KARACHI: A self-assessment scheme is proposed in the EOBI Act, under which the companies to be audited will be selected by random balloting, an official said on Wednesday.
Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) chairman Shakeel Ahmed Mangnejo has said that the proposed amendment is for the convenience of employers, as well as to encourage more contributions from them.
He was addressing the Site Association of Industry (SAI), where deputy director general Dr Javed Sheikh and EOBI regional head of Nazimabad region, Ali Muttaqi Shah; SAI president Abdul Rasheed; senior vice president Saud Mahmood; vice president Muhammad Kamran Arbi; Labour subcommittee chairman Abdul Kadir Bilwani; former president Jawed Bilwani and former president Younus Bashir were present among others.
The EOBI chairman announced plans to make its helpdesk at SAI functional with immediate effect and depute an officer to attend it at least once in a week for better coordination between registered employers and EOBI, as well as to resolve issues of members of the association.
Mangnejo urged the industrialists to pay Rs13,000 wage and clear the backlog as the EOBI fund is also facing difficulties, while giving the option of installments to those who are paying contributions of less than Rs780 per month to clear their backlog.
He also said the EOBI is currently paying Rs50 billion per annum to more than 400,000 pensioners. Therefore, everyone should pay a contribution on time at Rs13000 minimum wage in the larger interest of their own registered workers.
Replying to a query from ex-president Saleem Parekh regarding sharing of EOBI accounts, EOBI chairman informed that un-audited accounts up to the year 2020, together with minutes of BOT, have been placed on the website of EOBI.
The companies whose contributions exceed Rs100,000 per month, would be bound to pay their contributions through EOBI’s automated Facilitation System (FS) from February 1, 2022.This is necessary to maintain an accurate record of registered workers. By March 2022, EOBI is expected to launch its mobile app as well.
Earlier, SAI president, while welcoming the guests, said that a representative of the association should be taken to the Board of Trustees of EOBI and stressed the need to re-activate EOBI Helpdesk at SAI as per past practice.
He mentioned that collection targets issued by EOBI should be avoided and inspection of records should be done only once in a year, while highlighting the issues being faced by pensioners, particularly widows, in getting pension.
Labour Sub-Committee chairman, Abdul Kadir Bilwani briefed the EOBI chairman on the issues being faced by the employers and employees of SITE area including the delay in issuance of pension cards, release of pending applications of pensioners for payments, relief in inspection audits given the Covid-19 situation to help industrialists, harassment of industrialists by audit inspectors and unnecessary demand of company financials.
Former president Jawed Bilwani demanded that the representatives of employers in EOBI should provide evidence of having taken input from all industrial area associations before making any decision to avoid litigation.
Former president Younus Bashir expressed views on notorious activities of labour leaders in industrial areas and stressed the need to avoid time-consuming litigation and drew the attention of the EOBI chairman towards labour representatives’ conduct in the EOBI meetings.
He also suggested linking the number of employees with the power and gas consumption of the industry for a better and holistic view of operations as opposed to arbitrary assumptions.
