Govt reconstitutes EPFO Board
- January 14, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Govt reconstitutes EPFO Board
Subject :Polity
Section: National Body
Context:
- The Centre reconstituted the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) by excluding representatives of the Opposition trade unions INTUC, AITUC and AIUTUC from the panel.
More on news:
- All India Manufacturers Association, an organization of employers started by legendary engineer M. Visvesvaraya in 1941,is excluded from the CBT.
- Laghu Udyog Bharti, an organization of employers supported by the RSS, has managed to send two members to the panel.
- There are two persons nominated for the post of vice chairman i.e.
- Minister of State for Labour and Employment, and
- Labour and Employment Secretary.
- There are five central government representatives, four from the Ministry of Labour and Employment, and one from the Ministry of Finance along with 15 state government representatives.
- The AITUC, which is one of the oldest trade unions in the country, has decided to raise its protests.
About Reconstituted EPFO board(Central Board of Trustees)
- In the place of INTUC, AITUC and AIUTUC, the Centre has newly inducted to the panel the Trade Union Coordination Centre, Self Employed Women’s Association and the National Front of Indian Trade Unions.
- The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh(BMS) , which is the trade union of Sangh Parivar, has retained three members in the panel.
- The CBT, EPFO is a tripartite, statutory body constituted by the central government under the provisions of section 5A of the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act,1952
- It has representatives of employees, employers and government.
- The role of the Board includes administration of the funds, delegation of administrative and financial powers for administration of the schemes, appointment of officers and staff, maintenance of accounts of income and expenditure and determining the annual rate of interest.
About Trade Unions:
- Labor unions or trade unions are organizations formed by workers from related fields that work for the common interest of its members.
- They help workers with issues like fairness of pay, good working environment, hours of work and benefits.
- They represent a cluster of workers and provide a link between the management and workers.
- The Indian Trade Union Act, 1926, is the principle act which controls and regulates the mechanism of trade unions.
- The BMS is considered as the largest union at present, followed by the INTUC. HMS and CITU.
About AITUC:
- The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) is the oldest trade union federation in India.
- It is associated with the Communist Party of India.
- It was founded on 31 October 1920 with Lala Lajpat Rai as its first president.
About International Trade Union Confederation(ITUC)
- ITUC is an international body of independent trade unions from 187 countries.
- The federation was formed on 1 November 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL).
- It is headquartered at Brussels, Belgium.
- Its role is crucial for any trade union to be elected to the workers’ representatives in the governing body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
- The Trade Union Development Cooperation Network (TUDCN) is an initiative of the ITUC whose main objective is to bring the trade union perspective into international development policy debates.
About EPFO:
- The Employees’ Provident Fund came into existence with the promulgation of the Employees’ Provident Funds Ordinance on the 15th November, 1951.
- It was replaced by the Employees’ Provident Funds Act, 1952.
- The Act is now referred to as the Employees’ Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 which extends to the whole of India.
- EPFO is one of the World’s largest Social Security Organisations in terms of clientele and the volume of financial transactions undertaken.
- EPFiGMS is a customized portal of EPFO with an aim to redress grievances for the services provided by EPFO.