The labour ministry has notified the more flexible investment pattern of 2008 for the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), but minus its provision for investment in equity.
As the Centre faces multiple hurdles, BJP-governed states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have swiftly moved in to usher in radical reforms as they aim to take a larger share of the FDI pie.
Retirement fund body EPFO has retained 8.5 per cent interest rate on employees' provident fund (EPF) for 2019-20 for its over six crore members as decided earlier, and also began crediting the same into their accounts on Thursday. A large number of the members of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) would be able to see their updated EPF accounts with credit of 8.5 per cent interest for 2019-20, from Friday, a senior official told PTI. The official further said the labour ministry has already sent the direction to credit the 8.5 per cent interest on EPF for 2019-20 to the EPFO, and the body has already started crediting interest into the members' account for the last financial year.
Working hours cannot go beyond 48. Those who give a four-day week will have to provide three consecutive holidays after that.
The government wants to reduce the rate of contribution - part of the employee's share - for a class of workers depending upon age, income or gender, without changing the contribution from the employer's share.
Air India and Indian Airlines merged in 2007.
E-retailer Flipkart has signed a memorandum of understanding with the labour ministry for short-term training of its new employees.
'The actual amount due to Jet Airways employees is Rs 1,200 crore, and the management is giving only Rs 52 crore.'
The rest 25% would be paid to the subscriber at the age of 58.
The Union home ministry and the labour ministry have asked state governments to coordinate with the chief labour commissioner's (CLC's) office to give a comprehensive data of all the migrant workers by April 11.
Labour ministry guidelines say workers returning to cities must get housing, health insurance, facemasks. The Centre has also asked states to issue guidelines to employers to take care of the needs of migrant workers.
The EPFO had decided that 8.15 per cent interest from its debt income would be credited immediately and the remaining 0.35 per cent capital gains from the equity sale would be given later, subject to its redemption.
The Union labour ministry has said that it can invest part of the Rs 5 lakh crore (Rs 5 trillion) provident fund corpus in the stock market provided the finance ministry guarantees safety of the workers' money.
The bill to amend payment of gratuity Act in order to double the ceiling of tax-free gratuity to Rs 20 lakh, would soon be placed before the Union Cabinet for approval.
Govt working on policy to regularise migrant workers, labour ministry puts out broad contours of the policy for public discussion
Notices have been issued to the company for penal damages.
The direction to the labour ministry was given after the prime minister met a workers' delegation led by G Sanjeeva Reddy of Indian National Trade Union Congress.
EPFO manages a corpus of about Rs 257,000 crore with subscribers' base of over 4.5 crore.
However, the hike in salary for government officials may take some time as the Centre had earlier this year decided to put a freeze on any hike in the DA of its employees till July, 2021, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cabinet may take up amendments to 3 laws on Wednesday; but no relaxed retrenchment norms yet.
As per the EPFO income projections, retaining 8.8 per cent rate of interest for the current fiscal would have left a deficit of Rs 383 crore. Hence, it was lowered to 8.65 per cent
Retirement fund body EPFO will cut exposure in corporate bonds and park more funds in the secure government securities.
Protests by central labour unions and widespread criticism from Opposition parties because of job losses on account of demonetisation and the GST have put the contentious labour reform proposals in the slow lane.
Net new enrolments with retirement fund body EPFO grew by nearly 20 per cent to 12.37 lakh in February compared to the same month in 2020, according to the payroll data released on Tuesday, providing a perspective on formal sector employment amid the coronavirus pandemic. The provisional payroll data of EPFO highlights a growing trend with the addition of 12.37 lakh net subscribers during the month of February, 2021, a Labour Ministry statement said. The data reflects growth of 3.52 per cent in net subscribers addition in February 2021 over January 2021.
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's apex decision making body, the Central Board of Trustees, had decided to provide 8.65 per cent rate of interest on EPF deposits last December.
Of the total cash outgo Rs 40,000 crore is towards enhanced expenditure under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Program and Rs 33,771.48 crore have been sought for direct benefit transfer under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and National Social Assistance Programme.
Eight of the 30 companies in the BSE Sensex that shared data reported 99 fatalities in 2016-17 against 86 in the previous year. These lives were lost due to industrial accidents at manufacturing facilities. Fatalities owing to road accidents were excluded from the count.
The remaining 0.35 per cent will be credited in December this year, if the EPFO is able to redeem its equity investments.
Currently, industries with up to 100 workers were allowed to do this.
The company stated that it was taking steps for cost rationalisation across all businesses to maintain liquidity and due to a prolonged slowdown it had to take a few tough measures.
The portal, which has been tentatively named by the labour and employment ministry as the National Portal for COVID-19 Affected Unorganised Migrant Workers, will gather the details of all the unorganised sector workers who are stranded in relief camps, residential or industrial clusters.
The government has also revised the minimum wages for unskilled non-farm workers upwards by 42 per cent to Rs 350 per day
The labour ministry notification banning employing children below 14 years as domestic helps or at eateries, came into force even as the children had little to cheer about in the absence of a comprehensive rehabilitation package.
It is not just about archaic limits, there are a number holes which, if plugged, will come to the aid of taxpayers, rues Neha Pandey Deoras
The decision to drop the proposal was taken last month during a meeting that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley held with labour ministry officials.
The government has approved payment of 8.75 per cent rate of interest on PF deposits in 2013-14 for over five crore subscribers of retirement fund body EPFO.
According to the EPFO estimates, there would be a surplus of Rs 151.67 crore after providing 8.65 per cent rate of interest for 2018-19 on EPF.
Over five crore provident fund subscribers governed by the EPFO will get 8.75 per cent interest on their deposits for the current fiscal.
According to new proposal for amendements in the labour law, a worker will be allowed to object to being laid off within three years, against no clear period specified in the law now.
The finance ministry had last year notified a new investment pattern for EPFO.
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