Insurance Corporation Employee’s Union (ICEU) has threatened to go on nation-wide strike to protest against the government’s proposal to hike Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in insurance sector to 49% from current 26%.
Government is planning to introduce a bill during the ongoing parliament session seeking to increase FDI limit in insurance sector to 49% and sell the stakes in public sector insurance companies.
As per ICEU, they consider this a dangerous move against the welfare of the nation and to the future of insurance industry.
ICEU also said that government’s argument of industry seeking foreign investments is baseless. It said that in the last eleven years insurance sector has attracted only Rs 6,831 crores of foreign investments.
While, during the 11th five-year plan, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has made contributions of Rs 7.04 lakh crores to the government and in the last 11 years, the dividend amount presented to the government by the LIC was Rs 7,848 crores, higher than the FDI received by the insurance sector.
ICEU has already sought 200 parliamentarians support in this matter. ICEU also said that employees across insurance sector will go on strike if bill is passed in the parliament. The union will also conduct a public meeting on 14 December 2012 in Chennai in which representatives of various political parties would participate.
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