Labour Ministry News

EPFO added 14.58 lakh net members in March, and an increase of 1.15% in net payroll additions compared to March 2024.  

The data also includes rural job figures, for the first time ever, to widen the coverage, according to new series based on monthly data, released by the Ministry of Statistics.

The MoU is part of a series of agreements the Ministry is forging with private agencies to bridge the gap between demand and supply in the labour market. 

The month-on-month comparison of payroll data reflects a slight increase of 31,826 net subscribers in Feb. On a year-on-year comparison, February 2022 saw an increase of 1,74,314. The age-group of 18-25 years constitutes around 45 per cent of total net enrolments during the month.

Keeping the need of nursing staff in ESIC Hospitals, the minister announced to open a nursing college in Manesar. The announcement was welcomed by the Haryana chief minister with the commitment of providing 5-acre land for this nursing college.

The new series of WRI with base 2016=100 will replace the old series with base 1963-65. The government periodically revises the base year for major economic indicators. The tweaks reflect the changes in the economy and to capture the wage pattern of workers.

As on November 20, 8,43,89,193 unorganised sector workers have registered on the portal. The portal was started about 12 weeks ago. The states of West Bengal, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar posted the highest average growth rates.

The unorganised workforce will get a new e-SHRAM card with a unique 12-digit number. The registration process will be totally free and this card will be acceptable across the country. Labour Ministry also unveiled a national toll-free number “14434" for all registration-related queries.

As per sources, the Labour Ministry had given a go-ahead to the proposal in this regard and interest will be credited into beneficiaries account by July end itself. Last year, the PF subscribers waited for around 8 to 10 months to get their interest rate. Previously, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation had kept the interest rate unchanged at 8.5 percent. Besides, the EPFO had asked employees to withdraw more money amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The govt has informed the Parliament that it does not have any data regarding the number of migrants who died or were injured during migration to their native places due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown across the country. Union Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar told the Lok Sabha on Monday, "No such data is available." The Union Minister said this in a written reply to a question asked by BJD member Bhartruhari Mahtab on the "the number of such labourers died/ injured during migration to their native places due to such lockdown, State/ UT-wise". A nationwide lockdown was imposed on March 25 to contain the spread of coronavirus infections.

The Labour Ministry on Tuesday (April 14, 2020) said that it has set up 20 control rooms on a pan-India basis to address wage-related grievances and to mitigate problems faced by migrant workers amid the lockdown period to contain the coronavirus crisis.

Modi government approves 4 per cent DA hike the central government employees. The decision will be effective from January 1, 2020.

EPFO on Thursday slashed interest rates on provident fund deposits to a seven-year low of 8.5 per cent for the current financial year. Here's how it will impact you. 

Seeking to clear the air, the labour ministry on Tuesday said the Centre has not fixed Rs 18,000 as national minimum monthly wage under the Code on Wages Bill.

The Employees Provident Fund Organisation or EPFO at a recent meeting decided to cut the current investment of Rs 15,000 crore in AAA-rated bonds by Rs 3000 crore and invest that amount in AA+bonds.

In 2013, the placement was over 0.7 percent. In the year prior to that, however, the number is slightly better at over 0.9 percent.

The Code on Wages Bill has already been approved by the ministerial panel, and will soon be placed for the Union Cabinet nod.  

A parliamentary panel has asked the labour ministry to conduct special inspection or audit of private EPF trusts that have been found to be investing their workers' retirement savings in own firms through mutual funds.

The proposed amendment is being brought to bring the maximum ceiling amount to Rs 20 lakh in line with the 7th Central Pay Commission's recommendations as accepted by the government.

Formal sector workers may soon be eligible for up to Rs 20 lakh tax-free gratuity as central trade unions have agreed on the proposal in a tripartite consultation with the Labour Ministry.