'The tragedy underscored 'serious and widespread' weaknesses in the EPFO's monitoring system and its ability to detect and act against defaulting establishments.'
With reference to the fire on December 7 at the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa, killing 25 people, including 20 employees, officers of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Thursday shot off a letter to the central government, sounding an alarm over what they call a 'systemic collapse' in the retirement-fund body's compliance mechanism.
In the letter to Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Central Provident Fund Commissioner Ramesh Krishnamurthi, the officers said the tragedy underscored 'serious and widespread' weaknesses in the EPFO's monitoring system and its ability to detect and act against defaulting establishments.
'We have effectively created a free-for-all situation where there is no mechanism to systematically identify defaulting establishments on a periodic basis.
'In fact, if an establishment is currently complying under the EPF, it is solely due its inherent law-abiding nature.
'[We] [do] not check if an establishment is complying or not, except if there is a specific complaint by an employee or an unfortunate industrial death,' the letter by the EPF Officers' Association said.
Tools of traditional inspection such as having defaulter lists, routine inspection, and show-cause notices have been largely discontinued, the officers said, while the promised data-driven, technology-based systems have not materialised.
The e-inspection platform, launched in 2019, 'remains a non-starter', with no clarity on its effectiveness.
'This motivates defaulters to continue to default, while it demotivates compliant employers, who must financially compete with such defaulters.
'Meanwhile, the EPFO comes up with schemes from time to time that regularise earlier defaults at almost no cost to such defaulters,' the letter said.
The EPFOA has alleged that the nightclub's EPF-registered entity, Being GS Hospitality Goa Arpora LLP, did not deposit provident fund dues since its coverage, while a second PF code linked to the owners shows contributions for only three people who are not among the deceased.
'Securing the provident fund, pension and insurance benefits for their families now presents a challenging task for the local EPFO office due to the non-compliance by the establishment,' the letter read.
The association has asked for urgent reforms, including empowering field offices with effective compliance tools and reviving the inspection framework to ensure proactive, rule-based monitoring.
Stronger enforcement, it said, is critical in delivering social-security mandates and implementing schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana and Employees' Enrolment Scheme, 2025.
'Only through decisive action can the EPFO ensure that vulnerable workers are protected and their families receive the rightful social security benefits they depend on.
'Otherwise, this entire exercise to secure EPF rights only when an employee actually dies will continue to make a mockery of EPFO's claim of providing social security to our nation's working class,' the association said.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff
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