Ministry goes all-out to get House nod for EPF amendments

Keen to push through amendments to the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, in the upcoming winter session of Parliament, the Labour Ministry held power-packed consultations with a group of ministers this week to firm up its position.
The legislation, among others, seeks to offer workers in the formal sector a chance to choose between the EPF scheme and the New Pension Scheme.
The meeting was attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya and Power Minister Piyush Goyal, sources said.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Steel Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh also took part.

"We just made a presentation to the group of ministers," a top-level Labour Ministry official told PTI.
Not just this, the ministry is also trying to get other labour reform bills pertaining to child labour, small factories and minimum wages passed in Parliament.

"It is a comprehensive amendment of and a total revisit to
the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. If finalised, the Bill will be presented during the winter session of Parliament," said another senior Labour Ministry official.
The session is expected to begin in the second half of November.
Of a host of proposals, the amendment seeks to waive off the mandatory PF contribution by workers at a certain monthly income threshold and change the definition of wages, which would include basic pay and all allowances paid to workers.

The definition change would increase PF contribution by workers and employers, but result in higher savings for employees.
According to the revised definition of wages, all emoluments or remunerations including all allowances would be payable to an employee in cash.
As a normal practice, some employers split wages of workers into numerous allowances to reduce PF liability, which is precisely what the amendment seeks to address.
In all, the ministry is preparing to present some 4-5 bills in the winter session of Parliament, the officials said.
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Bill, Small Factories (Facilitation and Regulation of Employment Conditions of Services) Bill and amendment to the Minimum Wages Act that aims to amalgamate four wage Acts are expected to come up in the winter session.