The Centre is planning to introduce a programme under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) 3.0 for workers in the unorganised sector, including freelancers and gig workers, that allows them to join a provident fund which can generate retirement benefits. If implemented, the scheme is an active step towards aligning with the Centre’s new Code on Social Security, 2020.
Under the existing Employee Provident Fund (EPF) scheme, only employees working in organisations that have 20 or more employees are eligible to participate. This excludes a large part of India’s workforce, like gig workers, freelancers, and workers in unorganised sectors. The objective is to provide these workers with formal retirement savings, similar to the EPF benefits that salaried employees receive.
The current provident fund regularly withdraws a part of the employee’s monthly salary, to which the employer adds the same amount, contributing to a savings account. The accumulated savings collect interest from public sector bonds and can be withdrawn after retirement.
However, this case involves self-employed workers and workers in the unorganised sector, where a legitimate employer may be absent. Hence, the proposed idea is to be based solely on the worker’s own contributions.
In the case of gig workers, they are employed by legitimate corporate giants such as Swiggy, Uber, Zomato, and Blinkit. But they are not expected to contribute to the fund, as salaries for gig workers are inconsistent and differ daily. The policy has not yet clarified whether apps like Snabbit, which hire gig workers and claim to provide them with a guaranteed monthly salary, have to contribute as in the case of a general employer.
This scheme differs from the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PM-SYM) Yojana, in which select workers from the unorganised sector and the central government contribute to a matching fund. They receive a fixed monthly amount of Rs. 3000 once they reach the age of 60.
Contributions to this fund are flexible, allowing people to deposit money as their financial situation permits, to make a difference. According to a TOI report, the proposal is at a preliminary stage and has yet to receive government approval.
