'Decide on EPF wage cap review in 4 mths'

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to consider deciding within four months on revising the wage ceiling under the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme, which has remained unchanged for the last 11 years.

- PTI

A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and A S Chandurkar passed the order while disposing of a plea filed by activist Naveen Prakash Nautiyal. The plea claimed that the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), which administers social security schemes for employees, currently excludes workers earning more than Rs 15,000 per month from coverage.

Advocates Pranav Sachdeva and Neha Rathi, appearing for the petitioner, told the court that the wage ceiling has not been revised in over a decade, even though the minimum wages notified by the central government and various states are higher than the existing EPFO ceiling of Rs 15,000 per month. Sachdeva said this has deprived a majority of workers of the benefits and protection of the EPFO scheme, which is essentially a social welfare measure. He submitted that employees earning above the wage ceiling are excluded from availing benefits under the scheme.