Trade unions stage protest walkout from EPFO trustees meet

New Delhi, July 26 (IANS) Trade unions on Tuesday staged a walkout from Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's Central Board of Trustees meeting here to protest the Finance Ministry's recent notification to use Rs 17,000 crore from inoperative accounts under EPFO to fund welfare of senior citizens.

"We have walked out of the Central Board of Trustees' meeting on Tuesday after they circulated a notification by Finance Ministry saying that a fund would be created from credit balance remaining in the unclaimed PF accounts for a period of over seven years from the date of declaration of those as inoperative accounts," All India Trade Union Congress Secretary D.L. Sachdev told reporters.

Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya tried to placate the unions, but to no avail.

"We will withdraw the agenda item from today's meeting. Will look into the issue," Dattatreya told the union representatives, requesting that they resume the meeting, convened to discuss raising the EPFO's investment in Exchange Traded Funds from the current 5 per cent to 10 per cent. However, they did not return.