Crucial EPFO Board meeting tomorrow

New Delhi, Mar 9 (UNI) A crucial meeting of the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) Board tomorrow is likely to be a stormy affair, with central trade unions, including the BMS and the INTUC, determined not to settle for less than 9.5 per cent rate of interest for 2007-08 and the government's reported insistence on 8.25 per cent.

Last year the interest rate was paid at 8.50 per cent.

''If the government insists on reducing the rate of interst, we may be compelled to stage walk out of the meeting,'' Trade Unions (TU) leaders M K Pandhe and D L Sachdeva told UNI today.

Mr Pandhe, the CITU President and Mr Sachdev, the AITUC National Secretary said there is no justification for the government to reduce the interest rate in the backdrop of the raising rate of interest being offered by various banks, post office and other financial institutions.

Referring to the postponement of the fund trustees last meeting on December 7, they referred to the Labour minister's commitment that he would talk to the Finance minister to hike the rate of interest on the SDS and other such investments.

They said it is very strange that while the prevailing market rate has crossed 9.5 per cent, the government wanted to maintain 8.5 per cent on the Special deposit Scheme( SDS) where about 80 per cent of the fund to the tune of Rs 80,000 crore is lying with the RBI.

Since the fund is the largest social security instrument for over 40 million subscribers and their dependent families, the government has certain social responsibility towards them, which come to around 20 million people, they said.

Mr Pandhe denounced the government reported move to further bring down the rate to 8.25 per cent, asserting that they would not agree to the same under any circumstances.

There are also reports that the government may go in for a compromise with the TU leaders because of its political compulsions in view of the electoral debacle of the Congress government in Punjab and Uttarakhand and the ensuing UP assembly polls.

Though the main agenda of the meeting is to discuss the rate of interest on EPF, the meeting is also scheduled to find ways and means on implementation of deduction of Leave Encashment money given to the workers in the backdrop of a court ruling and streamlining of the functioning of the EPFO among other things.

UNI