EPF ACT BEING AMENDED TO INTRODUCE MULTI-BENEFIT
EMPLOYEES INSURANCE SCHEME
The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) is meeting
here tomorrow to give a go ahead to necessary amendments to the
Employees Provident Fund & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
These include a proposal to introduce
a Multi-benefit Employees Insurance Scheme by the Employees Provident
Fund Organisation. The proposed Scheme will benefit those EPF
beneficiaries who have lost their jobs as a result of the ongoing
economic restructuring. The Executive Committee constituted by
the Central Board of Trustees to make a detailed study, has approved
the proposed scheme to provide benefits by way of unemployment
assistance. The proposed amendment would convert the existing
Employees Deposit Linked Insurance Schemes, 1976 to Multi-Benefit
Employees Insurance Scheme, retaining the existing death benefits
without any change. Under the amended scheme any employee who
loses the job as specified in the scheme will be entitled for
a monthly unemployment insurance benefit for a specified period
subject to graded rates linked to the age and membership.
The Scheme envisages a small contribution both
by employer and employees during the tenure of employment. The
Executive Committee after extensive deliberations has recommended
that employer would contribute 1.25% and employee 0.5% of the
wage to the new scheme. The Committee has also suggested that
government should also make a contribution at least at the rate
of 0.25% so that half of the last wage for one year can be given
as employment insurance to the member.
The Meeting will also consider several other
proposed amendments to the Act in lieu of the mobility of workforce
from formal to informal sector due to the increase in the outsourcing
of work. These include policy changes for increase in coverage,
reducing the threshold limit for coverage, strengthening the dispute
resolution mechanism, empowering the authorities to gather information
from third party sources to detect under reporting and non-reporting
and on taking help from law enforcement agencies to secure compliance.
It is also proposed to regulate the exempted Trusts by replacing
the word ‘exempted’ with the word ‘permitted’, to provide for
automatic cancellation of permission in the event of default and
to recover past accumulations and interest.
