EPFO trustees failed to reach a consensus on raising the minimum monthly pension to Rs 1,000 at their meeting on Wednesday.

The Central Board of Trustees (CBT), which includes employers, employees and Government representatives, may now take up the matter at its next meeting slated to be held in April.

Sources said differences arose as the employers and Government were not willing to raise their contribution to the pension kitty and wanted employees to pay for it.

“We have decided to form a committee to suggest modalities for implementing the proposal to raise the minimum pension to Rs 1,000 a month. The committee will give its report within a month,” the Union Labour Minister, Mr Mallikarjun Kharge, said after the CBT meeting.

“Who is this Government for? It can think of giving Rs 1,600 crore to Kingfisher Airlines, but has no money for workers' pensions,” said Mr Dipankar Mukherjee, a CBT member and senior CITU leader. He said the unions were united and clear that employees were in no position to hike their share.

According to estimates, the proposal to raise the minimum pension for all subscribers to Rs 1,000 would entail annual outgo of Rs 600 crore. As of March 31, 2010, 14 lakh out of 35 lakh pensioners get a monthly pension of less than Rs 500, as per Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) data.

The proposal to raise the minimum pension to Rs 1,000 a month is estimated to require an additional contribution of 0.63 per cent of subscribers' basic pay and dearness allowance to the pension account.

This would have to be over-and-above the 8.33 per cent contributed by employers toward the pension account of employees, as well as the 1.16 per cent provided by the Government under the scheme.

aditi.n@thehindu.co.in

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