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In their customary pre-budget meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday, trade union leaders suggested a super-rich tax and an increase in corporate tax to fund social security for informal workers.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Trade Union Co-ordination Centre (TUCC) National General Secretary S P Tiwari said the government should impose an additional 2 per cent tax on the super-rich to fund social security for informal workers. Tiwari also demanded that agriculture workers be extended social security and that their minimum wages should also be fixed. Trade Unions also pressed for increasing the minimum Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) pension to Rs 5,000 per month from Rs 1000 per month. In other demands, trade unions asked for an immediate constitution of the 8th Pay Commission in the upcoming 2025-26 Budget. Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh Organising Secretary (Northern Zone) Pawan Kumar said that the minimum pension under EPS-95 should be increased from Rs 1,000 per month to Rs 5,000 per month as a first step and subsequently linked to the Variable Dearness Allowance (VDA). He also suggested that the threshold for Income Tax exemption be raised to Rs 10 lakh and income from pension should be exempted from tax. Kumar also asked for the commissioning of the 8th Pay Commission to revise the salary structure of the government employees. Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) National Secretary Swadesh Dev Roye also demanded that the 8th Pay Commission should be constituted immediately as more than 10 years have elapsed since the setting up of the 7th Pay Commission in February 2014. Dev Roye expressed concern over the decline in the number of permanent employees in Central Public Sector Enterprises from 21 lakh in the 1980s, to over 8 lakh in 2023-24. National Front of Indian Trade Unions (NFITU) National President Deepak Jaiswal demanded a separate budget for the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) to provide social security benefits to workers in the unorganised sector. Trade unions also demanded that the 12 million domestic workers be given workers status and social security. The Budget for 2025-26 will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1. (ANI)
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