CITU Congratulates Striking Insurance Employees

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) heartily congratulates the 3 lakhs insurance employees and officers and their unions for the magnificent all India strike on 23rd December 2008 against UPA government's decision to increase FDI in the insurance sector.

The strike, observed immediately after the introduction of the bill in Rajya Sabha proposing increasing the FDI from 26% to 49%, registers the strong opposition to further opening up of the insurance sector to the foreign insurance companies, who stand exposed before the entire world for the worst kind of fraud perpetrated on the common people and their role in the global financial crisis. The Indian economy was protected to some extent till now because our financial sector was not allowed to be liberalised to the extent the government wanted, because of the strong resistance of the trade union movement and the Left parties. It is a shame that the UPA government now wants to hand over greater control of our insurance sector to the foreign companies to facilitate import of the crisis into our system. This clearly shows the UPA government's servile attitude towards the dictates of the World Bank and IMF to promote the interests of international finance capital at the expense of the interests of our own country. While fully supporting the struggle of the insurance employees against the increase in FDI in insurance, the CITU reiterates the need to further intensify this struggle. It calls upon the entire trade union movement, and all the democratic and patriotic sections of the society to unite to resist and stall the moves of the government to mortgage our interests to those of the international finance.