Net addition of 2.9 m women in EPFO in FY23

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The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has added net addition of 28,69,688 women subscribers in FY23 against 15,93,614 in 2019-20, Parliament was informed on Thursday.

The net addition in EPFO subscriptions indicates the extent of job creation and social security benefits to organised/ semi-organised sector workforce, Minister of State for Labour & Employment Rameshwar Teli said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

The minister said the EPFO data covers the low-paid workers in medium and large establishments of the formal sector. According to the reply, the net addition in women EPFO subscribers increased from 15,93,614 in 2019-20 to 28,69,688 in 2022-23.

The net women EPFO subscribers addition was 13,98,080 in 2020-21 and 26,18,728 in 2021-22.

He also informed the House that the estimated female unemployment rate declined to 2.9 per cent in 2022-23 from 4.2 per cent in 2019-20, as per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). It was 3.5 in 2020-21 and 3.3 in 2021-22.

The data indicates that the labour force indicators in 2022-23 for women are better than the pre-Covid period, the minister told the House.

Teli said the estimated female worker population ratio (WPR) increased to 35.6 per cent during 2022-23 from 28.7 per cent in 2019-20, which shows that female employment in the country has an increasing trend. Employment generation, coupled with improving employability, is the priority of the government, Teli said, adding that the government has taken various steps to increase employability in the country, including women’s participation in the labour force and quality of their employment.

A number of protective provisions have been incorporated in the labour laws for equal opportunity and congenial work environment for women workers, he stated. The Code on Social Security, 2020, has provisions for enhancement in paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks, provision for mandatory creche facility in establishments having 50 or more employees, permitting women workers in the night shifts with adequate safety measures, etc.

The Code on Occupational Safety, Health And Working Conditions (OSH), 2020, has provisions for the employment of women in aboveground mines, including opencast workings has been allowed between 7 pm and 6 am and in below-ground working between 6 am and 7 pm in technical, supervisory and managerial work, where continuous presence may not be required. (With inputs from PTI)