EPFO may fix interest on PF for 2015-16 in January: Dattatreya

Retirement fund body EPFO is likely to fix higher interest on PF deposits for 2015-16 than 8.75 per cent provided in last two fiscals, in the retirement fund body's trustees' meeting in January, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said today.
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation has been providing higher rate of interest on provident fund deposits since 2013-14.
"There is a possibility of giving higher rate of interest this year (2015-16). Our talks with Finance Ministry on the issue are on," Dattatreya said after the meeting of the EPFO's apex decision making body - the Central Board of Trustees (CBT).
"I will discuss the issue with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and will likely announce the interest rate at the next CBT meeting to be called in January," the minister said.

He referred to rate cuts by the Reserve Bank while talking about the issue of fixing rate of interest.
Finance Ministry wants EPPO to retain the 8.75 per cent interest rate for the current fiscal and is expected to reduce rate of return on its small saving schemes and PPF.

A source said that the Finance Ministry is doing all these efforts to nudge banks to cut their lending rate so that cost of borrowing comes down for industry as well as consumer for boosting economic activity.
Today's meeting of CBT was called to discuss the restructuring of the retirement body.

The minister informed that he has constituted a sub-committee of CBT members headed by an additional secretary of Labour Ministry to provide input on the issue.
He also said that the committee will give its report in next 15 days and then the CBT will deliberate on it.
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Replying to a query, the Minister said, "Employment
generation is a top priority for the government and in the next 2 years, we will skill 3.2 crore employees of the unorganised sector."
Talking about the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2017, which was passed by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha yesterday, Dattatreya said, "It is going to be more beneficial for the workers especially 35-crore unorganised sector workers so the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2017 will be strictly implemented."

The Minister pointed out that all the payments to workers according to the law will have to be made in first week of the month.
"Delay in payments of wages will attract penalty. This was a long pending demand of trade unions. They were demanding it for 20 years," Dattatreya said.
Parliament yesterday passed a bill seeking to enable the Centre and state governments to specify industrial units which will have to pay wages only either through cheques or by transferring into bank accounts.
The Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2017, which was passed by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha, also enables the employers to pay wages to workers through cheque or by transferring into their bank account without their written authorisation. The Lok Sabha had passed the bill on Tuesday.

The Minister also said that he will write letters to all Chief Ministers urging them to participate in a nationwide campaign to open bank accounts of all unorganised sector workers.