PSU insurance cos to see Rs 675-cr outgo on 13.5% wage hike

The employees of five public sector insurance companies have got the wage hike of 13.5 per cent with retrospective effect from August 2012, involving an outgo of Rs 675 crore including the arrears.
The wage settlement was implemented in February, but effective August 2012, as in the case of the banks and LIC, according to the General Insurance (PSU) Association (Gipsa).
The new wage pact will benefit around 63,000 employees of the four state-run general insurers (New India Assurance, United India Insurance, Oriental Insurance and National Insurance) and the sole re-insurer GIC Re.
"As per the agreement, all the employees will be getting around 13.5 per cent hike in their wages effective from August 2012 and the same has been implemented since February 2016," the newly appointed Gipsa chairman A K Saxena told PTI.

Saxena was elected as new chairman of Gipsa on March 30, replacing G Srinivasan, the chairman and managing director of New India Assurance.
"As per the wage revision, their basic salary has been revised by merging the DA with their basic pay for all employees," said Saxena, who is also the chairman and managing director of Oriental Insurance Company.
Earlier, the management of LIC and the unions representing around 1 lakh employees of the insurance behemoth had agreed on a 15 per cent wage hike, which was effective from August 2012.
Around 15 per cent wage hike was agreed upon in the MoU last year, which was reached between the Indian Banks' Association and the nine bank employees unions. The total annual wage hike, which will benefit around 8.5 lakh employees and officers in 43 banks, will work out to be Rs 4,725 crore.