Sept 08 , 2015
News
PWF shows concern over devolution of EOBI
By Zeeshan GhayurISLAMABAD: The trade union lobby represented by the Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF) on Monday opposed the devolution of Employees Old Age Benefit Institution (EOBI), showing concerns over its sustainability and adverse impacts on the workers and their families.
PWF General Secretary Zahoor Awan, member of the EOBI reform committee, grieved that the institution is full of malpractice and corruption, adding that around 60 million pension-deserving retirees are living in the country, while only 3.2 million are being paid with the monthly benefit.
He said that the common phenomenon of oldies getting neglected at homes was because most of them are unable to draw their monthly pensions.
Awan lamented that the retired federal secretaries draw Rs 60,000-80,000 monthly, despite the probability that the EOBI fund may exhaust by 2026. “And now Rs 290 billion of the EOBI fund is being eyed by the provincial governments,” he added.
He expressed concern that this huge amount might end up getting spent for other purposes than the welfare of workers, adding that the rate of contribution has to match with the inflating minimum wage. He said that EOBI would remain strong if it remains a single entity.
EOBI Director General Iqbal Haider Zaidi said, “For ensuring that the fund lasts for 50 years, a recommendation for decreasing the widow pension by 25% is under consideration.”
He said that measures are being taken for maintaining EOBI at the federal level and keeping it away from devolution. However, he added that this would require constitutional amendments.
He said that EOBI has given out a pension of Rs 70.8 million to date this year, adding that another Rs 24.6 million is expected to be paid off by the end of the year.
The collection in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is Rs 650 million annually, while the total distribution is Rs 1.8 billion. As of , there have been 363,000 registered pensioners with EOBI,” Zaidi added.
He said that EOBI has withdrawn the pension facility from Easypaisa over reconciliation issues, adding that currently, the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) deals with the distribution of pensions. An agreement has been reached with Bank Al-Falah for taking over the distribution of pensions countrywide by the end of this year, he added.
Zaidi sais, “A person employed at any hierarchical level is bound to get registered for the EOBI benefits. For devolution to take place effectively, the government of Sindh in 2014 passed an EOBI act, while the government of Punjab is in the process of receiving the Supreme Court’s verdict, providing the rules and procedures of operating the devolved EOBI setup.”
He said for receiving pension, there is a requirement of having worked for at least 15 years, adding that those who have worked for over 15 years are paid pension with 2% increment.
“The EOBI has set a target of including in the system 100,000 pensioners annually. A case is being contested in the SC for bringing into the pension pool the bank employees countrywide,” he said
Zaidi grieved that EOBI, as per the law, is to carry out actuarial studies every three years, which it does not, adding that the institution is taking steps for making sure that the rate of contribution is steadily raised up till 11.6%.
Clarifying on the widow pension, he said, “The pension of a deceased employee is given to his/her widow. If the widow expires, then the same is given to the children till the time they reach the age of 18 years. For the daughters, the pension is given up till the time they get married.”
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk