The government has finalised a hike of more than 25 percent and a five-day week policy for the 1.14 lakh LIC employees, a top union leader told news agency IANS on Friday.

"The employees are happy with the wage revision that has come at a difficult situation. The pay hike for the employees is expected to be over 25 percent a month," Shreekant Mishra, General Secretary, All India Insurance Employees Association (AIIEA) told IANS.

This will mark an overall increase of Rs 2,700 crore in LIC's total wage bill, said the report.

The hike includes a loading of 15 percent given after 100 percent neutralisation of dearness allowance (DA) at 6,352 points of the consumer price index (CPI).

Along with this, the government has introduced an additional Special Allowance ranging between Rs 1,500 to Rs 13,500 per month for all cadres. This shall be computed for the calculation of DA only, not for any other purpose like house rent allowance, city compensatory allowance, privilege leave encashment, gratuity, or other benefits, said Mishra.

The wage revision will be effective from August 1, 2017.

According to Mishra, officials arrived at this hike after several rounds of negotiations. While the AIIEA had demanded a 40 percent wage hike, after negotiations, it came down to over 25 percent.

The Union will now focus on concluding the wage revision rounds for employees in the general insurance sector. The management of the four government-owned general insurance companies are yet to invite a meeting with the Union on the subject, Mishra told IANS.

First Published:Apr 16, 2021 12:38 PM IST