CHENNAI: DMK deputy general secretary and Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Tuesday strongly criticised the Union government over the recent changes to the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) rules, terming them ‘cruel, unjust and anti-working people’.

In a post on X, she said the decision to compel employees to remain unemployed for a full year before being able to withdraw their savings, to block 25 per cent of their funds until retirement, and to delay pension withdrawal by three years amounted to “sadistic” and “inhuman” treatment of workers.

“At a time when lakhs are already struggling with job losses and rising costs, this decision shows the Union government’s utter lack of concern for the people of India and exposes its disconnect with the middle class,” she wrote.

Kanimozhi said workers’ hard-earned savings should be made available to them in difficult times, not locked away. She urged the Centre to withdraw the “draconian” amendments immediately.