APSRTC employees urge EPFO to ensure higher pension, resolve pending issues
Employees of the Andhra Pradesh Public Transport Department (APPTD/RTC) have urged the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to resolve long-pending issues relating to higher pension
Employees of the Andhra Pradesh Public Transport Department (APPTD/RTC) have urged the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to resolve long-pending issues relating to higher pension, EPF and EPS benefits, pending pension claims, PF account transfers and technical glitches affecting thousands of employees. A delegation led by AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) Vice-Chairman and Managing Director N. Balasubrahmanyam, along with senior RTC officials and representatives of the RTC Joint Action Committee (JAC) of employees’ unions, met the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner-I, Hyderabad, P. Sreekanth, at the EPFO regional office in Barkatpura on Friday and submitted a detailed memorandum. RTC JAC conveners Y. Srinivasa Rao Damodara Rao said the delegation sought immediate intervention to ensure that every eligible employee receives higher pension benefits in the spirit of the Supreme Court’s judgment.
Citing several unresolved issues affecting RTC employees, the JAC requested the EPFO to approve the joint option applications of nearly 6,000 employees whose applications for higher pension had been rejected. It also sought a one-time opportunity for around 8,000 employees who could not remit the required amounts within the stipulated time due to delayed demand notices, technical issues in the EPFO portal, lack of awareness and financial constraints. The employees should be allowed to make the payments along with applicable interest, the JAC said. The leaders also urged the EPFO to recalculate higher pension by taking into account the revised salaries and dearness allowance under the 2013 and 2017 Pay Revision Commissions (PRCs).
They objected to the implementation of the Double Slab (Roorkee Formula) instead of a Single Slab system, stating that the present method was contrary to the Supreme Court’s judgment and was reducing pension benefits by 30 to 40 % for many employees. Other demands included immediate sanction of pension to employees above 58 years of age who have already applied, refund of nearly ₹35 crore contributed to EPF by employees who continued in service after attaining 58 years, payment of EPS amounts to APPTD employees who opted for the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), disposal of pension claims of deceased and retired employees within one month and a special drive to clear all pending PF claims, account transfers, higher pension applications and other technical issues.
The BriefWire