Oil Workers Gear for A Long Strike

“If our demands are not considered, the oil workers in the whole country may go in for a longer strike where the gas supply for the entire nation will come to a grinding halt,” warns G L Dhar, Secretary of AITUC, responding to the one-day token strike of the oil sector workers on 16 December 2003. “We are happy with success of this strike. The plan to go for a longer strike will be worked out in the Convention in Chennai,” he adds. According to him, a longer strike will take place only sometime in March next year.

On 16 December 2003, more than 150,000 petroleum workers of oil Public Sector Units (PSUs) affiliated to 76 unions went on a 24-hour nationwide strike against the government’s policy of privatisation of highly profitable and cash rich PSUs. The workers under the banner of National United Forum threatened to go on indefinite strike if the central government decided to continue with its plan of privatising the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL).

Workers of oil PSUs, including those working in ONGC, IOC, HPCL, BPCL, IBP and Oil India, actively participated in the strike. Trade unions consider the token strike a “success”. “This is for the first time in the history of the trade union movement in the oil sector in our country, the workers of all the oil PSUs have come together for a strike on a national issue and not for economic benefit. The strike became more relevant because workers in all segments of the sector, including drilling and production, refineries, pipelines and marketing, participated. Workers all over the country, wherever there is oil activity, went on strike,” says Swadesh Dev Roy of CITU.

“The strike was an unprecedented success. Workers belonging to all oil companies in India came together and participated. Except some aberrations in Gujarat and Maharashtra, the strike was total. Out of 13 refineries in the country, 10 were closed,” observes G L Dhar of AITUC.

INTUC had given moral support to the striking workers. “The claim of the authorities, that there was no dearth of oil on the strike day, is not because the refineries were functioning in full swing. Since the workers had no intention to create problems for the public, oil was supplied in bulk before the strike,” says Chandidas Sinha, Secretary of INTUC.

In September 2003, the All India Joint Convention of Oil-Sector Workers in New Delhi, warned the government that the oil workers would launch a protest if the government took any step, either through legislation or Ordinance, to repeal the Nationalisation Act for facilitating the privatisation of HPCL and BPCL. Later, on 16 November the Convention had again met in Guwahati and unanimously decided for a one-day token strike of the oil sector workers in India. The Convention, attended by all trade unions of the oil sector, also had reiterated the decision of the September Delhi Convention and declared “total opposition” to the government move to privatise profit-making and cash rich oil PSUs. The government’s move to file a review petition against the Surpeme Court verdict on the BPCL/HPCL privatisation had created a stir among the oil sector workers throughout the country. Later, when steps were initiated to off-load 20 per cent stake in IOC and 5 per cent stake in ONGC, the move vindicated the apprehension of the National United Forum.

Following the Convention, On 2 December 2003, the public sector oil workers all over the country demonstrated at their respective workplaces in production, refinery, marketing, pipeline, bottling plants, corporate, regional and all other offices and locations. The workers in the Northern region held a demonstration at the Jantar Mantar park, New Delhi.

Public Sector Road Transport Workers on Road

On 18 November 2003, New Delhi witnessed a massive sit-in of the transport workers, who aired their voice against privatisation of public sector road transport. Protesting under the banner of the National Federation of India Road Transport Workers, they unanimously demanded the adoption of an Integrated National Transport Policy with the provision of favourable treatment to public sector.

KL Mahendra, President of the Federation, addressed the sit-in at Jantar Mantar, where hundreds of workers hailing from different parts of India had assembled. Trade union leaders from different states addressed the workers. Later, a delegation of the workers, submitted a memorandum to Union Surface Transport Minister BC Khanduri. Other than the demand for an Integrated National Transport Policy, the memorandum also included demands like stopping privatisation of public sector road transport; setting up of a National Development Finance Corporation to offer soft loans to the state transport unions as per requirements; amending the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and the Motor Transport Workers Act 1961 and fixing a realistic fare structure. It also demanded that victimisation of road transport workers for their trade union activities should be stopped.

Death in West Bengal Tea Garden

The West Bengal tea plantations, which have been in a crisis for a long time with several incidents of unprecedented human tragedy, witnessed one more such incident on 6 November 2003, at the Dalgaon tea estate in the Jalpaiguri district bordering Coochbehar in West Bengal. A mob of tea estate workers hacked 19 people to death and later set their bodies afire in a house of one of the union leaders, following a clash over recruitment of garden babus or clerks from outside.

A continuously swelling mob of several hundred marched to the house of Tarakeshwar Lohar, a former leader of the Cha Bagan Mazdoor Union (CBMU), an affiliated arm of the CITU. Lohar was a former secretary of the CITU and had been recently removed from his post. The resentment had been building up for some time since the recruitment . The trouble began at a gathering of the workers in a football field where it was decided that they would go and question Lohar about his decision over appointment of three garden babus from outside, instead of from among the local workers’ families as was the tradition. They were angry because several educated youths in their community were unemployed. When a group of 50 workers reached Lohar’s house, they were reportedly fired upon by his supporters from inside, injuring one of the workers, Sonik Kachhua. This enraged the already simmering workers who entered the house and reportedly hacked all those inside and later set the house on fire. By then the mob was swelling in hundreds.

It is believed that Lohar already feared threat to his life and had engaged local goons for his protection. Lohar and his family escaped unhurt. Lohar was taken into police custody along with 106 people, including 25 women. Inder Holani, Company Secretary of RNT Plantations, which owns the tea garden, has been quoted in Business Line as saying that it was a matter of “intra-union rivalry”. The state Agriculture minister, Kama Guha, took the same stand. The unfortunate incident has once again brought to the fore the bitterly brewing situation in the tea gardens, waiting to explode, if remedial measures are not taken.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said he would wait till the full report came in before he gave any comments. Also, the CITU office in the city said it would carry out a separate investigation into the incident.