The new fiscal year 2021-22 has started for about 1.14 lakh employees of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on a happy note with an over 25 per cent hike in their pay packets, said a top union leader.

The Central government on Thursday notified the revised pay packets for LIC employees.

The wage revision is effective from 1.8.2017.

“The employees are happy with the wage revision that has come at a difficult situation. The pay hike for the employees is expected to be over 25 per cent per month,” Shreekant Mishra, General Secretary, All India Insurance Employees Association (AIIEA) told IANS.

He said loading of 15 per cent has been given after 100 per cent neutralization of dearness allowance (DA) at 6,352 points of consumer price index (CPI).

An additional Special Allowance ranging between Rs.1,500 to Rs.13,500 per month has been introduced for all cadres, which shall be reckoned for the purpose of calculation of dearness allowance (DA) but will not count for any other purpose i.e. house rent allowance, city compensatory allowance, privilege leave encashment, gratuity, superannuation benefit and others.

Mishra said the overall increase in LIC’s total wage bill will be about Rs 2,700 crore per year.

Mishra also said it will be five day week for LIC employees.

“In the first round, the management offered 10 per cent wage hike and it was revised upwards in the second round to 15 per cent. We said the offer does not meet our expectations,” Mishra said.

According to Mishra, the 15 per cent wage hike offer was made on September 30, 2020 and the first offer of 10 per cent hike was made in March 2019.

“We were having regular discussions with the management on the wage revision,” Mishra said.

The AIIEA had submitted a charter demanding 40 per cent wage hike. In the last wage agreement, the hike given was 25 per cent on average.

Mishra said the union’s next focus is to conclude wage revision for the employees of the government companies in the general insurance sector.

The management of the four government owned general insurance companies are yet to call a meeting of the unions there for wage revision talks, he added.