NEW DELHI: Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram today asked the Prime Minister to immediately announce a pay cheque protection plan to guard the salaries of people who may face layoffs and retrenchment due to the ongoing lockdown.
In a statement today, the Congress veteran repeated his party’s demands for a Rs1-crore wage protection plan and a Rs1-crore credit guarantee plan for micro medium and small enterprises.
“Tomorrow is the last working day of the month. More than 12 crore people of India are waiting with bated breath. They want to know if they will be paid their salaries or wages for April,” Chidambaram said.
For the non-MSME sector, the Congress leader urged the government to announce a “Paycheque Protection Programme”, similar to the one announced in the United States.
“This is not a legislation but a financial assistance package,” he said.
IT department data shows there are roughly one crore people with a salary income of less than Rs3,50,000 a year or Rs30,000 a month.
“Assuming an average salary of Rs 15,000 a month for these 1 crore people, the total cost comes to Rs 15,000 crore for the month of April. This is not a large sum to protect the livelihoods of 1 crore people who have filed tax returns and paid taxes in the past, and can be easily found. The government must announce a Paycheque Protection Program right away to protect the salaries of these 1 crore employees,” Chidambaram said.
He also suggested a waiver of employers’ contributions to the employees provident fund (EPF) and employees state insurance (ESI) on a temporary basis for three months.
“This will assist in reducing the payroll costs of employers and retaining the workforce,” he said.
“Most would not have worked a single day in the month of April because the entire country was in a lockdown. How will these people feed themselves and their families without an income?” asked Chidambaram, demanding immediate announcement of a package to protect the small industry.
Chidambaram also said the government must announce generous financial grants to states which have no money to pay pensions, salaries and handle running expenditure.
He said it’s surprising that the government remains non-committal to the demands of states.