Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 23: Minister for Planning, Labour & Employment, Ajay Kumar Sadhotra on Saturday called for regular auditing of accounts of Provident Fund Organization, saying delays in doing so is not in its best interests.
Chairing a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the organization here this afternoon, the Minister stressed on close monitoring and streamlining the working, making it employee friendly. He said the Government will provide all necessary support in this regard as the organization is charged with onerous responsibility of safeguarding the trust of work force.
“The organization should keep it in mind that it is the custodian of hard earned money of the working class which they save by putting in hard toil”, he said while calling for most humane approach in settling the claims of accounts holders.
The Minister took exception to delayed auditing of the organisation and said that such a tendency should be eschewed at all costs.
During the meeting, the Board was told that 98 per cent claims of the accounts holders were settled during 2011-12. Of 17,560 claims, 17,255 were settled.
Mr Sadhotra urged the officers that they should ensure that cases between the employees and employers are settled amicably and situations of rift should be averted at all costs. “Taking the issues to courts is neither in the interest of the employees nor of the employers”, he said, maintaining that the Provident Fund Organisation can act as a strong bridge between the two. He said the employees should in no way feel harassed while seeking settlement of their cases.
The Minister asked officers to rededicate themselves for the welfare and betterment of the work force and help them sort out their problems. He specifically mentioned tendencies among employers for going for forced settlement of various claims and urged the officers to see that such type of exploitation is dispensed with and issues sorted out amicably.
He was given resume of activities of the organisation over the years and assured that it will not lag behind in mitigating the problems of stake holders.
The Board also discussed the budget of the organisation for the just concluded financial year which amounted to Rs 692.29 lakhs. The Board approved the financial proposals of Rs 741.29 lakhs for the year 2012-13.
Commissioner Secretary Labour and Employment Yeddullah and Secretary Shahid Anayatullah were among those present n the meeting.
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