Karnataka garment workers protest new PF withdrawal rules; over 60 booked in Peenya

Garment workers across Karnataka have been protesting changes to the rules governing withdrawal from the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF), which took effect on July 1, 2026. The revised norms permit partial withdrawal of up to 75 per cent of the accumulated corpus, with the remaining amount staying in the account — a change workers say leaves them without access to their own savings at the time they need it most.

Under the new rules, a worker who leaves employment can withdraw 75 per cent of the PF accumulation, while the balance 25 per cent can be claimed only after remaining unemployed for a mandatory 12 months. Earlier, workers could withdraw 100 per cent of their PF accumulation within two months of leaving a job, according to K.R. Jayaram, general secretary of the Garment and Textile Workers' Union (GATWU).

Mr. Jayaram said that if a worker finds employment within the 12-month period, the 25 per cent will continue to remain in the account. He added that even for the 75 per cent withdrawal, workers must state a reason for the need, such as education, marriage or housing. "Workers in many cases use this fund to pay lease rent, since rents in Bengaluru are prohibitive and garment workers receive meagre salaries," he said.

The EPF is a statutory retirement savings scheme to which employers and employees contribute a share of wages each month. For many garment workers, it is the largest single sum they can access, and withdrawals are frequently used for medical expenses, housing and marriage.

GATWU has handed over a memorandum signed by about 5,000 garment workers to provident fund officials.

Separately, the union has flagged changes to the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS). Earlier, workers with less than 10 years of service could access their EPS accumulation immediately, with the full amount paid within two months, Mr. Jayaram said. Workers must now wait 36 months before they can access this fund.

On Wednesday, protesting workers from three garment companies in Peenya, including GATWU president R. Prathibha, were taken into preventive custody after the police resorted to a mild lathicharge to stop them from obstructing traffic. A senior police official said the Peenya police had registered multiple FIRs against more than 60 workers under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including obstruction of duty of police personnel, rioting, unlawful assembly, wrongful restraint and damaging public property.

Protests have also been held in Maddur, Shikaripura, Haveri, Tumakuru and Tiptur, besides Peenya and Bommasandra in Bengaluru.

Trade unions have demanded that no action be taken against the workers and that minimum wages be revised. Maitreyi K., State secretary of the All India Central Council of Trade Unions, said: "No action should be taken against garment workers. We believe that the specific issue with garment workers is low wages with no savings and extreme dependence on PF. The minimum wages should be increased and brought on a par with other workers."

The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) also condemned the police action. It said garment workers had seen their wages erode substantially, as minimum wage revision has been pending for nearly a decade, and urged the State government to revise wages without yielding to industry pressure.

With the protests threatening to widen, Labour Minister Santhosh Lad has convened a meeting with all stakeholders on Thursday. The meeting is expected to bring workers, employers and provident fund officials together, and its outcome is awaited.