Mr Sunil Barthwal, Central Provident Fund Commissioner, EPFO officially launched the CII – EPFO Helpdesk today during Industrial and Employee Relations Summit 2019, organized by Confederation of Indian Industry, in New Delhi. Catering to more than 3 Lac industry representatives and their employees, the helpdesk aims at quickly addressing the queries regarding Provident Fund. This will greatly help address employees and employers queries on PF, and will also help EPFO to disseminate information on new initiatives. This is indeed a strong step for Ease of Doing Business.
Mr Barthwal during his address stated “I am very happy to launch the CII – EPFO Helpdesk. In last few years, EPFO has greatly expanded the ambit of online services by leveraging IT tools and innovation. Initiatives such as Aadhar based e-sign, ECR 2.0, Umang, Pension Portal etc are extremely beneficial to employees and hence, we must ensure that our employees are aware of these benefits. This will encourage a sense of security and happiness in them. We are aiming at truly transforming the Industrial & Employee Relations, to Human Relations.”
He explained the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan Yojna launched by Government of India as another historical step for the informal employment. People working in the organized sectors have less to worry about their financial security, however the same was not the case for the labours who work in the unorganized sector. With Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan Yojna offers regular pension for the unorganized labour force
Mr M S Unnikrishnan, Chairman, CII National Committee on Industrial Relations and MD, Thermax Ltd. thanked Government of India and EPFO for the vision and excellent support. “CII has always supported and welcomed the reforms taken by Ministry of Labour and Employment towards simplification, codification of labour laws and submitted all industry and employee relevant submissions. CII had come out with a framework on hiring workers for seasonal & project -based requirements, directly on the rolls of the company. This framework has been recognized by the Government and notified under Employment Standing Orders on March 2018. The Notification on Fixed Term Employment is certainly a win-win situation for both Industry & Trade Unions. Industry is indeed working on a focus manner towards employee / human improvement index.” He added.
Ms Dagmar Walter, Director, ILO Decent Work Technical Support for South Asia, during her address, stressed on bringing in gender equality on the Indian industry shop-floor. She advocated in favour of technical advancements along with a revolutionary movement towards knowledge development through data and research.
Mr Vrijesh Upadhyay, National General Secretary, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, added that industry leaders and trade unions need to work closely for the growth of the Indian industry. The times are changing and changing for a positive transformation. Industrial and Employee relations need to be strengthened by active participation of all stakeholders like government, industry leaders, trade unions and think-tanks.
Mr D L Sharma, Managing Director, Vardhman Yarn & Threads Ltd. during his address mentioned that Industrial and Employee Relations form an intrinsic part of all economies across globe. The 4th Industrial Revolution is likely to make the most critical impact with technological intervention changing the whole pattern of human interface.
26 February 2019
New Delhi