General insurance employees association raises concern over the selection of Ernst and Young, accused in Wirecard scandal by GIPSA
Kanwar Inder Singh/ April 6,2023
“The consultant Ernst and Young was selected by General Insurance Public Sector Association (GIPSA) management to bring efficiency, profitable growth and restructuring in Public Sector Insurance Companies (PSGICs), was fined for a 100 million $ penalty for cheating on Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exams. The said news was published in international newspapers such as The Guardian, USA Today, and various other newspapers on 20th June 2022. Additionally, as per the news on 4th April 2023 in Economic Times, the German Audit watchdog bans E and Y over the Wirecard scandal, taking on new audits for companies of public interest for 2 years, and handed the firm a fine of 500,000 Euro dollars” said General Insurance Employees’ All India Association general secretary Trilok Singh
He said “today, it is a matter of serious concern that under the pressure of some department of financial services (DFS) officials, the management of public sector general insurance companies are blindly imposing the report of the consultant E and Y in regards to closure and mergers/restructuring and imposing key performance indicators in haste.”
The employees, officers, agents, surveyors, and other professionals involved in PSGI companies have been opposing the report of E and Y in principle.
It is strange that the management of PSGI companies have not shared the complete reports with the employees, officers, and other stakeholders and are moving ahead unilaterally. The chief labor commission of the Government of India intervened and directed GIPSA management, DFS, and the corporate management of public sector general insurance companies twice, to have bilateral discussions with the unions/association and welfare groups. Still, the same was violated and dishonored.
It is pertinent to note that the PSGI companies, doing business of more than 1,25,000 crores, are under severe threat and have attained remarkable growth in this financial year with the present module.
These companies have been fulfilling various social responsibilities and have contributed to Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna, Ayushman Bharat Yojana and various Social Schemes and have been giving huge profits and dividends to the Government of India. on the contrary, there are serious charges of more than 15,000 crores on private players for irregularities in the payments of GST and settling of Crop claims.
The Joint forum of trade unions and associations have submitted memorandum to more than 25 distinguished members of Parliaments. Many Parliament members have urged the finance minister and the senior-most authorities of the Government of India to take judicious action in this regard to protect, save, and strengthen these public sector general insurance companies.
On the intervention of the chief labour commissioner (CLC), the joint forum of trade unions and association has deferred their strike call on 4th of January and 29th of March. But the same was not given serious cognizance by the PSGIS management and the DFS officials. In this situation, the General Insurance Employees Association demands to have CAG and statuary audit of E and Y, to blacklist the said consultant and to scrap the report of E and Y.
General insurance employees association raises concern over the selection of Ernst and Young, accused in Wirecard scandal by GIPSA and said General Insurance Employees All India Association, along with Joint Forum of Trade Unions (JFTU), in this situation, will be forced to go for a series of agitation in the coming days, for which the PSGIS management, GIPSA, and some DFS officials will be held responsible.
(royalpatiala.in News)
