After 2-day bank strike, LIC employees to observe strike tomorrow - Hindustan Times
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After 2-day bank strike, LIC employees to observe strike tomorrow

By | Edited by Mallika Soni
Mar 17, 2021 03:09 PM IST

The strike by the LIC employees follows a two-day bank strike on Monday and Tuesday which impacted banking services throughout the country.

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) employees will observe a one-day strike on Thursday to protest against the Centre's proposal of disinvesting the corporation. The government- owned insurance corporation which was established in 1956, has about 114,000 employees as of 2020 and over 290 million policyholders.

In the Union Budget 2021, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the initial public offering (IPO) of LIC.(Reuters)
In the Union Budget 2021, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the initial public offering (IPO) of LIC.(Reuters)

In the Union Budget 2021, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the initial public offering (IPO) of LIC will be brought and set 1.75 lakh crore disinvestment target from sale of stakes in public sector undertakings (PSUs) and financial institutions. Other than IDBI Bank, two public sector banks and one general company are part of the government's disinvestment plan in the financial year 2021-22. Sitharaman said that the government is aiming to use the proceeds from disinvestment to finance social sector and developmental programs.

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"A number of transactions -- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Air India, Shipping Corporation of India, Container Corporation of India, IDBI Bank, BEML, Pawan Hans and Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd -- among others are proposed to be completed in FY 2021-22," Sitharaman told the Parliament in her Budget speech.

The strike by the LIC employees follows a two-day bank strike on Monday and Tuesday which impacted banking services throughout the country. The United Forum of Bank Union (UFBU) which is an umbrella body of nine bank unions, called for a 2-day strike on Monday in which more than 10 lakh bank employees and officers participated.

However, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday, which was the second day of the bank strike, that the interests of the employees of banks that are likely to be privatised will be protected, whether those interests are related to salaries of pensions.

“Even for those which are likely to be privatised, we obviously have to keep in mind that these privatised institutions will be going to function, after the privatisation. We will also have to ensure that every interest of the staff and personnel will be protected. So we will ensure that we are not going to be disinvesting or we are not going to sell them off because whatever happened to them, we are not worried. No, we want financial institutions to get more equity, more people to put money into them to make them sustainable," Sitharaman said.

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