Excelsior Correspondent
UDHAMPUR, Jan 22: Regional Provident Fund (PF) Commissioner – Prasant K organized an awareness camp, here today for the employees of private schools of district Udhampur, Reasi and Doda, in collaboration with the J&K Private Schools Association, Jammu.
Assistant Provident Commissioner Davinder Singh, Enforcement Officers Mihir Kumar Sahoo and Hariharan, deployed by Ministry of Labour & Employment, Govt of India, briefed the gathering that the Central Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, will now cover workers in the two newly carved Union Territories (UTs) of J&K and Ladakh after the bifurcation of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019. The Central Act has now replaced the Jammu and Kashmir EPF Act/Schemes 1961, they said.
Ajay Gupta, General Secretary J&K PSA Jammu, resented the notification 3962(E) issued by the Government of India on October 31, 2019 as inhumane as it extends the provisions to J&K through Central EPFO to all the establishments, employing ten or more persons without giving any pension benefits to already registered employees on the one hand whereas in rest of India it is twenty and above as per Employees Provident Scheme 1952 on the other hand .
President of the Association, Kamal Gupta demanded enforcement of all central rules in newly created UTs. To grant social security, he also demanded pension benefits to the employees who have been already registered in erstwhile State of J&K after October 25, 2012 as both employee and employer have contributed @ 12% each. To save the employers from the penalty, he also demanded notification regarding extension in the deadline for filling of online contribution till ending March 2020 as there is disruptive internet services in the region since long.
Members also appealed to the organizers to issue clear cut notification to save them from harassment regarding the settlement of wrong posting of data with regard to names, account numbers; amount etc in the erstwhile CPF Department.
Others, who spoke on the occasion, included Rameshwar Mengi, Ajay Singh, Ashwani Sharma, O P Chandail, Sat Paul Mansotra, Kulwinder Singh, V M Sharma and Vineet Gupta.