Labour dept to meet on December 14 over EPFO

NEW DELHI: In view of allegations by trade unions that the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is “fraught with corruption�, the labour ministry has convened a Parliamentary Consultative Committee meeting on December 14 to discuss the Organisation’s functioning.

For the first time, the members of the Parliamentary Committee will have discussions with regional PF commissioners to ascertain the EPFO’s functioning at the field level, an official release said here.

The decision was taken by labour minister Sis Ram Ola after the committee members, including representatives of TUs, sought a special meeting exclusively on the EPFO’s functioning.

The fear is that the EPFO is shielding big defaulters, largely PSUs.

AITUC general secretary Gurudas Dasgupta has alleged, “The EPFO doesn’t function and there is utter corruption since enforcement is marginal and coverage is less.�

In view of the meeting, the labour ministry has asked the EPFO to credit 8.5% interest to outgoing subscribers this year.