Issues concerning SLIC employees: Senate panel to summon SECP officials

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice decided Wednesday to summon in its next meeting the officials of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) for a briefing on the issues concerning the employees of State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC) of Pakistan.

Barrister Javed Abbasi presided over the committee's meeting which took a briefing from senior SLIC management regarding the promotion of SLIC sales officers to the rank of sales manager.

The committee was briefed that SECP had instructed all the insurance companies to reduce their expenses. Corresponding to these instructions, SLIC Board decided to promote the sales officers working in the Corporation to the rank of sales manager (instead of making fresh hiring) as part of SLIC policy to reduce expenses.

SLIC management also briefed the committee that field agents working for SLIC are not the employees of the Corporation and they get commission from the business they bring for SLIC.

Committee member Mushahid Ullah Khan said several field agents who work for SLIC are living in extremely poor living conditions with majority either jobless or unable to find any suitable source of income. "The State Life Insurance Corporation must do something about scores of those field agents. It is very unfortunate and ironical that these field agents work tirelessly for the Corporation but they are not its employees and get only a meager share of commission from the business they bring for SLIC," he said.

The committee then decided to summon the SECP officials in the next meeting to be briefed on this issue concerning SLIC field agents and related issues regarding SLIC employees.

The committee also reviewed the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2020, seeking amendment in the Article 73 of the Constitution of Pakistan, moved by senators Manzoor Ahmad, Kulsoom Parveen, Shafiq Tareen, Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and others as well as Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2020, moved by Javed Abbasi seeking amendment in Article 140. Sharing views on this bill, Abbasi said it is imperative that the Constitution of Pakistan should have a provision regarding appointment of advocate general of Islamabad High Court (IHC). The committee decided to defer discussion on both the bills till next meeting and decided to summon Law Minister Farogh Naseem for the federal government's legal input on both the bills.

Committee members including Ayesha Raza Farooq, Mussadik Malik, Waleed Iqbal, Ghous Muhammad Khan Niazi, Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Mustafa Khokhar, Sajjad Toori among others as well as senior officials from SLIC and Ministry of Law and Justice attended the meeting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020