104 employees press panic button, dial PF office

HYDERABAD: The Health Management Research Institute (HMRI)-104 Call Centre’s contract employees, who are in danger of going jobless, staged a protest at the regional provident fund commissioner’s office on Thursday alleging that HMRI hadn’t been contributing its share to their PF.With the government deciding to end its collaboration with the HMRI by this month-end, they also demanded that the government itself take over the call centre.The employees complained that they had not received their provident fund slips till date, right from 2008. One Alliance Pvt Ltd, S K Mega and HUSYS are the three private companies that have been taking care of the employee provident funds for HMRI. Now that the employees’ contract with HMRI will be terminated by this month-end, they fear losing their PF.The employees’ union joint secretary Sheik Khaja Kauser said the PF money was entirely taken from the employees’ salary every month. “We have complained several times with no result,” he said. K Ramakoteshwara Rao, general secretary of the union, said many staff members who resigned a year ago have still not received their PF. M Narayanappa, regional PF Commissioner-I, assured them that they would get their PF slips at the earliest. He also said the private companies had paid the PF money till February this year and that he would verify records to find out about the rest of the money and take action against those concerned accordingly.