The CPI-backed AITUC has proposed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to utilise pension funds and employees provident fund for infrastructure development instead of investment in the speculative capital markets.
The PF, pension fund and EPF together make a corpus of around Rs 3 lakh crore (Rs 3 trillion).
The AITUC has suggested utilisation of the entire corpus for creation of the infrastructure development fund.
The trade union wants the government to control the fund.
Utilisation of the fund for infrastructure would ensure safety of the fund. It would also lead to social development, AITUC general secretary Gurudas Dasgupta argued.
Moreover, government can easily payout around 9 per cent interest. This would enable payment of 9.5 per cent interest by the EPF, Dasgupta claimed. Trade unions' main objection was the proposal to invest 5 per cent of the funds in equities.
AITUC supports larger allocation for the social sector so as benefit the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, Muslims, marginalised unorganised labour, unemployed youth and poor peasants.
An increase in the Gross Domestic Product never benefits the common masses. Only a targeted policy can improve the human fundamentals.