Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar on Wednesday claimed that Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) settled 52 lakh Covid-19 non-refundable advance claims, and disbursed ₹13,300 crore.

“The country has faced the pandemic with brave face,” Gangwar said while speaking during industry body Assocham’s Foundation Week event. Keeping this in mind the government had allowed over six crore subscribes of EPFO to withdraw an amount not exceeding their three months basic pay and dearness allowance from their EPF account in view of the lockdown to fight the pandemic.

The Centre had launched the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) on March 26 to help the economically weaker sections cope with the pandemic. A provision for withdrawal from the EPF scheme was announced by the government and an urgent notification issued, providing for non-refundable withdrawal to the extent of basic wages and DA for three months or up to 75 per cent of the amount standing to member’s credit in the EPF account, whichever is less.

Labour codes

On the implementation of labour codes, he asked the industry representatives to provide their feedback on the draft rules of three labour codes on industrial relations, social security and occupational health safety and working conditions.

Also read: Wage support to be made available through EPFO contribution

The Ministry has circulated the draft rules on these labour codes to seek feedback of stakeholders. These three codes were passed in monsoon session of Parliament this year. The labour code on wage was passed by Parliament in 2019. The rules on that have already firmed up. The government intends to implement all the four codes in one go from April 1, 2021.

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