The refusal of the Finance Ministry to approve the higher interest rate of 9.5% decided by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for its subscribers, for the year 2010-11, is most deplorable. In September 2010 itself after evaluating all matters the EPFO decided to increase the interest rate from 8.5% to 9.5% for the year 2010-11. This was a long pending demand of the Central Trade Unions which was at last agreed to by the EPFO on the basis of surplus finds discovered.

The Finance Ministry’s refusal to ratify this decision is completely unjustified. All the trade unions jointly have to agitate and make the government / Finance Ministry accept the decision.