Overview
- Police in Bengaluru detained several protesters and filed FIRs against more than 60 garment workers after a large demonstration in Peenya escalated, with officers using lathicharge to disperse crowds.
- Under the government notification that took effect July 1 the scheme allows up to 75% immediate withdrawal, requires 12 months of unemployment before the remaining 25% can be taken, and bars EPS withdrawals for workers with under ten years’ service for 36 months.
- The Garment and Textile Workers’ Union delivered a memorandum with about 5,000 worker signatures to the Provident Fund office demanding the waiting periods be revoked and pressing for urgent talks.
- Protests have spread across Karnataka to towns including Bommasandra, Maddur, Hubballi‑Dharwad, Haveri, Tumakuru and Tiptur and involve predominantly female workers who rely on PF savings for rent, medical bills and their families’ needs.
- Labour Minister Santhosh Lad has convened stakeholder talks while the rules remain in force, a step that could produce administrative change or wider industrial action depending on whether waiting periods are withdrawn and minimum wages are addressed.