TUs press for 9.5 interest rate on EPF, threaten 'walkout'

New Delhi, Jan 24 (UNI) The crucial meeting of the Central Board of Trustees of EPF on Saturday to decide the rate of interest for 2006-07 is likely to be stormy with the central trade unions (TUs) insisting on 9.5 per cent.

The five Left-affiliated TUs- the AITUC, CITU, HMS, UTUC and UTLS- would walk out if the government chose to reduce the rate by "majority vote," the TU leaders told UNI in separate interviews.

The total strength of the Board is 41 with ten representatives of the workers and an equal number of the employers and the remaining 21 members from the Central and state governments.

CITU President M K Pandhe and AITUC General Secretary Gurudas Dasgupta said the TUs had came out with several alternative suggestions including the setting up of the Infrastructure Fund, the increase in the rate of interest on the Special Deposit Scheme where over Rs 1,40,000 lakh crores is parked to maintain the 8.5 per cent rate of interest.

The BMS came out with a suggestion of setting up the Workers' Bank to serve the twin purpose of serving the employees with low interest rates and providing 9 per cent rate of interest to over forty million subscribers.

AITUC National Secretary D L Sachdev said if the government insisted on 8 per cent as was being reported, the TUs would not only record their protest and might even stage a walkout from the meeting." All TUs are opposed to the government move to reduce the rate of interest on the EPF." Mr Sachdev made it clear that" we want 9.5 per cent, the rate which continued for previous four years barring the last year which was 8.5 per cent.'' He said there was no justification for any reduction in the rate when the rate of interest by the banks and the Post offices had increased. The AITUC leader emphasised that it was the" statutory obligation of the government to protect the social security fund." Mr Dasgupta made a case for establishing the Infrastructure Fund or invest the PF money in the profitable PSUs like the ONGC, BHEL or the IFFCO.

The AITUC General Secretary , who is also the CPI Floor leader in the Lok Sabha, decried that the Labour Minister was not in touch with the TUs and had not given" any concrete response" to their request which they made at the last meeting of the EPF Board here on December 7 last year that he talk to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram to take steps to not to reduce the EPF rate.

Mr Sudhakar Reddy, the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Labour, said the Committee had already sent its recommendation of 9.5 per cent rate to the government in the last session of Parliament.

Mr Reddy, who is also a CPI Lok Sabha MP, said," While the recommendation was unanimous, but the government seems to be applying dilly dallying tactics and is out to reduce the rate. We will stage demonstration during the Budget session." He also came out with a suggestion that the Union government should encourge the state governments to borrow loans from the PF funds and not from the World Bank to whom they paid back at interest rate ranging between 10 and 12 per cent which include the hidden charges like consultancy and other charges.

INTUC Vice president Ashok Singh said that when the government was ready to give subsidy and expressed its inability to pay more than 8 per cent in view of the fund earnings, it should set up a cell of financial experts to guide it on the matter in the changed situation.

Mr Pandhe, while pleading that even the Canara Bank now gave 8.5 per cent rate on deposits for three years, said the government should retain the rate as their earnings remained with it for about 40 years of their service.

BMS Organising Secretary O P Oghi said they had already given a suggestion in the last meeting that the government could set up a Workers Bank by putting in the Fund" unclaimed money" which ran into lakhs of crores of rupees and maintain the rate of interest with no difficulty.

He said "street protests" by all the TUs was the only option to make the government see reason and give up its adamance on investing the Fund money in the Stock Exchange to ensure" better returns." UNI