Insurance employees formed a human chain here on Saturday urging the Centre to give up the Insurance Laws Amendment Bill which formulated a hike in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the insurance sector and disinvestment of public sector general insurance companies.
R. Annadurai, MLA, Madurai South, inaugurated the protest meeting while G. Meenakshi Sundaram, president, Insurance Corporation Employees’ Union (ICEU), presided over it. The human chain was organised by ICEU Madurai Division.
“The next session of Parliament commences on April 22 and the Government is taking all efforts to pass the Insurance Laws Amendment Bill which would pave way for an increase in FDI in insurance. People’s savings should not be transferred to foreigners,” the employees demanded.
They urged the Centre to accept the recommendation of the Parliamentary Standing Committee, which said that there was no need to hike FDI in insurance sector in the aftermath of global financial crisis. The union appealed for strengthening of general insurance companies to face competition and also wanted the merger of the four general insurance companies into a single entity.
According to a release from ICEU, insurance employees, agents, development officers besides officers of Life Insurance Corporation of India and general insurance companies participated in the human chain.