SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, May 4: The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) employees of all 40 branches in Jharkhand on Wednesday observed a two-hour ‘walkout strike’ (10 am to 12 noon) in protest against the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) Initial Public Offering (IPO) which opened on May 4.
Joint secretary of East Central Zonal Insurance Employees Association (ECZIEA) Hemant Kumar Mishra claimed that employees of all 40 branches under both the Hazaribagh and Jamshedpur Division of Jharkhand strongly protested against the decision of the central government by observing two hours walkout strike at their respective office before lunch.
The ECZIEA leader said that not only in Jharkhand even employees in branches of Bihar and Odisha that fall under the East central Zonal Association walked out of the office for two hours on scheduled time to protest the IPO in LIC. There are five divisions in Bihar namely Patna-1, Patna-2, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur and Begusarai while four divisions in Odisha – Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur, Kuttak and Balrampur. In all divisions, LIC employees protested IPO in strong words.
“It is nothing but the first step of central government for privatization of LIC. IPO would weak the main mission of Life Insurance Corporation. It(LIC) has played a major role in strengthening the economic structure of the country and sustainable development in the last 65 years. LIC has at present managed Rs 39 lakh crores property and has invested Rs 36 lakh crores in the economy of the country. So employees would not let the central government push it in the private field”, said Hemant.
Hemant Mishra also holds vice –president post of the Hazaribagh Division.
