Opa At Your Service

Questions and answers

EPF claim and NIC issue

Question: I was working at Abdulla Industries and paper bags manufactory, Maha Vidyalaya Mawatha, Colombo 13.

I was contributing to Employee’s Provident Fund and my membership number was 6770/A/43 and my employer’s number was A/6770.

Although I contributed to the fund No. “A”, “B” and “H” cards were filled and signed. When I recently went to my former company to get the “B” Card I found that the Company has changed its name and they were not in a position to complete my “A”, “B” and “H” cards as they do not have any records of the previous company.

I am a Senior citizen and having a Senior citizen card.

I am unable to get the National Identity Card as my birth has not been registered and the Registrar has confirmed this fact.

I shall be most thankful if you would please advise me on the following

1 How to get my National Identity Card

2 How to claim my EPF Benefits

Your assistance and advices would be greatly appreciate

Valli Suppiah - Colombo 15

Answer: As regards your EPF, we suggest that you visit the Colombo North Division of the Labour Office situated on the 4th Floor of the Labour Secretariat at Kirula Road, Narahenpita. There if you explain your position to the officer in charge, they will sign the “B” card for you, as well as advice you regarding the other documents.

As regards your National Identity card you can present the confirmation document received from the Registrar of Birth, along with your senior citizen card, you must produce the birth certificate of your eldest child and an affidavit stating your date of birth signed by a Justice of Peace.

If you have a horoscope written in your name, that too will be accepted. Such alternatives for a birth certificate is acceptable only in the case of those certificates who are more than 50 years of age.

Non payment of EPF balance

Question: It is with great regret I write to you as my legally due EPF for the period from 15/05/1997 to 1/06/1998 has not been refunded to me although my application was made in October 2003 and followed up by a reminder in December 2003 and July 2007.

My EPF no is A-19624-58.

The employer is the Grill Room, Dematagoda. I have obtained a refund of Rs 19,938.45 in August 2003.

As my employer failed to continue the contributions from 1996 to 2000, a case was filed by the Labour Commissioner at the Colombo Magistrate Courts, under case No. 37984/5 and the amount due was settled in June 2003.

I also have with me as per copy attached the advice sent to the EPF Division of the Central Bank by the Labour Commissioner with a list of beneficiaries and the amounts. My due as per this list is Rs 18,300. Can the OPA assist me to obtain this long over due balance refund?

Joseph Sinnathamby - Kotahena

Answer: We refer to the papers forwarded by you in early December 2010 without a covering note and as such we had to frame your question as well, we had been contacting both the Central Bank and the Colombo Central Division of the Labour Department continuously for the past two months.

The Central Bank EPF section says that they have returned the papers to the Labour Department due to lack of clarity or insufficient data.

The Labour Deputy Commissioner who was checking on your case for us went on retirement end of January without completion.

We had to again start all over again by sending copies of all the documents to the new Assistant Commissioner who has undertaken to check with the Central Bank and if necessary with the Colombo Magistrate Courts to sort out the problems if any.

As all this is likely to take another two weeks or so, we want to give you an update. We will follow this up and let you know the final outcome.

Refund of W and OP contribution

Question: I wish to bring to your kind attention that I retired from the Development of Marketing Department as a marketing officer on 08.01.79. My pension number is 206748 (P). My W and OP card number is 113657. I was a contributor to the W and OP fund. My wife who was a Government Employee retired on 31.12.63 and she died on 14.05.2008. Her pension number is 52626/p.

I do not have any children and also as my wife is now dead, I shall be glad to know whether I am entitled to a refund of the W and OP contributions made by me. I write to inform you that I am now 90 years of age.

H Edmund Perera - Badulla

Answer: We are sorry to inform you that you are not entitled to any refund of your contribution to the W and OP fund. The only circumstances under which a male pensioner will be able to get a refund of his contribution to W and OP is at the time of his retirement provided he is a bachelor or a widower at the time of retirement. The W and OP contribution for females was introduced in the 80s and your wife would not have contributed to W and OP as she retired in 1963. If not you could have drawn her W and OP pensions as well.

Life on other planets

Question: 1. Planet Mars - A spacecraft (New Global Surveyor) was sent to Mars 1997) by USA. It reached Mars in 1998 and reported the discovery of bacteria on Mars.

Please report on the nature and significance of this discovery what kind (or species) of bacteria were discovered, were the microbes alive or dead was there internal structure visualized e.g. presence of genetic material in the bacteria cytoplasm, is it possible to say whether the bacteria detected were enubacteria or archaea (Archibacteria)?

2. Europa (Jupter’s moon) Several spacecraft were sent, by USA, to Europa after 1997. What were the new knowledge gained by these space craft about (1) Europa and (2) Life on Europa.

If possible please indicate the sources of knowledge.

Dr B G Punchihewa - Ratmalana

Answer:The answer to your question will be very voluminous and as such we will not have sufficient space to provide you with the answer.

We trust you have access to a computer and on that basis we would like you to visit the following website in order to get some of the answers to your questions as well as more information on these planets.

Please visit www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets

Pension anomaly

Question: I was appointed as an Intermediate Qualified teacher on 5.5.1964, I got through my B.A. (arts) Peradeniya University in 1973 and I was placed on the graduate salary scale in 1976. But my salary scale was not adjusted according to the 1994 salary amendment report.

I retired from Government service as a teacher on 7.7.1989. But my pension has not been made based on the 1994 salary amendment report. As a result presently I am in receipt of the pension same as the pension I got before 1994. I ought to get a bigger pension that what I am given at present. I hope you would kindly see that I am paid the correct pension. Copies of relevant documents are annexed hereto.

