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Anti-bill insurance employees go on a country-wide strike

Opposing opening up of the insurance sector, millions of insurance employees struck work and paralysed functioning of the Life Insurance Corporation of India and the General Insurance Corporation and its affiliate companies throughout the country.

"The strike has been by and large complete. Even Class One officers have joined the strike," a spokesman of the All India Insurance Employees Association said in New Delhi.

"In some of the branches even the locks have not been opened," he said.

LIC and GIC have over 200,000 employees who have been opposing end of the state monopoly in the insurance sector by allowing foreign companies and the domestic players open joint ventures. As per the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Bill, foreign companies can be allowed 26 per cent equity.

Many multinational companies like Sun Life Assurance and Canada Life Assurance have already signed memoranda of understanding with Indian partners for commencing business in life and general insurance.

The strike evoked good response in Gujarat as most of the employees working in LIC and GIC participated in the one-day strike.

Around 35,000 employees of LIC and GIC in Maharashtra went on a strike in protest against the proposed privatisation of the insurance sector.

Treasurer of the All-India Insurance Employees Federation said the strike was total in all the 15 divisions in the state and was attended by the officers of the LIC and GIC with a view to defeat the proposed IRDA bill presented in the Lok Sabha.

In West Bengal, officers and employees of the insurance sector demonstrated in front of the office gates since morning and decided to carry forward their struggle even if the bill is passed in Parliament.

About 8,000 officers and insurance employees struck work in Bihar. Insurance Employees Association's Patna divisional general secretary Mithilesh Kumar Singh and president of the Federation of Life Insurance Officers' Association B B Sinha said the functioning of the insurance sector throughout the state was paralysed during the day.

In Andhra Pradesh, working in most insurance offices was paralysed following the strike in response to the call given by their unions at the national level demanding scrapping of the bill.

In Karnataka, police sources said that about 500 insurance employees took out a procession in Bangalore. They later submitted a memorandum to Governor Khursheed Alam Khan.

In Tamil Nadu, while those owing allegiance to the All-India Insurance Employees Association and the All-India General Insurance Employees Association struck work; those supporting the insurance union affiliated to the INTUC attended office, sources in the Madras branches of insurance companies said.

UNI

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