Labour secretary rules out using ESIC's funds for paying workers' wages

Labour Secretary Heeralal Samariya on Wednesday ruled out appropriating funds of the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) for payment of wages to workers or to employers to meet their salary bill during the coronavirus lockdown.

There has been lobbying for sometime for using funds of the retirement fund body EPFO as well as ESIC for providing relief to workers to help them sustain themselves during the nationwide lockdown.

Earlier this month, a labour ministry spokesperson had also denied any such move to appropriate funds of the ESIC and Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to give relief to workers under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana or any other scheme.

During a webinar organised by industry body FICCI, Samariya said, "ESIC (fund) is a money of insured persons and employers who are contributing (to this social security scheme). It already has a provision that if an employee is unemployed then 25 per cent of wages can be paid."