People's Democracy

LIC Agents Hold First All India Conference

P G Dileep

IT was with a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment that the LIC agents from different parts of the country assembled at the prestigious AKG Hall at Thiruvananthapuram on December 19 and 20, and formed a new organisation by the name of LIC Agents’ Organisation of India. It is a difficult task to organise the LIC agents in a vast country like India that consist of 28 big and small states with different languages and cultures. Also, as enough preparations were not made for want of time to organise the first all-India conference, certain shortcomings and lapses were inevitably visible. Yet the conference ended successfully for the simple reason that the desire to have an all-India organisation was very much there to enthuse the LIC agents from all over the country.

A reception committee, with Thiruvananthapuram mayor Professor J Chandra as the chairperson and CITU district secretary S S Potti as the general convenor, made the hectic preparations for the conference, through its subcommittees which swung into action as soon as they were constituted.   

In December, posters, wall-writings, banners and arches appeared close to the LIC branch offices in the city of Thiruvananthapurm and different parts of Kerala, announcing the imminent formation of a new organisation for LIC agents. Posters also appeared in front of all the 2,048 LIC branches in the country. The Centre of Indian Trade unions (CITU) and All India Insurance Employees Association (AIIEA) extended all-out support and provided encouragement to the efforts to mobilise the agents for the conference. LIC agents from 36 divisions from states like Kerala, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh participated in the conference as delegates.

At 3 p m on December 19, more than 4,000 agents assembled in front of the SMV School opposite the LIC City Branch Office II, with their respective banners and flags for a procession. The band troupe and the ladies dressed in Kerala style, holding gilt-edged colourful umbrellas in front of the procession, attracted the people standing on both sides of the main road. Leaders from different states were in the front row to lead the procession, followed by agents shouting slogans against the anti-labour policies of the government of India and demanding withdrawal of the 15 per cent lapsation condition as well as introduction of pension and welfare fund for agents. The procession moved through the main thoroughfares with banners, festoons and flags. Different trade union workers assembled at important centres to greet the procession. They were from the organisations of headload workers, construction workers, central government employees, state government employees and LIC employees.

When the procession reached the AKG Hall around 5 p m, S S Potti, Kerala state president of the Life Insurance Agents Association, hoisted the flag amid slogan shouting in different languages. The 1,250 seating capacity of the AKG Hall was insufficient to accommodate all the agents and so a good number of agents stayed patiently outside the hall. The inaugural session started at 5.15 p m, with S S Potti presiding over the session. The mayor of Thiruvananthapuram, as the chairperson of the reception committee, welcomed the gathering while Basudev Acharya, MP, inaugurated the conference. In his inaugural address, he narrated how the opposition parties except the Congress had expressed their protest against the privatisation of insurance, banks and recently of the oil companies. He also mentioned the role played by LIC employees in protecting the Life Insurance Corporation of India, and in the organised struggle against the efforts at privatisation of public sector oil companies and aluminium companies, along with others connected with these institutions.

In his address, AIIEA president N M Sundaram narrated the fight against privatisation in the insurance industry. He said there are more than 10 lakh LIC agents and they do not have an organisation worth mentioning. It is a good thing that an attempt was being made to form an all-India organisation of these agents now.

NFIFWI president R Jayaprakash greeted the conference, appreciating the role played by the agents for the growth and progress of the LIC and welcoming the venture to form an all-India organisation.

K G Bhat, regional manager (marketing) in the LIC of India, Southern Zone, and J Anil Kumar, senior divisional manager, were the main speakers at the seminar on the LIC’s significance and relevance in the changed scenario. LIAA general secretary P G Dileep proposed the vote of thanks.

