Standing Comt on Labour for 9.5 int rate on EPF

New Delhi, Dec 12: Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour today urged the government to safeguard the interest of over 40 million subscribers of the Employees Provident Fund by fixing the rate of interest at 9.5 per cent per annum.

''9.5 interest is not unreasonable in the prevailing scenario, particularly when the overall prices are rising rapidly,'' the Standing Committee on Labour said in its 18th Report submitted in both the houses of Parliament.

Stating that the 26-member Committee, headed by CPI senior leader S Sudhakar Reddy, was aware of the limitations within which the rate of interest on EPF was determined, 9.5 interest rate was reasonable under the present circumstances.

It said the Committee had also recommended that the rate of interest from 2005-06 should be safeguarded by providing the members the rate of interest at 9.5 per cent.

Asking the government to evolve a consensus before taking any decision on important issues relating to the workers, the Committee said whatever be the parameters of fixing the rate of interest, their interest had to be protected.

The Committee's recommendation for 9.5 per cent on EPF assumes significance in the wake of reports that the Government wants to further lower the interest rate to 8 per cent from the existing 8.5 per cent.

The central trade unions have been pressing for restoration of interst rate to 12 per cent and have urged the new Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes to take the issue to the Prime Minister.

Apparently this is the reason why the EPFO during its recent meeting deferred the decision on the issue.

UNI