EPFO union opposes posting of deputed officers to cadre restructuring panel

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An officers' union of the retirement fund body EPFO has sought withdrawal of a provision which enables the appointment of officers on deputation in a newly-constituted panel set up for cadre restructuring.

The EPF Officers' Association (EPFOA) has written a letter to the Central Provident Fund Commissioner (CPFC) of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation, Ramesh Krishnamurthi, seeking the removal of the deputation clause from the terms of reference (TOR) of the cadre restructuring (CR) committee constituted by the EPFO on November 25.

The letter said that earlier the EPFOA had challenged the practice of appointing officers on deputation and had got a favourable judgement from the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in 2007.

Another case has also been filed by EPFOA against such improper appointment, and it is currently pending before the Punjab & Haryana High Court, it said.

Despite this, whenever there is talk of cadre restructuring (CR) in EPFO, the issue of deputation is brought back to life. During the previous CR exercise in 2017, the issue of deputation was resurrected by the then CPFC.

The officers' union also pointed out that there is no evidence that the new committee's constitution or its terms were approved by the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), and that it is a breach of due process.

"If EPFO becomes a deputationist organisation, we will lose the very essence that makes us a productive, flexible and high-performing organisation. EPFO officers deserve much better than this shabby treatment being meted out to us. Therefore, it is requested that the deputation clause must be immediately removed from the TOR of the committee constituted on November 25, 2025, and no meetings of the committee may be convened till the same is done," the letter said.