BJP in govt bins plea by old BJP on Employees’ Pension Scheme

Ashok Rao, a pensioner under the EPS, said the value of money had reduced in view of rising inflation during these years

Basant Kumar Mohanty   |   TT  |   New Delhi   |    08.04.22   ; The finance ministry has rejected a proposal to double the minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000 for low-paid workers enrolled under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), 1995, the labour ministry has informed Parliament.

In January 2014 when the BJP was in Opposition, Prakash Javadekar had held a media conference to demand an increase in the monthly pension to Rs 3,000. However, in the eight years of BJP rule, the minimum pension under the EPS has remained unchanged at Rs 1,000.

Ashok Rao, a pensioner under the EPS, said the value of money had reduced in view of rising inflation during these years.

“What all can you buy with Rs 1,000 a month? This pension is nothing. The minimum amount should have been calculated taking into account inflation,” he said.

Trinamul Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha, Santanu Sen, wanted to know on Thursday if the labour ministry had sent to the finance ministry a proposal to increase the minimum pension under the EPS to Rs 2,000 a month. Minister of state for labour Rameswar Teli said the finance ministry had not agreed to it.

“Ministry of Finance has not agreed to any such enhancement in minimum pension beyond Rs 1,000/- per month,” Teli said in a written reply.

The Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, provides for the institution of provident and pension funds and a deposit-linked insurance corpus for employees in factories and other establishments. The employer and the employee each contribute 12 per cent of the salary amount of the employee to the EPFO while 8.33 per cent goes to the EPS subject to a ceiling of Rs 15,000 a year.

Members are eligible for pension after turning 58, depending on their contribution and provided they have contributed for 10 years. Low-paid employees are entitled to an extra contribution from the government.

The labour ministry contributes to the pension fund at the rate of 1.16 per cent of the pay of members whose salary is less than Rs 15,000 per month. The central government spends around Rs 7,500 crore a year towards its contribution to the EPS for workers with low salaries.

AITUC leader Amarjeet Kaur said the government was never sincere about increasing pension. “The BJP had demanded an increase in pension when it was not in power…. After that, it quietly forgot the issue because the NDA is not concerned about pension,” Kaur said.