15% hike on the cards for GIPSA staff

Long Wait

- Earlier, wage revision of PSGICs has not been initiated

- It's a lapse of nearly 59 months from the due date

-PSGICs providing general insurance services to nearly 50 crore people

- PSGICs ensured uninterrupted services during the Covid phase

- In the process, around 250 employees and officers had to sacrifice their lives

Mumbai: On the direction given by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), GIPSA convened a meeting of the leaders of checked off or recognised associations at the four state-run general insurance companies and the national reinsurer, GIC Re in New Delhi on June 22.

Another source, familiar with the development, said that the 50,000-odd employees of PSGICs are likely to get 15 per cent hike in their wages, post wage revision this time which was due since August, 2017.

The source familiar with the development told Bizz Buzz that DFS had interacted with the heads of all the four PSGICs (Public Sector General Insurance Companies) on June 20 and instructed them to sort out the intriguing issue of wage revision of all the employees of the state-run general insurance companies. As a result of that, GIPSA met the leader of all the checked-off associations of the employee working at all the state-run insurance companies.

In a letter, the copies of which were sent by GIPSA to all the checked off associations of PSGICs on June 21 (Tuesday), RR Singh, chief executive of GIPSA says that a joint meeting with checked off qualified unions associations of Class I, Class II, Class III and Class IV on wage revision has been convened on June 22. The meeting, which will be held in a virtual conference mode, begins at 4.30 PM.

The meeting will be attended by CMDs and general managers (personnel) of all the state-run general insurers. It will be chaired by the GIPSA chairperson, Suchita Gupta, who is currently the CMD of Kolkata-based National Insurance Company.

Each checked off association has been requested by GIPSA to nominate 02 of their representatives for the said meeting and inform their names to GIPSA in advance.

Sanjay Jha of AIIEA, said: "As informed on June 20 regarding DFS' advice to GIPSA on wage revision issue, the GIPSA has now invited all checked off associations for a joint meeting through VC at 4.30 pm tomorrow on June 22 to discuss wage revision in PSGICs."

Trilok Singh, General Secretary, GIEAIA, said: "We are pleased to inform you all that the joint struggle programmes carried out under the banner of JFTU have finally yielded positive results and today all four CMDs were called by DFS for an urgent and important meeting on finalisation of WR in PSGICS."

It is to be noted that the joint forum of unions and associations in public-sector general insurance companies, had deferred their Indefinite strike call from June 20, after getting the assurance and appeal by GIPSA Chairman, CE, GIPSA, and all four companies' CMDs of PSGICS to withdraw the call for indefinite strike. This decision has been taken after the meeting of JFTU constituents.

Earlier, the wage revision for the employees of PSGICs were settled immediately after the completion of wage revision in other financial sectors like banks and LIC.

However, this is the first time, the wage revision of PSGICs has not been initiated, after a lapse of nearly 59 months from the due date. It is worth mentioning here that the PSGICs had ensured uninterrupted services to the policyholders/and the citizens even during the Covid phase and in the process around 250 employees and officers had to sacrifice their lives, while executing their official duties. Ever since, the formation of the PSGICs, have been providing, general insurance services to nearly 50 crore people of the country, at a nominal premium with active participation of lakhs of agent forces and have succeeded in various government schemes of financial inclusion/Prime Ministers Suraksha Bhima Yojana, Ayushman Bharat Health Scheme and various other schemes for rural and crop insurance.