The work at the insurance offices in northern Karnataka came to a standstill on Tuesday following the strike call by the Insurance Employees Associations to the Centre’s move to introduce two bills concerning insurance sector.
Class I, III and IV employees of LIC and class III and IV employees of General Insurance Corporation participated in the strike. B N Poojary of Insurance Employees’ Union, V A Kalagi of class I officers’ association, Bhogeshwar Rao of National Organisation of Insurance Organisations and Uday Kurtakoti of National Insurance Workers’ Organisation addressed the striking employees and condemned the Centre’s decision to introduce the bill to amend the IRDA Act 1999. They also opposed the introduction of bill to amend GIBNA Act 1972 and LIC Act 1956.
While one bill amending the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, provides for increase in the foreign direct investment in the insurance sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent and the General Insurance Business Nationalisation Act, 1972, provides for 50 per cent disinvestment in the four subsidiaries of GIC the second bill amending the LIC Act, 1956, provides for increasing in the share capital of the Government from Rs 5 crore to Rs 100 crore. They criticised that at a time when the serious economic crisis has hit the USA and is impacting the whole world, instead of strengthening the public sector LIC and GIC, the government has chosen to amend the relevant acts in insurance.
These measures are uncalled for as they are against the interests of the national economy, public sector LIC ô GIC and policyholders.
“It is undemocratic that the government is not heeding to the campaign against the so-called ‘economic reforms’ which have proved disastrous for the country and people at large,” the speakers rued.
