A Parliamentary Committee addressed a significant issue related to non-payment of contribution by private sector employers towards their employees’ provident fund.
How Did This Happen?
The parliamentary committee asked the government to take up the matter with EPFO in case any such grievances are received on Thursday, March 27.
The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice recorded this observation in its 146th report.
Further tabling in parliament on the Demands for Grants (2025-26) pertaining to the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG) and Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare.
The report noted that “It has come to the notice of the Committee, that in the form of public grievances a large number of employees who work in private sector where funds are under the watch of EPFO, the employer do not pay their share of contribution and even sometimes do not even pay the employees’ contribution as well.”
Improving Quality of Grievance Disposal
It appears that some of the private sector organisations have made trusts, and deposit their and their employees’ contribution in those trusts, the panel stated.
Further the report mentioned, “The money is also not paid to the employees. The hard-earned money of employees which have been mandatorily deducted and employer’s share is not credited to the employee’s EPFO account. In such instances when any grievance of such type is received by the Department, the Committee feels that it should take up with EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation).”
Moving ahead, the Committee appreciated the 10-step CPGRAMS (Centralised Public Grievances Redress and Monitoring System) reforms process that was adopted by DARPG.
This process has improved the quality of grievance disposal and reduced the time lines.
With the help of the CPGRAMS, citizens can raise grievances against government departments.
According to the report, “the Committee commends the Department for a faster rate of disposal of grievances by reducing the average disposal time from 32 days in 2021 to 16 days in May 2023.”
Moreover, the panel recommended the DARPG to integrate state portals with CPGRAMS in order to further improve the disposal rate.
This would also help in standardizing the naming conventions, and establish a feedback mechanism to monitor and enhance the quality of grievance redressal, the report said.
