Letter to ED RDCIS for seeking help of HSPF Trust

                                     SAIL Ex-Employees’ Association                     

e-mail: sandip.kar@sail.in

No.SEEA/EPS 95/DLs/ 0124

Oct 09, 2024

To

The Executive Director,
SAIL , RDCIS, Ranchi

Sub: Seeking help of Finance / Trustees of HSPF Trust in expediting matter with the Regional Profident Fund Office , Ranchi

Ref : Pension on Higher wages – Hon’ble Supreme Court’s decision dated 4^th November,2022

Dear Sir,

This is to bring to your kind notice that in light of and as a consequence to the Hon’ble Supreme Court order dated 4^th November, 2022 nearly 450 retired and existing employees of SAIL units at Ranchi had exercised the joint option with the employer i.e. RDCIS for consideration of Pension based on higher wages. The Joint option application was sent Online to the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in 2023 by the employer, RDCIS.

It is learnt, on following up with RDCIS as well as the Ranchi office of EPFO , that the latter asked for various documents from RDCIS in course of processing the individual joint option applications. However, till now no Demand letter (DL) for depositing money has been sent by the EPFO to applicants implying that scrutiny on their part is still not over. Moreover, there is no other way the applicants, mostly the retired persons of Ranchi units of SAIL, can know the status than to ask RDCIS Finance personnel of the same. Our year long experience in this matter gathered from other PSUs and also SAIL plants shows a pattern that EPFO asks for document after document from the Exempted trusts on the one hand and a just compliance of the same by the trusts on the other hand completes a never ending cycle. The wait of a retired person thus just goes on endlessly as there is nothing that he or she can do having filled up the application long back. It is in this context that we feel our employer, RDCIS should take up the matter with EPFO, Ranchi to expedite completion of scrutiny and get the EPFO, Ranchi to start sending the Demand letters to the applicants.

It is strongly felt that RDCIS, as an employer, has a serious role to play in expediting issuance of Demand letters by the EPFO and should not rest till this aim has been achieved. For this purpose RDCIS may initiate holding periodic meetings with EPFO, Ranchi.  If so required, we, M/s SAIL Ex- Employees Association (SEEA), Ranchi, on behalf of the mainstakeholders, the retired and joint applicants, shall be willing to cooperate with all concerned till objective is achieved.

Since the matter is getting delayed without any seemingly valid reasons, your kind intervention is highly solicited to protect the interest of the retired employees who are otherwise being denied the fruits of their much needed enhanced pension.

Thanking you and with profound regards,

With regards,

Yours faithfully,

For and on behalf of SAIL Ex-Employees’ Association

Dr V N Sharma Chairman

Ram Agar Singh  General Secretary

Copy to: ED, CET; ED, MTI; ED, SSP; CGMP, Ranchi, CGMF&A