Insurance unions opposed to a role for private sector
Six major trade unions have announced their decision to
protest against the Union government's Budget proposal to
open up the insurance sector to private Indian companies.
The All-India LIC Employees Federation, All-India Insurance
Employees Association, Federation of LIC Officers Association,
National Organisation of Insurance Workers, NFI Field Workers of
India, and All-India Life Insurance Employees Association, in a
joint statement, expressed resentment over the budgetary announcement
of the finance minister of opening up the insurance sector to the
private companies as a part of reform in the financial sector.
They said on Wednesday that they would resist such moves through a joint
agitational programme of actions which would be chalked
out at a national level meeting shortly.
According to trade union leaders, the new move for providing
better insurance cover and mobilising resources for infrastructural
development sounded "hollow and meaningless." They said LIC now
covered more that 70 million lives and was committed to providing Rs
300 billion towards infrastructural development during the ninth
five-year plan.
The unions felt that privatisation, if pursued, would harm the
interest of the nation as well as 70 million policy holders and
about 200,000 officers and employees working in the insurance
sector.
They also decided to hold joint protest demonstrations at all
divisional centres at LIC during lunch hours on June 8.
Budget '98
|