LIC employees demand wage revision, protest

Tribune Reporters

KANGRA, JULY 1

Employees of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India today held a protest demonstration outside their office in Kangra in support of their demand of wage revision.

The protesting employees gathered outside the office in the lunch hour and raised slogans against the Modi Government and the Chairman of LIC.

Addressing the protesting employees, Preetam Chand, branch secretary, Northern Zone Insurance Employees’ Association, said wage revision was due on October 1, 2012 which was deferred till date, putting the employees in major financial loss.

The anti-employee policy of the government had left nearly one lakh class II and III employees of LIC in a lurch, he said.

Preetam Chand said the employees were working honestly for the development of the insurance industry in the country but the negative and anti-employee policies of the government of India and LIC Management were deplorable.

He suggested that the LIC management and the Central Government should call the representatives of all insurance employees association for negotiations. He threatened that if the negative attitude of the government and the LIC management continued, the employees would be forced to intensify their agitation.

Staff hold lunch-hour protest

Mandi: Members of the Northern Zone Insurance Employees’ Association today protested the non-revision of their wages. The protest was held on a call given by the All-India Insurance Employees’ Organisation and NFIW Class-I Officers’ Federation.

Association secretary Roop Lal Bhardwaj said the protest was held during the lunch hour against the management of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and the Central Government.

He said they were waiting for revision of their wages since August 1, 2012. The insurance sector worldwide had registered a negative growth but the LIC had achieved tremendous growth, he said. Bhardwaj stated that in 2012-13, the LIC had more than 40.81 crore policy holders and assets worth Rs 15.60 lakh crore and had earned a profit of Rs 3.26 lakh crore.

In the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-17), the LIC had invested Rs 1.83 lakh crore for the development of the country, he claimed.

Under social welfare schemes, the LIC had so far invested Rs 9.21 lakh crore in Central and state government securities, he added.