The delegates session started at 10.30 a m on December 20, with a presidium consisting of Aji (Kerala), Ajit Baran Ghosh (West Bengal), Ravi Prakash Bhardwaj (Uttar Pradesh), M Ramachandran (Tamilnadu) and Manjunath (Karnataka) to conduct the deliberations. S S Potti welcomed the session. CITU president M K Pandhe inaugurated this session, elaborating the challenges faced by the working class in the country, the attacks being unleashed against the working class by the NDA government, and the consequent necessity to organise united struggles. He expressed confidence that LIC agents, if organised, would be a formidable force in the working class. K Chandran Pillai, MP, also greeted the session.

At the session, K C Sajeevan (Ernakulam) presented a brief report, K S Sanjeev Kumar (Kottayam) presented the draft constitution and V Satheesan (Kozhikode) presented the draft charter of demands for discussion. Representing the West Bengal delegation, Dileep Kumar Sen Gupta presented another report. Representing various states, more than 20 agents participated in the discussions proposing amendments to the constitution and new demands to be incorporated in the charter of demands. S S Potti, who summed up the discussion, assured that the report, constitution and charter of demands would be finalised after examining the proposed changes and amendments, and opined that all amendments were acceptable.

Following resolutions were adopted at the conference.

1. For withdrawal of the clauses in the IRDA regulations to introduce the insurance broker system, bank assurance, institutional agency system, corporate and cooperative agency system, etc.

2.  For recruitment of development officers strictly from qualified agents.

3. For extension of free medical benefits to all agents.

4. No recruitment of persons above 40 years of age as agents.

5. For enhancement of the gratuity amount to a maximum of Rs 3.5 lakh by making adequate amendments in the gratuity regulations.

6. Introduction of pension, PF benefits, welfare fund, vehicle advance to all agents and maternity allowance for lady agents.

7. Immediate steps to flush out all illegal agents.

8. Deletion of the 15 per cent lapse criterion for club membership.

9. Avoidance of the criterion of interview for club membership.

10. Decrease in the premium rate and increase in the bonus rate for customers, in view of the surplus with the LIC.

11. Dropping of the system of dating back interest for proposal.

12. To demand that commission should be paid to agents on the first working day of every month all over India.

13. For enhancement of the limit of commission income from Rs 5,000 to Rs 1 lakh for the purpose of tax deduction at source (TDS).

14. Reduction in the interest rate for agents’ advance, policy loan and late fee for premium.

The conference in one voice approved the proposal to form an all-India organisation for LIC agents. It was in the midst of continuous applause that the new organisations by the name of LIC Agents Organisation of India was formed. There was much enthusiasm among the agents when a panel for office bearers and working committee members was presented. The conference unanimously elected 19 office bearers with Basudev Acharya as the president and P G Dileep as the general secretary. V P Anandan (Trissur) is the working president, and S S Potti (Kerala), Satheesan, (Kozhikkod), K S Sajeev Kumar (Kottayam), Ajith Baran Ghosh and Basudev Pal (West Bengal), M Ramachandran (Tamilnadu), Crastha A Joseph (Karnataka) and Ravi Prakash Bhardwaj (Uttar Pradesh) are the vice-presidents of the new organisation. Secretaries are C Narayanan (Kannur), K C Sajeevan, (Ernakulam), P P Chandran (Thodupuzha), Dileep Kumar Sen Gupta, Jaynath Basu and Debashish Chatterjee (West Bengal), and L Manjunath (Karnataka). V Ajayakumar (Thiruvananthapuram) is the treasurer.

The conference unanimously elected a 75 member working committee also.

Thus, a new organisation has come into being to represent 10.5 lakh agents after 47 years of the LIC’s existence. At present, the organisation has got units in 36 divisions affiliated to it, and hopes to have units in all divisions and branches, with the help of friendly organisations like the CITU and AIIEA.

The delegates to the conference returned to their respective places with the memories of the successful conference at Thiruvananthapuram and fond hope of bringing all the LIC agents in the country under the banner of the LIC Agents Organisation of India. The latter has publicly declared that its aim would be to protect and safeguard the interests of the LIC of India and its customers in general and of the LIC agents in particular.