Over 100,000 LIC employees to get 16% wage hike

More than a lakh employees of state-owned insurance behemoth -- Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) -- are in for cheer as the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance (MoF), has given a go-ahead to the wage revision of LIC employees. 

The approved hike given in the wage bill is 16 per cent, according to sources aware of the development. A loading of 15 per cent has been given after 100 per cent of neutralisation of dearness allowance (DA). 

Also, another major development that will bring cheer to LIC employees is, the government has given a go-ahead to a five-day working week for LIC employees. This means every Saturday will be a public holiday for LIC, with immediate effect. This is in contrast with the six-day working week for public sector bank employees. This was one of the demands of the employee associations. 

Furthermore, an additional special allowance has been introduced for all cadres, which shall be reckoned for the purpose of calculation of DA but will not count for any other purpose i.e house rental allowance (HRA), city compensatory allowance (CSA), paid leave encashment, gratuity, superannuation benefit, etc. The special allowance will range from Rs 1,500 to Rs 13,500 per month. 

The employees had sought a basic raise of 35 per cent but LIC had offered only a 16 per cent revision in wages. Normally, wage revisions for LIC employees take place after every 5 years. The last wage revision that took place was in August 2012. So, the revision in wages had been pending since August 2017. 

It is important to note that the government is looking to list LIC on the bourses in the current financial year (FY22) and the government is expected to mop up around Rs 1 trillion from the initial public offering.