GMCH labour contractor booked for cheating employees

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The city police have booked a labour contractor, who provided services to the government medical college and hospital (GMCH), for allegedly collecting EPF from the staffers he provided to the hospital and not depositing the same in their EPF accounts.The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar municipal corporation is already facing heat for failing to ensure EPF compliance for employees hired through private contractors in the past few years. EPF is a mandatory retirement savings scheme for Indian workers aimed at providing financial security to the employees.In the latest incident, a complaint lodged by Yashpal Gavai, a sanitation worker, led to the registration of a case of cheating and criminal breach of trust against the contractor.Police said that Gavai and other cleaners had been working as sanitation and cleaning staff at the GMCH on behalf of a company called Global Total Solutions since the Covid outbreak. Surekha Kotwal, the director of the said labour contract company, deducted EPF from the complainant and his fellow cleaners’ salaries every month. According to the complaint, more than three years have passed since they have been working with the company, but the EPF amounts deducted from their monthly salaries have not been credited to their accounts.Begumpura inspector Sunita Misal said the suspect has been booked for allegedly collecting EPF from the staffers provided to the hospital and not depositing it in their accounts.The , citing the EPF & MP Act, 1952, said the law mandates the deposit of EPF contributions and, “according to the law, it is the principal employer who is responsible for ensuring EPF compliance for workers provided by contractors.”