7th Pay Commission: Govt flip-flop on EPF may lead to strike on July 11? Employees want higher pay

New Delhi, April 29: The flip-flops by Union government on the revised EPF withdrawal norms has emboldened the government employees for nationwide protests.

If reports are to be believed then, the central government employees are planning to strike work on July 11 so that they get higher wages and allowances under the 7th Pay Commission.

According to a Zeenews report, "First, under the public outlash, the government withdrew the budgetary proposal to make 40 percent of the EPF corpus taxable. Now, under the protest of garment factory workers in the Bangluru area, central government again withdrew its February 10 notification which prevented an employee from withdrawing 100 percent of the EPF corpus before the age of 58 years."

"This labour movement of the garment workers of Karnataka state is an eye-opener for all the other working class in the entire country,"said PS Prasad, Secretary General, Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers Karnataka State was quoted as saying in the Zee report.

"If the Central Government employees also participate in trade union action against the retrograde recommendations of the VII CPC similar to the Garment Workers of Karnataka, we too can get similar results and hope for a better wage revision and a decent wage hike", Prasad was further quoted as saying.

Thousands of garment workers, mostly women, staged protests against curbs on withdrawal of provident fund (PF) before attaining the age of 58 years, especially the amount contributed by the employer with government interest.

According to police estimates, a record one lakh workforce from other factories and firms across the city assembled at Bommanahalli industrial area in the south and Peenya industrial area in the north to demonstrate against the PF withdrawal norms.

OneIndia News