EPF, ESI and Workers' Cess

Under Construction (particularly the cases below do not cover Workers' Cess).

Legal Position: Indian law prescribes mandatory contributions to Employee's Provident Fund (EPF) Scheme and Employee's State Insurance (ESI) Scheme. As in the case of Minimum Wages, it is a legal responsibility of the "principal employer", in this case IIT Kanpur, to ensure these payments. See EPF act, 1952 and ESI act, 1948. The contributions to the former are intended to provide pension related benefits in old age, and contributions to the latter are intended to provide benefits against contingencies, particularly arising out of medical issues. This accounts for about 15-26% of the total wages! In addition, The Building & Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess Act, 1996, requires that a minimum of one percent cess against the cost of construction be allocated by the employer to provide for workers’ safety, health and welfare measures.

Conditions @ IITK: The cases below clearly indicate the rampant violation of laws in this regard.

• Aahar Vihar: A contractor that 'ran away' with EPF money

• Bedi & Bedi: Missing EPF deposits

• N.Kumar associates: Duplicate account numbers and more

• M/s Raj Kumar & co.: Delhi account for UP workers

• M/s Kapoor Electricals: A continuos victimization

The cases above form part of a detailed report submitted to IIT Kanpur director from Citizens' Forum (submitted on 1st May 2013). However we have decided to not put the details on website since it includes workers' details, and based on past experiences, they may face retaliation.