EPO pensioners too to get ESI medical services

58.62 lakh EPF pensioners to benefit

The Centre for the first time has extended Employment State Insurance Corporation health benefits to the Employees Provident Fund Organisation pensioners too.

Disclosing this at a media conference here on Saturday, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya said that the ESIC primary and secondary medical services were so far extended only to ESIC retired insured person and spouse.

Now 58.62 lakh Employees Provident Fund pensioners would also get the medical facilities in 1,400 ESI dispensaries, 150 ESIC hospitals and suitable schemes were being formulated by the Central Board of Trustees of EPF, he said.

The wage ceiling of Rs. 6,000 to earn interest on EPF has been enhanced to Rs. 15,000 and now all those subscribers who paid above Rs. 6,000 would be paid interest in line with the Supreme Court judgement.

ILO conventions

He said that Indian government took a significant step forward by ratifying two important International Labour Organisation Convention 138 — children below 14 years of age should not be employed for any work and another Convention 182 — prohibiting adolescents in the age group of 14 to 18 years in hazardous and worst form of vocations.

The Union Cabinet ratified the above two ILO conventions on March 31. While convention 138 related to banning child labour, the other convention 182 prohibited bonded labour, sale and trafficking of children, employing children as slaves, sexual exploitation, employing children for drug peddling, pornography and illegal and anti-social activities.

Punish violators

With India joining the league of nations that ratified the two conventions, Centre could formulate national policies and link them to the Right to Education Act, Mr. Dattatreya said.

The ratification would make it possible to award stern and strict punishment to those who violated the Act and pave way to rid India of child labour and enforce compulsory education of children more effectively.

He said foundation stone would be laid for the EPFO sub divisional office at Kukatpally on Monday and the Union Government approved setting up Centre for Integrated Rural Development for Asia and Pacific at the NIRD.