CITU president and a member of the Central Bureau of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), A K Padmanabhan, addressed on April 7, 2014, the following letter to   Oscar Fernandes, minister for labour and employment in the government of India. IT is reported in the print media that the government of India has directed the EPFO to amend the circular of central provident fund commissioner (CPFC), dated November 30, 2012,  which relates to, inter alia, definition of wages for the purpose of PF contribution.  I register my strongest protest over this decision of the government of India, which would reduce the PF related obligation of the employers at the huge cost of the workers who are EPF subscribers.  After the circular was issued by the then CPFC, R C Mishra, it was put in abeyance. A tripartite working group was formed to “examine various aspects of the circular” which had CBT members representing employers and workers and also higher officials of EPFO. I was also a member of the working group. The unanimous decisions of the working group upholding the content of the EPFO circular, was finalised on March 29, 2013 and sent to the government Now after passage of more than one year, the unanimous recommendation of the Working Group is nullified and the most important portion of this circular is being now done away with by the government to benefit the employers class at the cost of workers. The most important part of the circular was on the definition of wages.  It has been our experience that wages are split into several heads to keep the basic pay low to evade PF contributions, by the employers. The circular had clearly noted “the subterfuge of splitting wages to exclude PF liabilities.”  To my knowledge, after the then CPFC, R C Mishra, two successor CPFCs have also endorsed the circular that was unanimously recommended by the working group. I would also like to point out that this is happening in the background of two other important decisions --- enhancing the minimum pension to Rs1000 and increasing the wage ceiling for eligibility for PF enrolment to Rs 15,000 from Rs 6500 --- lying unimplemented, again to favour the same employers’ class at the cost of workers.   These decisions were taken by Central Board of Trustees under your chairmanship only after the concurrence of the finance ministry. You and your colleagues had claimed that the government wants to accept the long pending demands of workers.  It was also reported widely that the cabinet had approved these proposals. Taken together, all these issues connected with the EPFO are being acted upon in such a way that legitimate dues to the workers are being denied while the employers are being unduly favoured. I urge upon you that the circular of EPFO, as unanimously upheld by the working group of CBT, be implemented forthwith. I also demand that the decisions on enhancement of minimum pension under EPS 1995 and enhancement of wage ceiling be implemented with effect from April 1, 2014, as already announced and propagated by the government of India.