving EPFO's User-Friendliness

The working of EPFO should be made more user-friendly, either through technology or a manual system. Only then can we discuss the creation of funds for the needy people in our society. EPFO's reputation is currently at a low ebb due to its callous bureaucratic and procrastinating behavior. Any governmental scheme will not be effective unless there is a shift in the mindset of the people within the EPFO organization.

Challenges for Retired Employees

Can anyone explain why a retired employee has to move from one office to another when their statutory contributions have been correctly deducted at the source and promptly deposited with the EPFO? The responsibility to remit the pension to the employee's account lies with the organization.

I have been a PF member contributing to it since April 1974. I last worked as AGM-HR & Admn. in a Steel Plant near Bengaluru. Due to the SC ban on Iron Ore, the factory stopped operations and retrenched all employees. Now, upon attaining 58 years, I am granted a pension of Rs.2,175 per month starting from September 2014.

Though PM Modi intervened and helped low-paid people to receive a minimum of Rs.1,000 per month, there is a need to increase the pension for those who have served long periods and mainly rely on the pension for the rest of their lives. The PF office has accumulated crores of rupees from unclaimed, rejected, pending, and left-out cases. This surplus could be considered to enhance the current pension instead of it lying idle and not being utilized during one's lifetime.

What is the use of crores lying unused when low-paid people are struggling to make a living? Many individuals are living in rented houses and are unable to afford medication costs due to the lack of medical insurance and other welfare facilities. Retirement life becomes meaningless for many, and some even contemplate an early death.

I request senior PF authorities to consider the cost of living and explore how the PF surplus can be utilized for the welfare of retired employees. If our Honorable PM took the bold step to increase the low pension to Rs.1,000 per month, the PF authority should be given an opportunity to review their pension scheme to provide a fair living amount for meaningful expenses at least.

Regards

Utilizing Unclaimed Deposits for Welfare

All efforts should be made to identify the owners of unclaimed deposits. Newspaper ads and TV ads should be utilized, and if no one comes forward, the established procedure for handling unclaimed deposits should be followed for the disposal of funds.

There is a significant amount of money lying unclaimed with insurance companies and post offices. This money can be pooled and used for old-age pensions for verified individuals with no income, medical treatment, or other humanitarian causes, duly checked and audited by the CAG.

The Government of India must act carefully and ensure that genuinely unclaimed funds are utilized for welfare.

Recently, I attended a seminar hosted by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata. It was attended by national-level office bearers of trade union organizations like CITU, INTUC, BMS, etc. All of them echoed similar sentiments and the fact that money is every workman's requirement post-retirement as the capability to work for a living gets reduced drastically. I might take the liberty of this educated forum to term it as "right." In fact, talks are on to review and upgrade the gratuity formula and link it to the retirals to provide for better living standards and face medical liabilities in a better way. Respecting all good intentions and efforts of the government, we are all aware of the real face of ESI hospitals in our country.

Hoping for correct implementation and accountability of resources for better post-retirement prospects for the working class in India through PF, ESIC, and Gratuity in times to come. Unions are correct to raise their concerns in this direction, as very little thought has been spared for the post-retirement sustenance of the working class. The government has a role cut out to upgrade the existing statutes and create a homogeneous and hassle-free system for all of us.