Bharatiya Janata Party MPs from the State have urged Union Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Gangwar to direct the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) authorities to remit the pending provident fund dues pertaining to the employees contribution to the Employees Provident Fund Organisation at the earliest.
BJP MPs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Soyam Bapu Rao and Arvind Dharmapuri called on the Union Minister at New Delhi on Friday and explained him about the prohibitory order (demand notice) issued by the EPFO to the TSRTC demanding payment of outstanding dues to the tune of ₹80 crore. The cumulative arrears account for more than ₹760 crore going by the figures furnished by the employees’ organisations, they said adding the dues form part of the contributions received from the employees and a similar contribution on the part of the Corporation.
Even after having received the notice from the EPFO, the TSRTC management was learnt to have not responded to it nor did it make good the payment. The demand notice from the EPFO calling for clearing the PF dues from the TSRTC was an offence under the EPF Act which called for criminal action against the corporation’s management.
The demand for remittance of the pending PF dues formed part of the demands raised by the TSRTC employees who were on strike since October 5 for resolution of their grievances. “As the State government is adamantly sitting tight not to invite the employees’ unions to negotiations, the demands of the TSRTC employees remained unresolved,” they said seeking the Union Minister’s intervention in the matter.
