Finance ministry urged to raise EPFO pension to Rs 1,000 a month

Finance ministry urged to raise EPFO pension to Rs 1,000 a monthThe minimum pension for the members of the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) should be raised to Rs 1,000 a month, the labour ministry has recommended.

Currently, the EPFO has thirty-five lakh pensioners as its members, of whom seven lakh receive Rs 1,000 or more as pension per month, while fourteen lakh receive less than Rs 500. Some members even receive as low as Rs 12 per month.

If the finance ministry agrees to the recommendation, it will have to fund additional Rs 539 crore per year. But, who will foot the additional bill - the government or workers - remains a fraught issue.

The labour ministry has tabled two options: first, the two-year bonus given to every worker who completes twenty years of work be withdrawn; or second, that the government bear the additional burden.

The labour ministry favours the first option, claiming it would not only increase the minimum pension to Rs 1,000, but would also let for a further 5 per cent increase.

But trade unions are opposing the first option, saying it would take away employees' earned right. A D Nagpal, secretary of the Hind Mazdoor Sabha, said, "The government will take money from the workers to give it back to workers."

The central trade unions, instead, suggest that the government's contribution should be raised from current 1.16 per cent to 1.79 per cent instead.