The move by the DFS has come at a time when GIC Re had already expressed its desire to the DFS to be treated separately from the rest of PSU general insurers in some areas particularly deciding wages and allowances of its employees
New Delhi:
The Department of Financial Services(DFS) has asked GIPSA, (General Insurance Public Sector Association), consisting of four PSU general insurers, to include two other PSU entities GIC Re, the national insurer and Agriculture Insurance Company(AIC) as its members.
“GIC Re and AIC maybe included as a member of GIPSA in line with other 4 PSGIG and all cost and expenses of the Association may also be equally shared by all six members member companies on the basis of the approval by the Governing Board of GIPSA,’’ said an order from the DFS on Monday.
The move by the DFS has come at a time when GIC Re had already expressed its desire to the DFS to be treated separately from the rest of PSU general insurers in some areas particularly deciding wages and allowances of its employees.
GIC Re, which has over 500 employees, is the third largest Asian reinsurer and has different business priorities and financial capacities. To compete globally, it needs to have a suitable manpower system based on higher incentives and should not be clubbed with the other PSU general insurers in the matter of HR, GIC Re has argued.
GIPSA was formed by four PSU general insurers, New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance Company, National Insurance Company and United Insurance Company, two decades back as a coordinating body among the companies for coordinating their manpower and other administrative requirements at the time of privatisation of the Indian insurance sector.
Before privatisation in 2000, General Insurance Corporation(GIC) was the holding company of all the four PSU general insurers but had to give up the role as it was converted into an exclusive reinsurance company.
Currently, the promotion exercises for the posts of deputy general mangers(DGMs) and general managers (GMs) among the four companies and GIC Re are conducted by the GIPSA.
GIPSA also conducts wage revision exercises for these five companies.
Though, senior officials of AIC were earlier included for selection of CMDs and general manager and directors(GMDs) of all the six companies, same policy was not followed for selecting GMs and DGMs of five companies.
Even, AIC was not included in the wage negotiations conducted by the GIPSA companies.
GIPSA, headed by one of the CMDs of member companies and will have a new chairman soon as Suchita Gupta, CMD, National Insurance Company(NIC), who is currently heading the body, will be retiring in the month end.