CPM deplores Centre's decision on EPF fund

New Delhi, Jul 30: The CPI(M) strongly opposed the decision of the trustees of the Employees Provident Fund what it alleged at the behest of the Centre handing a huge amount of workers' provident fund to finance companies for speculative purposes in the stock exchanges.

The party, in a statement issued here, said with this decision, around Rs 2,40,000 crore in the corpus fund and another Rs 30,000 crore through annual increment fund will be literally gifted to the corporates.While the companies can make profits, there is no guarantee of minimum returns to the workers. Thus, the savings of workers over the years of hard work can be wiped out through speculation, the statement said.

This decison reverses a hard-won gain of working classes over years of struggle for a minimum guaranteed return on their contribution after their retirement.

This decision marks the beginning of a process of privatisaton of workers and employees savings which had been strongly opposed by the CPI(M) which had ensured that the UPA government did not go ahead with this anti-worker policy.

Even now, the decision was pushed ahead in the most undemocratic way in spite of the strong opposition by a majority of workers' representatives.

The reported late selection of the Reliance Capital as one of the fund managers is an indication of the cost of support to this ''tainted Government''.

The CPI(M) urged the Government to refrain from implementing this anti-workers decision, the statement added.

UNI