New Delhi: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Organisation today (Aug 9, 2004) decided on an interim interest rate of 8.5 per cent for the current financial year for over 3 crore subscribers.

Announcing the decisions taken at the Central Board of Trustees, its chairman and Union Labour Minister Sis Ram Ola said that there was a broad consensus on the rate, which would come down from 9.5 per cent now to 8.5 per cent.

The Left-affiliated trade unions CITU (Centre for Indian Trade Unions) and AITUC (All India Trade Union Congress) however, opposed the decision and threatened to take to streets against the curtailing of interest rates.

Harsubhai Dave of BMS (Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh), emerging from the meeting, said, "We will demonstrate against this in Delhi and Kolkata on September 20."

W R Varadarajan of CITU said, "We will observe a Demand Day on September 20 all over India to protest reduction in the rate."