Wage talks - detailed circular

19.3.2010.

DISCUSSIONS WITH MANAGEMENT ON 19TH MARCH 2010

As scheduled, the discussions with management were held on 19th March 2010. This time, there was no joint session & hence it was clear that there would be no further offer beyond 17.5%. The discussions were held in the chamber of Managing Director Shri A K Dasgupta. The management was represented by MD Shri Dasgupta, ED (Personnel), Smt D Vijayalakshmi & the Chief (Personnel), Shri Rajkumar. NOINO was represented by Shri Ganesh Kamath, GS, NOINO; Shri Sudhakar Ingole, WP, NOINO; Shri Kashinath Terwadkar, EC member, NOINO (Kolhapur) & Shri Manish Patankar, Jt Secy, NOINO, WZ.
Shri Dasgupta in his address said that the management had invited the unions to basically listen to the suggestions from the unions on the charter & appeal them to withdraw the agitation. He also said that the management was trying its best to get the best deal for LIC employees. However, the matters on the bank front were moving slowly & hence if we were to get a better deal then it was imperative to know what is finalized in the banking industry.
Shri Ganesh Kamath responded by saying that since NOINO was a part of a joint front the decision in the matter of agitation would be taken by the joint front in a joint meeting. He also protested the fact that there was no joint session & no renewed offer. He said that the officers & employees were frustrated & were in a militant mood.
As far as the suggestions regarding charter were concerned we gave the following suggestions:-
Instead of harping on the percentage rise (17.5% or above), we suggested that the wage-rise should be linked to the Total Premium Income. E.g. during the last charter the total wages were 6.02% of the TPI. The international standards also confirm to about 6%. Even if the expense ratio is reduced to say 4% we would get substantial wage-rise (much more than 17.5%).
The scales should be drawn in such a manner (we have given a certain figure for the topmost cadre) that the officer on the lowest rung would also get more than 17.5%.
We reiterated that running scales should be granted. This would at once ensure that the frustration of missing promotion is reduced & on the other hand it would camouflage the cost.
We reiterated our demand for Navratna status to ensure financial autonomy to a certain extent.

We also once again raised the issue of Tax on Perquisites & repeated our demand made on 18th February & 17th March that LIC should bear the tax on perquisites relating to staff quarters, newspaper & car under Scheme VI. The MD noted all our points & agreed to look into these suggestions sympathetically. In this meeting we also drew the attention to the fact that LIC employees were being drafted for Census duty & urged the management to take necessary steps in the matter.

NOINO also had an interaction with the Chairman Shri T S Vijayan in the evening. Almost the same pattern as in the individual discussions was repeated in this interaction. The Chairman said that he was expecting that there was a possibility of going further in the wage-rise issue but he said that the employees would have to wait a little longer & appealed to withdraw the agitation. On the issue of bearing the tax on perquisites, he said that he would definitely look into the matter. We repeated our position taken in our individual discussions.

The Joint front would be meeting today i.e. 19th March at 9.00 pm to finalise its strategy.

Ganesh Kamath
GS, NOINO.