The employees of Life Insurance Corporation of India protested against the LIC Amendment Bill (2009) introduced in the Lok Sabha by the finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee on July 31 by observing a two-hour walkout strike last Tuesday.

The government claims that the amendment will help in increasing the organization's capital base. However, insurance by its nature is not a capital-intensive business and it is reasoned that the amendment will only adversely affect the policyholders.

Around 70,000 employees of the organization from 2,048 centers participated in the strike.

Amanulla Khan, president, All India Insurance Employees Association (AIIEA), said that the employees in major centres such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore participated in "strike-rallies."

The strike aimed ay "catching public attention," as explained by him.

"In many places, even Class I employees expressed their solidarity with the striking employees," he added.

The IRDA norms for insurance companies registered after 1999, mandate insurance companies to have a minimum capital base of Rs 100-crore.

"There is no need for this as the Corporation has been doing its expansion from its internal resources for the last 56-years without Government support," said, K Venu Gopal, General Secretary, All India Insurance Employees' Association.