Special Correspondent
Opposition members in the Lok Sabha including DMK’s T.R. Baalu and Trinamool Congress’ Sougata Roy on Monday criticised the Centre for lowering the interest rate on Employees Provident Fund deposits to 8.1% and demanded its restoration to its earlier level.
Speaking during the Zero Hour, Mr. Baalu demanded that the Centre should restore 8.5% and fix the minimum pension under the employee pension scheme (EPS) at ₹3,000 per month.
The DMK member, who represents Sriperumbudur, said the Seventh Pay Commission had recommended ₹18,000 as minimum wage and ₹9,000 as monthly pension.
However, the Centre pays only ₹1,000 as monthly pension under EPS, he said. “Adding insult to the injury, the EPFO has now reduced the interest rates on EPF from 8.5% to 8.1% . This is not good. I demand that the EPFO should restore 8.5% interest on EPF and there should be a minimum pension of ₹3,000,” Mr. Baalu said.
Mr. Roy also objected to the lowering of interest rate and voiced concern over the privatisation policy of the government.
“The government should not take the victories in the Assembly elections to ride roughshod on the workers. Already it has shown its teeth by reducing the interest rate on EPF deposits,” Mr. Roy said.
He said the government has sold Air India and Neelanchal Ispat Nigam Limited and has lined up for privatisation the Life Insurance Corporation, two public sector banks and listed out 36 public sector undertakings for strategic disinvestment, public sector undertakings built with public money.
