EPF meet today but logjam on

With both CITU and AITUC willing to scale down their demand on EPF interest rate from 12 per cent to a minimum of 9.5 per cent but not further down, the EPFO talks are obviously headed for a deadlock. It appears that the positions of different trade unions have not moved an inch since the last meeting on July 20.

A vote is always possible to break a stalemate of this nature but it is unlikely that such a confrontationist path would be chosen. There are fears that any decision without unanimity and especially through a vote would only alienate the Left. Besides, as even INTUC sources pointed out, a majority decision in the EPFO arrived through a vote is ‘‘unprecedented’’ in the history of the organisation. Even Dasgupta said the Central Board of Trustees has never thought of taking a way out in this manner.

Interestingly, there were enough indications that backdoor channels had been activated to reach a negotiated settlement on the issue. Otherwise, why should the Central Provident Fund Commissioner, Ajai Singh, visit Dasgupta at the AITUC office after 5 pm this evening? Dasgupta, however, said that Singh had come to discuss the long-pending demand of opening a PF office in Darjeeling. He did not explain why such a one-to-one had to take place on a Sunday evening.