Trade unions, including the RSS affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), have opposed the government's move to deduct tax at source (TDS) on pre-mature provident fund (PF) withdrawals and called it 'anti-worker'.
The employees' provident fund organisation (EPFO), in a notification on Thursday, has said that it would deduct TDS from June 1 on PF withdrawals where accumulations are over Rs 30,000 and the employee has worked for less than five years.
Union finance minister Arun Jaitley had proposed the deduction in the budget early this year.
"We have strongly opposed the move and told the government that the move was against the interest of workers who often withdraw the PF money under compulsion," Vrijesh Upadhyay, general secretary, BMS said.
The centre of Indian trade unions (CITU) president AK Padmanabhan said the government's move was unfair to the working class. "While the government gives massive tax relief to the corporate, it would now charge workers who withdraw their money during emergencies. This is not only unfair towards them but also unethical," he said.
The trade unions have threatened that if the notification was not withdrawn, they would resort to 'dharnas'.
{{/usCountry}}The trade unions have threatened that if the notification was not withdrawn, they would resort to 'dharnas'.
{{/usCountry}}"We will join hands with other unions and protest in front of the finance minister's office," Vrijesh Upadhyay of BMS said.