March 19: Entrepreneurs and businessmen of Sunsari-Morang Industrial Corridor have urged the government to postpone the date of depositing money in the contribution-based Social Security Fund. In an interaction programme in Morang on Thursday, the industrialists and businessmen requested the government to change the date of depositing the fund from15th day of each month to the 25^th day.

As per the provisions of the Social Security Act 2074 and Social Security Schemes Operational Directives 2075, there is a provision to deposit the amount in the fund by the 15th of every  month. Stating that this has increased financial and administrative hassles, the industrialists and businessmen have demanded that the day of submission of VAT and TDS details be changed to the day of depositing funds.

Furthermore, they have also demanded that the age limit mentioned in the Labor and Social Security Act to be amended. They raised this demand as there is a gap of two years between the retirement age and the age of the beneficiary receiving benefit from the social security fund. The Act specifies 58 years of age of retirement of workers and the age for workers to get entitled for benefits of social security fund is 60 years. The industrialists say they have to bear additional responsibility for two years after retirement.

Chairman of the Morang Trade Association, Prakash Mundada, said that although the industrialists were ready to implement the government plan, there were legal complications. He stated that simplifying the complex situation would remove the complexity of its implementation.

Likewise, Ashish Kafle, manager of Reliance Spinning, said there would be problems in full implementation unless the workers understood how to get back the money deposited in the fund.

Even though the law clearly states that the workers should be registered in the contribution-based social security fund from the day they start working, the industrialists are of the view that there is confusion in depositing and reimbursing the wages of the workers working in the industries.

Although the industrialists said that it was becoming difficult to list the workers, the trade union representatives accused them of trying to deprive them opportunities by making excuses.

Kishor Dhamala, president of Nepal Trade Union Federation, Province 1, accused the industrialists of not wanting to list the workers. He raised the issue of updating the details of the workers working in the industry in three months by setting up offices at the provincial level.

Although there are more than 200,000 workers in Province 1, only 20,000 have been registered in the fund so far, according to the labor association. Director of the Fund Uttam Raj Nepal said that the previous problems would be reduced automatically as the government has already approved the implementation of social security fund and investment procedures. He also claimed that the implementation of the contribution-based social security fund scheme would be beneficial for both workers and industrialists.