The Congress on Friday slammed the government over the reported surge in rejection rates of Employees Provident Fund final settlement and claimed the defining feature of the "anyay kaal" of last 10 years has been that no community could to get their full due.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared a media report on X which claimed the rejection rates of EPF final settlement have been surging, up from around 13 per cent in 2017-18 to nearly 34 per cent in 2022-23.

"The defining feature of the 'Anyay-kaal' of the last 10 years has been that no community is able to get its full due: Women are left out of the job market, the youth are unable to seek employment and the farmers are unable to get adequate prices," he alleged.

"Even the 'shramik', the worker who earns his living through wages, is unable to access his/her own earnings. The EPFO, the government-run organization that administers the Provident Fund for India's workers, has seen a sharp rise in rejection rates for final settlement of Provident Fund (PF) claims," he said.

Around one in three claims for the final settlement of EPF is now rejected, up from 13 per cent in 2017-18, he said.

Ramesh asserted that each rejection is a slap on the face of working families and a cause of immense stress and anguish for them.

He claimed that the "mismanaged" shift to an online system for processing claims is the key reason for this denial. At least one retired worker has been driven to commit suicide by the insensitive and bureaucratic policies of the EPFO, Ramesh claimed.

Ramesh asserted that the Congress' 'Paanch Nyay Agenda' of which 'Shramik Nyay (justice for workers) is a core principle that will ensure no worker or their family will ever be denied the full due of their labour.

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