The LIC insurance scheme offered a Rs 30,000 cover on death for over 10,000 Class IV employees, who paid Rs 60 per month. Of this Rs 21 went towards premium, and Rs 39 was set aside as a savings component to be paid on maturity.

A senior labour department official of PMC said that because of the high number of deaths in the last two and a half years, claims were still being cleared.

“This was a pro-worker scheme. Since LIC wanted to have direct talks with us on discontinuing the scheme, we also got the union people involved. As of now, the workers only have a Rs 15,000 cover under the Kamgar Kalyan Yojana, besides their individual policies,” he said.

Mukta Manohar, general secretary of the PMC union, who attended the final meeting, said that LIC made it clear that the group insurance scheme was not viable owing to the increasing number of deaths.

“They categorically told us that high mortality was one of the main issues for the scheme not being viable. A counter-offer of continuing the scheme with a higher premium was made but it was not acceptable to us and therefore the scheme was scrapped,” she said.

Dr Anant Phadke, a public-health specialist and state convener for Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, an apex body of health NGOs across the country, said that it was unfair to scrap the scheme for the PMC employees, who could be bracketed in the high-risk group.

“From bronchial asthma to lung infection to alcoholism — the list of their ailments is endless and the high mortality rate is alarming and should wake up the administration,” he said.

... contd.