New Delhi, Jan 5 (NationPress) - On Monday, the Supreme Court instructed the Central government and the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to reach a decision within a four-month timeframe concerning the revision of the wage ceiling under the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme (EPFS). This ceiling has remained stagnant for over 11 years.

A Bench comprising Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar issued the directive while examining a public interest litigation (PIL) that emphasizes the issues arising from the fixed wage ceiling, which has left a significant number of workers outside the coverage of the EPFO, a welfare initiative aimed at providing social security to employees in the organized sector.

Justice Maheshwari's Bench allowed the petitioner, Dr. Naveen Prakash Nautiyal, to prepare a fresh representation within a two-week period, accompanied by a copy of the court's directive, mandating that this be resolved within four months thereafter.

The petition, submitted by lawyers Pranav Sachdeva and Neha Rathi under Article 32 of the Constitution, argued that the current wage ceiling of Rs 15,000 per month is “arbitrary and irrational” and fails to correlate with inflation, minimum wage standards, or growth in per capita income, despite multiple recommendations from expert panels and Parliamentary committees.

The plea pointed out that while minimum wages set by the Central government and various states have progressively increased, the EPFO wage ceiling has been frozen since September 2014, resulting in the exclusion of employees earning slightly above Rs 15,000 monthly from EPF benefits.

“This inconsistent approach has led to the exclusion of large segments of the workforce, which contradicts the objective of offering social security to employees in the organized sector,” the petition claimed.

Furthermore, the PIL underscored that the Public Accounts Committee of the 16th Lok Sabha, in its 34th report, noted that if even the lowest tier of workers is not included in welfare schemes, “the very purpose of having social security schemes is defeated.” It recommended regular revisions of the wage ceiling every three to five years to counteract the effects of inflation.

It was also noted that the EPFO’s own Sub-Committee on Enhancing Coverage and Managing Related Litigation had in 2022 advocated for raising the wage ceiling and enrolling all employees as EPF members up to the new ceiling. However, although these recommendations were approved by the Central Board of Trustees (EPF) in July 2022, they have yet to be implemented by the Central government.