Tuesday, December 13 2005 12:10 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Stepping up pressure against the reduction in interest rate on EPF, over half a dozen trade unions yesterday (Dec 12, 2005) jointly announced country-wide protests on December 20 and requested the immediate intervention of the Prime Minister in the issue.

Trade unions, barring the Congress-backed INTUC, said they would hold demonstrations and rallies all over the country to protest the Government's decision to reduce the interest of EPF to 8.5 per cent ignoring the unanimous plea of workers' unions to maintain it at 9.5 per cent.

In a joint statement, AICCTU, AITUC, BMS, CITU, HMS, TUCC, UTUC and UTUC-LS, said they would observe December 20 as 'All India Protest Day' against the Centre's policies.

Though the Prime Minister 'vaguely' assured to look into the issue, the "stand of the Finance Minister, subsequently endorsed by the PM, that it is for the EPF organisation to find resources for paying the interest, is nothing but a bald rejection of the demand to restore the 9.5 per cent interest rate," they said.

"The resources of EPFO have been depleted by the arbitrary reduction of the administered rate of interest and lowering of interest rate on Central Government securities," they said in a statement here.

"Hence, the Finance Ministry should accede to the unanimous recommendations by the CBT, EPF to enhance the rate of interest on Special Deposit Schemes (SDS), where over 80 per cent of EPF corpus stand invested, enabling the EPFO to maintain the interest rate at 9.5 per cent," they said.