Govt holds new PF rules

In another rollback, the government has announced to shelve the new rules governing the withdrawal of provident fund till July 31. The new rules have been severely denounced by trade unions, including the RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS).

The notification barring withdrawal of PF will be kept in abeyance for three months till July 31, 2016, Labor Minister Bandaru Dattatreya told reporters in New Delhi.

In February, his Ministry had issued a notification which restricted complete withdrawal of provident fund. While under the old regime, contributors or subscribers could get 90 per cent of their accumulations in their PF accounts at the age of 54 years, the new norms advanced the age to till 57.

Unions and workers have not taken the new regime kindly. The workers of a garment factory demonstrated on the busy Mysuru-Bengaluru highway on Tuesday. The protest turned violent, leading to arson; many vehicles were set afire. The police had to fire warning shots; about 20 people were held.