The officers and employees working in several public sector insurance companies, including National Insurance, United India Insurance and Oriental Insurance, will reportedly hold a two-hour-long strike at Basheerbagh soon.
The protests are being organised to demand that the BJP-led union government fulfil the "long-neglected demands" of the employees of the companies.
Speaking to the press, General Secretary of the Hyderabad Region General Insurance Employees' Association Y Subba Rao said that the strike would be held from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm under the aegis of a Joint Action Committee comprising members of the Public Sector General Insurance Officers group and the employees’ associations of the National, United India and Oriental insurance companies
Elaborating on the employees' demands, Rao said that these included the implementation of steps for the protection of India's public sector general insurance companies, the organisation of meetings with the companies' employee unions regarding the revision of wages (due since August 2017), and the implementation of the 1995 pension scheme for all the employees.
Meanwhile, reports suggest that the Centre is considering privatising Oriental Insurance or United India Insurance after observing that the companies benefitted from a series of capital infusions. Sources say that the process of choosing a suitable candidate for the proposed privatisation has already been initiated. Though it is at a nascent stage at this point, the government is hopeful that the companies' improved financials will help generate interest from private sector players soon. The privatisation is likely to catalyse a fresh round of protests.
The Centre is still dealing with the backlash that its decision to privatise Andhra Pradesh's historic Visakhapatnam Steel Plant attracted. The move sparked
massive protests in the state, and a
strong reaction from Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy as well.