January 30: Although the government had promised to deposit an amount equivalent to two months of contribution of workers in the Social Security Fund (SSF) as compensation for last year (mid-May to mid-July), the amount has not been released yet. 

Presenting the budget for the Fiscal Year 2078/79, the then Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel had announced that the government would deposit the contribution amount as per the policy of providing relief to the workers and employers who were facing difficulties due to the impact of coronavirus. 

After the government made such an arrangement, the SSF issued a notice to the companies listed with the SSF that the contributors do not need to deposit the amount for the period between mid-May to mid-July. However, the Deputy Executive Director of the Fund, Bibek Panthi, said that the Ministry of Finance has not yet released the due amount. 

According to the SSF, the MoF should deposit around Rs 1.5 billion compensation equivalent to the contribution of 175,000 workers as per the government’s announcement. The fund had submitted a claim to the Ministry of Finance through the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security last June. However, no hearing has been done so far. Even after six months of the current fiscal year, the government has not yet deposited the amount.  

"We had informed the contributors not to deposit the contribution amount of mid-May to mid-June July as per the provisions in the budget but the government has not released any amount yet," Panthi said. If the companies do not deposit the amount within 15 days of the completion of the month, they are deprived of any facility. However, the government’s dilly-dallying raises questions about the government's intentions. 

According to the officials of the MoF, they will release the amount soon as it is still in the process. 

"The government will keep up its promise," said Ritesh Shakya, joint secretary at the ministry of finance. According to him, the delay is due to the fact that the budget is released on priority basis. 

So far, 307,620 workers are listed in the fund. Similarly, 16,413 employers have been included in the list. According to the SSF, the number of people joining the fund is increasing after the pandemic.