Prof Narinder Kumar Dhar
Private and public sector employees of Jammu and Kashmir State are deprived of the benefits which are prevalent to the subscribers of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) at the National level.
Under the prevailing J & K, EPF rules, monthly credit of subscription, or any other credits what so ever, towards their CPF, deposited in the EPF Commissioner offices at Jammu and Kashmir from Ist. April of every year, to 31st March of the following year, does not qualify for any interest during the year eventually hampering the growth of employee’s individual CPF balances. On the contrary, every deposit against GPF of a government employee earns interest from the day the amount is credited (book adjusted) in the employee GPF account. This is discriminatory and unjust.
The annual rate of interest for more than five years has not been revised till date and rate of interest for past ten years has remained lesser than the rate annually declared at the national level,
Further, most of the subscriber accounts are not updated and the subscribers are not issued their account statements (Schedules), for years together despite their repeated requests to the concerned officials thus eroding the rule which entail issuance of yearly schedule to the subscriber account holders as mandatory on part of the provident Fund Department under the J&K employees Provident Fund Act.
During the course of exigency arising out of circumstances for any subscriber, the process of withdrawal becomes complicated. Thus, in anticipation of timely receipt of one’s own money the troubled and helpless subscriber employee adhere to the means of greasing the palms of the officials at the helm of affairs.
With every deposit, an amount of rupees equivalent to 5% of the total deposit amount, is deposited by the employer as the maintenance charges of the EPF, towards this government office. It is disgusting that, on the whole, the account records of the concerned labour class employees are yet to be computerized and updated.
While the Government of india has launched online facility for viewing the EPF account statements by account holders and also allowed on line withdrawal and transfer of the mony from subscribers EPF account to individual’s other account. The J & K Labour Department seems to have no concrete policy for the welfare of private industrial, institutional and other employees governed under labour laws. Even most of the labour friendly schemes, already prevalent at the national scene are not enforced at the state level to percolate their corresponding benefit among the private, public sector and autonomous body employees, who are also equitably contributing towards the infrastructural, industrial, agricultural and educational growth of the state. It is apt to mention that many such schemes do invoke hardly any financial burden on the state exchequer.
The ignorance of the employees is depriving them of their dues and with every passing day, the account holders suffer recuring financial loss.The subscribers need to wake-up and come under one banner and fight for their rights and urge the govternment to implement all the EPF rules as are prevailing in this regard at the national level under NPP.
The Government, without testing patience of these employees, should show concern and initiate legitimate and effective measures in order to regulate proper mechanism for mitigating the grievances of the ever calm huge population of private and public sector employees governed under labour laws that shall ensure their honorable and dignified living in the modern civic society.
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