‘Giving EPF benefit not a matter of choice, it is binding on employer’

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) remained the talk of the town when the Union Government put several barriers on the withdrawal of the fund. The PF department is considered the backbone of the salaried class and it ensures that each employee, falling under its purview, must get social security benefits through various government-run schemes. The recent amendment that caused a huge hue and cry among various employees unions is related to the continuity of the EPF membership, as full EPF balance cannot now be withdrawn before attaining the retirement age of 58 and the age limit to withdraw 90 per cent of the PF balance has also been increased. However, the implementation of the recent amendment has been stayed till May, 2016. Tribune correspondent Nikhil Bhardwaj talked to Dheeraj Gupta, Regional PF Commissioner, under whose jurisdiction four districts of Jalandhar, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur fall. Gupta talks on various issues concerning the welfare of employees.

What is PF Department?

EPFO, a statutory body of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, ranks among the world’s largest social security organisations in terms of membership and fund size. The number of accounts is around 15 crore and almost 5 crore subscribers are regularly contributing to the fund. We have to ensure that every eligible employee gets the EPF benefit.

What are the initiatives taken by the PF Department for the welfare of the employees and employers?

The EPFO will become truly paperless and extremely citizen friendly in the days to come. Some of the EPFO’s major initiatives worth appreciation are the distribution of pension to the pensioners on the first day of the month, online registration of establishments, online submission of returns and remittances by the employers through Net-banking and online facility for the filing of statutory returns by the PF exempted establishments. Besides launching mobile application, SMS-based UAN Activation and missed call services for the EPF members, the EPFO has also done away with the mandatory requirement of affixing one rupee revenue stamp on claim forms, simplifying the procedure and bringing relief to millions of PF subscribers every year. With the activation of the UAN services, the members will be able to collate their PF accounts. The members can also view their updated accounts and can download the same.

There are reports that the department has been facing a shortage of workforce due to which most of the cases reach conclusion in a slow manner. Your comments.

Like any other department, we have to optimally manage the existing infrastructure and resources to provide better services to all our stakeholders in an efficient manner. These are the policy issues which have to be decided by our apex decision making body, the Central Board of Trustees.

There was a huge hue and cry over the recent amendments, putting restrictions on subscribers’ own funds. Your views.

The government has notified the enhancement in the statutory monthly wage ceiling for making contribution under the EPF & MP Act from Rs 6,500 per month to Rs 15,000. This was done to extend the PF coverage to an additional 50 lakh workers. It has also notified the enhancement in minimum pension to pensioners under Employees’ Pension Scheme 1995 to Rs1,000 to benefit about 28 lakh existing pensioners.

What is EPFIGMS and how it can be used by employees to redress their grievances?

The EPFO has an online grievance management system (EPFIGMS). Grievances or complaints with respect to an employee’s provident fund such as provident fund contribution and withdrawal or transfer can be initiated with the help of this system.

Why some selective establishments are being targeted?

It is not true. The functioning of the department is completely transparent and without any bias. When some actionable information or complaint is received, the same is transmitted to Central Analysis and Intelligence Unit, New Delhi, which after the analysis of the data issues further directions and the field offices are duty bound to ensure the compliance of the Act. Time data exchange between various departments has increased considerably which has resulted in more actionable inputs that have to be investigated. I further appeal to the establishments who come under the ambit of EPF & MP Act, 1952, but have still not applied for the PF Code No. to apply on the OLRE Portal to avoid action from the department.

What is OLRE?

The EPFO launched the online registration facility for the allotment of provident fund code number to companies in June 2014. The new facility allows the PF code number to be allotted within a day. By November 2015, more than 78,000 establishments have benefited by taking their PF code number online.

How does the department go ahead in taking action against erring establishments violating the PF Act?

The EPF & MP Act, 1952, has various provisions to ensure compliance from the defaulting establishments like inquiry under Section 7A for deciding the dispute regarding the applicability of the Act on any establishment and for the determination of dues against any establishment. Any such inquiry is deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of Sections 193 and 228, and for the purpose of Section 196 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860). An Enforcement Officer of the department has the authority under Section 13 of the Act to carry out search or seizure against the establishment. The authority to enforce the recovery of dues under Section 8B to 8G of the Act which includes attachment and sale of the movable or immovable property of the establishment or the employer; arrest of the employer and his detention in prison; appointing a receiver for the management of the movable or immovable properties of the establishment or the employer: Prosecution under Section 14 against defaulters before the appropriate court of law for non submission of returns and non-deposit of remittances. Action under Section 406 /409 of IPC for non-payment of employees’ share of contribution deducted from the wages/salary of the employees but not deposited to the fund.

Most of the workers working in industrial units are being kept in dark by industrialists to prevent them from getting social security benefits?

For spreading awareness among the workers, the PF office Jalandhar has been conducting seminars, UAN awareness camps, PF Aapke Dwar programmes and Nidhi Aapke Nikat programme from time to time.

Notices served to government offices in Punjab for compliance of the EPFO Act regarding labourers engaged by private contractors are not being taken seriously by the Punjab Government officials. Why does not the department take strict action against officials in a time-bound manner?

Whenever it has come to the notice of the department, action as per the provisions of the Act is taken which can be seen from a no. of inquiries under section 7A/14B and in pipeline against municipal councils, corporations, Sukmani Societies for Citizen Services, Health Societies among other government departments.

There are thousands of inoperative accounts lying with the PF department.

Reversing its five-year-old decision which barred inoperative EPF accounts from earning interest, the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) on, March 29, 2016, has now decided to pay interest on all such accounts from April 1, 2016. The accounts of members who do not receive contributions for a continuous period of three years are treated as “inoperative accounts”. Interest on these accounts was stopped in 2011.

What action can be taken against PF employees found indulging in corrupt practices?

Action as per the departmental rules and CCS (Conduct) rules, 1964, is taken in accordance with the guidelines of the CVC if verifiable complaints are received against any employee.

Most of the employers give excuse that they are unaware of the rules and regulations of the EPFO Act. How are they being made aware?

The employers and employees are made aware of the Act and new amendments from time to time through camps in industrial areas, seminars, e-mails, postal correspondence, newspapers, website messages, training programmes, pamphlets and banners etc.

Is there any system of rewarding PF employees for doing good job in the department?

The system of rewarding for good performance has to be made uniform across the regions. However, they are also awarded at local level every year in the form of small gifts, awards etc. as a token of appreciation. Zonal training centres also award them by issuing certificates.

EPFO has recently received GOLD award for its UAN programme. How will UAN help workers, especially those who change their job frequently from one company to another and also from one city to another? 

Continuous efforts of the management and field offices have been acknowledged through this award. The UAN has been designed to act as an umbrella for multiple member IDs allotted to the same individual on account of different employments. The UAN serves the twin purpose of enabling EPFO to identify the member without intermediation of the employer and also to ensure speedy, transparent and efficient service delivery to the member directly.

In Jalandhar, there are many establishments where 20 or more employees are working but still not covered under the PF Department. Why you are not taking action against such establishments? What is your action plan?

We have conducted raids against such establishments and have collected information about these from other departments such as Education, Labour, ESIC, Railways, MES, NHAI, PWD and the Punjab Building and Construction Welfare Board etc.