LIC employees stage strike in NE to protest stake sale

Around 3,000 employees of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Tuesday observed a one-hour strike across the northeastern region to protest against the union government's budget proposal to sell a part of stake in the state-run financial institution.

The one-hour shut down was observed as part of the LIC employees' nation-wide agitation to protest Union Finance's Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's budget proposal of partial disinvestment of LIC.

The All India Insurance Employees Association (AIIEA) in alliance with two other organisations had called the strike across the country.

"As part of the country-wide stirs, we have organised protest demonstrations in front of the LICI offices in all the eight northeastern states on Monday. Today (Tuesday) we have observed a one-hour strike. All the three agitating employees organisations would sit together soon to decide the future course of action if the central government remained firm on its decision," AIIEA's Silchar Division Vice-President Shyamal Chakraborty said.

Sitharaman while presenting the 2020-21 central budget in the parliament on Saturday had announced that the government would sell a part of its stake in LICI through initial public offering (IPO).

"When the LIC's enormous contribution to protect the Indian economy is prudent and well-established, the central government's latest decision aimed to allow foreign insurance companies to do business in India and to permit the corporate bodies to grab the LICI's vast assets," Chakraborty claimed.IANS