The All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) organised protests on June 24, 2024, against the significant reduction in penalties for non-deposit of PF contributions by corporations. This move by the NDA - Modi regime has been termed as permission for open looting by corporations and a betrayal of workers' hard work and earnings.
The AICCTU General Secretary Rajiv Dimri has condemned the recent Guggette brought in this regard and said that this government has been implementing policies diametrically opposite to those put forth by the trade union organisations in various tripartite and bipartite democratic mechanisms and institutions. The latest notification published by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, drastically reduced the rates of penalty levied against defaulting employers in EPF. This was done keeping the Central Board of Trustees of EPFO in the dark and without any consultation with the unions.
On June 14, 2024, the Ministry of Labour and Employment issued a new notification significantly reducing the penal charges for delays in depositing contributions to the EPF, Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS), and Employees' Deposit-Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI), which include workers' contributions. AICCTU strongly opposes this anti-worker, pro-corporate move by the Modi 3.0 government. The government is legalising illegalities and encouraging corporate fraud even with workers' PF contributions, inviting corporations to violate its laws.
Under the EPFO Act of 1952, penalties are imposed by the EPFO to deter delays and ensure timely deposits into the provident fund by penalising defaulters. The new notification reduces the penalty to only 1% per month, or 12% annually, on outstanding contributions, down from a previous maximum of 25% for defaults of six months or more.
AICCTU has labelled this as an open looting of workers' hard-earned money and demands the immediate withdrawal of this notification by the NDA-Modi government. AICCTU urges the working class across the country to vehemently oppose this move.
Protests were held at many centres by trade unions affiliated with the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) on 24 June. At Patna AICCTU leaders Ranvijay Kumar, RN Thakur, SK Sharma, Honorary President of employees’ federation (Gope Group) Rambali Prasad, Chandra Shekhar, Jitendra Kumar and Murtaza Ali addressed the protesters.