D S Perera - Gampaha

Answer: From what we understand your case appears to be pension anomaly. The papers you have forwarded does not reveal whether you had tried to sort out the anomaly.

In the first place we suggest that you take up your pension anomaly with the Divisional Secretary from where you are currently receiving your pension. If you don’t succeed you can visit the Pension Department at Maligawatte, Maradana on a public day on Mondays and Wednesdays and discuss your pension anomaly. If not you can send a written request with copies of all relevant documents to ‘Pension anomaly Appeal Committee’, Pensions Department, New Secretariat Building, Maligawatte, Colombo 10. Both your letter and the envelope should indicate on top as ‘Pension Anomaly Appeal Committee’. Also suggest that you send by registered post and retain a copy of your letter and all enclosures.

EPF refund

Question: This has reference to your reply in Q-A on 13-01-2011 regarding my ‘EPF-part-payment.’

I take this opportunity to thank you for the trouble taken and prompt service. Due to your action only I have got my EPF part payment.

Once again I thank your honour for your great service-well done.

I appeal to our readers of the ‘Daily News’ OPA to solve your problem through Q-A, so that OPA will wake-up the officers at the Government Department for your unsettled matters.

K Palanivelue - Bulathsinhala

Answer: We thank you for keeping us informed of the final outcome of our efforts in assisting you. Sometimes we never get to know whether our assistances yielded the desired results and whether our reader was satisfied.

Your response gives us satisfaction and encouragement, we are publishing this so that other readers will get the confidence of our service and seek our assistance to solve such or similar problems of theirs.

EPF/ETF payments

Question: I am one of the relief employee amongst the many who are employed in different capacities in a State Corporation. I work on rostered shifts and I am paid on a hourly basis for the shift every month.

1. Is the employer legally correct in not contributing to the Employees Provident Fund / Employees Trust Fund?

2. Am I in a category entitled to EPF/ETF or only ETF.

3. What percentage should the employer contribute on behalf of the employee?

4. Are other relief employees in various categories entitled to ETF like me, if I am entitled.

I wish to thank the OPA, for the service they render to the public through the newspaper right down the years with their valuable advice.

I am compelled to tender this letter of inquiry to the OPA as I have failed to obtain any answer from the Legal Aid Commission, to whom I have also directed this inquiry.

H L Fernando e-mail

Answer: According to our understanding even relief employees who have been rostered and working on shift regularly are entitled to EPF and ETF benefits.

1. We don’t think that your employer is legally correct in not contributing to EPF and ETF. However one has to study the appointment letter or terms and conditions of employment to see if there are any loopholes.

2. Yes you are in a category according to our understanding of being entitled to EPF and ETF.

3. Your employer has to contribute 12 percent of your salary or monthly payment for EPF and three percent of same to ETF whilst you have to contribute eight percent to the EPF only.

4. We cannot provide a specific answer to such an open question as various categories.

We suggest that on a Monday you call over at the Colombo Central Division of the Labour Department. It’s situated on the 6th floor of the Labour Secretariat, Kirula Road, Narahenpita along with your letter of appointment if any and any other documents relating to your employment including your pay slip to seek advice.

Pension arrears for orphan

Question: I have a problem with the Pensions Department regarding the non payment of some arrears and would be grateful for your intervention. The facts are as follows. Pension File No. 82/19638. Pension No. 66352.

a) When my father-in-law Alfred Aluwihare, who was a pensioner died in February 1990, his wife Sumana Delwela Aluwihare, received the W and O. Pension till she expired on June 6, 2006.

b) She had a daughter Swarnamalee Aluwihare who was born handicapped from birth when she was born in 1938.

c) Soon after S D Aluwihare, expired her other daughter Srimathi Bimba Dhanapala became the guardian of her sister Swarnamalee Aluwihare and she applied to the Matale Divisional Secretary for the Handicapped Orphans Pension for Miss S Aluwihare.

d) A preliminary Medical Examination was conducted by the DMO Matale on a request of Divisional Secretary, Matale, who confirmed that she was a cripple.

e) Thereafter, the file was going up and down and delayed unduly. The final Medical examination by a Special Medical Board was held on September 2008 at the General Hospital, Kandy. And at long last the Handicapped Orphans Pension was paid into the Joint Account of Miss S Aluwihare and her Guardian sister Mrs S B Dhanapala from November 2009 by the Divisional Secretary, Kandy.

f) This pension was paid in November 2009 with arrears only from October 2008. However, the arrears from July 2006 to September 2008 were not paid.

i) Mrs S B Dhanapala has sent several letters and the last one was dated June 12, 2010 to DG of Pensions Department to pay the arrears from July 2006 to October 2008 but there was no response.

g) Mrs Dhanapala’s lawyer Maheesha Seneviratne then sent a letter dated November 25, 2010 requesting payment of the arrears but to no avail, (Copy is attached)

h) Miss Aluwihare expired on December 2010 and the Kandy DS was immediately informed to stop payment of the pension.

Dr S B Dhanapala - Kandy

Answer: We checked up with the Pensions Department and were made to understand that it is not the policy or practice to pay arrears of pension benefit to orphans. Sumana Delwela Aluwihare should have brought to the notice of the Pension Department about the handicapped status of Miss Swarnamalee Aluwihare and taken her before the Medical Board for examination.

In which case from the time of the demise of S D Aluwihare, S Aluwihare would have received the orphans pension. Due to this failure the Pension Department will pay the orphans pension or arrears only from the date of the Medical Examination and approval.

Thus they have paid the arrears from October consequent to the Special Medical Board approval in September.

If you require any further clarification you may contact the Director Pensions Department on Tel. 0112432008.