58,000 PSU general insurance employees to go on a 2-day strike seeking wage revision

Over 58,000 employees in the public sector general insurance companies will go on a 2-day strike on July 27-28 to highlight their woes of wage revision and lack of Central government support to the industry, top leaders said here on Thursday.

The employees and officers belong to the four main public sector general insurance entities across the country - the New India Assurance Co. Ltd., (Mumbai), the Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., (New Delhi), the National Insurance Co. Ltd., (Kolkata), and the United India Assurance Co. Ltd., (Chennai).

The General Insurance Employees Union (Western Zone) Working President Lalit Suvarna said that the last wage revision valid for five years was done in August 2012, and the next wage revision of five years duration is still pending since August 2017 with the validity period ending this month-end.

"We have decided to go on the two-day strike to draw the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government to call us for talks and finalise the long-delayed wage revision immediately," Suvarna told mediapersons here.

GIEU Chairman Udayan Banerjee said that the insurance staffers had gone on a day's token strike on July 15 to highlight their plight, particularly since the wage revision in public sector banks was completed over two years ago, and the Life Insurance Corporation Ltd. employees also had their wage agreement settled earlier this year.

"However, the public sector GICs have been left out for so long. The aim of the government is clearly to privatise these companies, compel the employees to take VRS and quit," Banerjee alleged.

GIEU Secretary Jitendra Ingle said that barring New India Assurance Co. Ltd., the other 3 companies are making losses owing to the bad policies of the government, and the Chairpersons in these companies are 'powerless' reporting to the Joint Secretary in the Department of Financial Services.

The unionists said they had sent a detailed letter to the Centre and the managements of these insurance companies on June 23, 2022 urging them to resolve and settle the pending Wage Revision at par with LIC, as has been the historical practice, but there was no response.

Later, the government told the employees' union to defer their proposed strike by a month (to July 15), and the staffers have been waiting for a solution that has not come yet.

The GIEU leaders have appealed to all employees and officers not to be misled by certain mischievous messages pertaining to the 2-day strike circulating on the social media with intent to divide and create misunderstandings.

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