Employees Provident Fund Organization
The Ministry of Labor and Employment is reconsidering a long-pending proposal to increase salaries for provident fund coverage. The recent increase in salary has created a danger of a large number of employees being left out of the social security net. Under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), the salary limit can be increased to Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000 per month from the current Rs 15,000 per month. The need for this rethink has been felt after the huge increase in the salaries of industrial employees in the National Capital Region (NCR). As a result, many skilled workers may be left out of the mandatory EPFO coverage, hurting the government’s goal of ‘universal social security’.
ESIC is also considering increasing the limit
The officials are also considering increasing the salary limit under the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), so that both the schemes can be brought at par with each other for better compliance and ‘ease of doing business’. The current salary limit under ESIC is Rs 21,000 per month. A senior government official said in an ET report that the ministry has taken cognizance of the recent increase in salaries in some states and is assessing its impact on social security coverage for these employees. The official said the matter is being discussed internally, and the ministry will soon seek necessary approvals before starting wider consultations with all stakeholders to finalize the new salary limit.
Pressure will increase on employers
Increasing the salary limit for mandatory contribution under EPFO will expand its coverage, allow more employees to join the formal workforce, and also increase their retirement funds. However, this may put some financial pressure on the balance sheets of employers. The official said that increasing the salary limit will have a huge financial impact on employers, and hence the government wants to involve all stakeholders in the process before presenting a formal proposal to the EPFO’s Central Board of Trustees and seeking approval.
Supreme Court had also warned
The government had earlier also considered increasing the salary limit under EPFO to bring it at par with ESIC. The last revision in EPFO’s salary limit was made in the year 2014, when it was increased from Rs 6,500 per month to Rs 15,000 per month. This initiative of salary limit has now gained further momentum, because recently the Supreme Court had emphasized on the need to update this threshold in line with rising salary rates and inflation. The court had warned that due to the current limit, an increasing part of the workforce is falling out of the scope of social security.
