The Ministry of Finance notified an average salary increase of 12% for employees of four public sector general insurance companies from August 2017.
“This scheme may be referred to as the General Insurance (Streamlining Salary Scales and Other Conditions of Service for Officers) Amendment Scheme, 2022,” said a notice to the Official Gazette dated October 14, 2022.
This salary review is effective from August 1, 2017 and applicable to those who were in the service of these companies, he said, adding that managers and employees will receive arrears for five years.
The next revision scheduled from August 2022 will take the form of variable pay based on company and employee performance, he added.
The unions are not happy with the imposition of remuneration linked to the performance of the company and their performance.
“We have strong reservations about the way the pay review has been carried out after a 64-month wait. Tying pay to performance seems illogical when we employees are undertaking so many government programs,” said the General Insurance Employees’ All India Association (GIEAIA). said General Secretary Trilok Singh.
There is no level playing field for public sector insurance companies, he said, adding that it is the employees of public insurance companies who make all government schemes successful and not from the private sector.
Data year after year indicates that the private sector has been lagging behind, he added.
Singh stressed that unions are not against reforms, but that it should be done bearing in mind the public sector nature of these companies.
Last year, the government notified the General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Amendment Act which will allow the government to reduce its stake in state-owned general insurers to less than 51%.
With the 12% rise and five years of arrears, the payroll of New India Assurance, National Insurance, Oriental Insurance and United India Insurance would be around Rs 8,000 crore, an official source said.
Salary review for public sector banks and insurance companies takes place every five years. The next salary review for employees of insurance companies is scheduled from August 2022.
