Insurance sector staff strike work in West Bengal

Kolkata, Dec 23 (IANS) Around 99 percent of Kolkata-based National Insurance Corp and 76 percent of General Insurance Corp non-management staff stayed away from work Tuesday in support of a nationwide insurance sector strike.

Employees unions claimed 98 percent of Life Insurance Corp's non-management staff in the eastern region also participated in the strike.

'Apart from gate meetings, two insurance unions, General Insurance Employees Association and All India Insurance Employees Association will be conducting a rally at Dalhousie,' Gautam Moitra, general secretary, West Bengal General Insurance Employees Association said.

Till noon, chairman of National Insurance Corp did not attend office. The attendance at the Kolkata-headquartered insurance company was skeletal.

The strike was called by the All India Insurance Employees Association to protest against the government's move to raise the cap on foreign investment in the sector from 26 percent to 49 percent.