The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has around seven crore active subscribers and it’s setting up a 24/7 multilingual contact center for them. This center will be available every day of the year and provide a single point of contact for registering complaints and seeking help with any issues. This initiative aims to make it easier for subscribers to get the support they need, whenever they need it.
This decision follows recent backlash on social media about delays in resolving complaints and an increase in rejected settlement claims, as reported by The Indian Express.
The EPFO has issued a tender to establish this 24/7 contact center which will be open every day of the year. The aim is to staff it with “quality people and create a robust system that will replace the current grievance registration portal (EPFiGMS) with a more advanced and sophisticated solution.”
How This Will Benefit People?
EPFO stated that their aim is to handle grievances across multiple channels, such as helpline numbers, landline phones at various offices, walk-ins, grievance registration portals, WhatsApp, social media (including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram), physical mail, ChatBot, the UMANG app, and emails. By connecting the EPFO’s head office with its zonal and regional offices, the system will enable efficient problem-solving. Furthermore, it will proactively address stakeholders’ issues and keep them informed in real-time.
Multilingual Support in 23 Languages
The new contact center will support 23 languages, making it accessible to more people. These languages include Hindi, English, Assamese, Maithili, Kashmiri, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Kannada, Konkani, Manipuri, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Santhali, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
EPFO plans to upgrade its Helpline into an Integrated Grievance Management System with new software for registering complaints. This system will include tools to oversee and enhance subscriber satisfaction by resolving grievances quickly. By automating processes in its offices, EPFO aims to speed up service and improve quality, making it easier to handle common requests from start to finish.
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) which was launched in March 1952 stands as one of the earliest security schemes for workers in Independent India. This crucial initiative came into effect just 830 days after the adoption of the Constitution.
