The Hindu Business Line : IPCL unions raise voice against transfer to Jamnagar SEZ

Ahmedabad March 19 Protesting against alleged mass transfer of mainly unskilled employees from Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd (IPCL) from Vadodara to the Reliance Group's proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Jamnagar, the joint action committee of three employees' unions of the company has decided to launch a "path of agitation" from Tuesday.

The Reliance group had recently announced the merger of IPCL with itself, with a share swap ratio of one to five. Company sources in Vadodara told Business Line over the phone that transfer orders of some 1,200 employees were issued on March 1, which was challenged in the court by some employees.

Subsequently, on March 6, the company announced the fourth phase of the VRS for the Vadodara facility employees, and the merger of IPCL with RIL the next day. The last date for applying for VRS is Tuesday. Around 300 employees have already applied for VRS and the number is likely to swell to 1,500-2,000 in the next couple of days, company sources said.

Mr J.D. Majmudar, General Secretary of the IPCL Employees' Association, affiliated to the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, said the employees will go on a 24-hour relay fast from Tuesday for one week, followed by a 48-hour relay fast for the next one week and a fast-unto-death from April 3.

`indirect threat'

He said around 1,200 employees out of 5,500 at IPCL's Vadodara facility had been affected due to the new policies. The employees took out a rally in Vadodara on Monday and handed a memorandum addressed to the District Magistrate.

He said the three unions — the other two being the IPCL Employees' Union (AITUC) and the Petrochemicals Karmachari Union (INTUC) — have demanded that issues related to welfare of employees and post-merger of IPCL with RIL, should be resolved unanimously by the unions and the management. "The merger of IPCL with RIL has nothing to do with the employees and their welfare. It is for the two companies' own sake."

He charged the management with issuing "indirect threats" to the employees to accept whatever was being given to them by way of the VRS compensation package. While the unions have no objection to those seeking VRS, it would oppose any forcible transfer or any other action against the other employees, many of whom are unskilled labourers and those whose lands had been acquired way back in the 1960s for establishing IPCL.

According to sources, the new-look IPCL intended to cut down employee strength from the current 5,500 to around 2,000 at the Vadodara facility. The company had also announced a VRS package for employees who were to be paid between Rs 10.5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh. Some 2,300 employees had availed of VRS so far in three phases at Vadodara, Dahej (Gujarat) and Nagothane (Maharashtra) facilities.

IPCL, which has a turnover of around Rs 10,000 crore and manufactures nearly 40 products, had an employee strength of nearly 13,000 when it was taken over by RIL in 2002. Of these, around 8,000 employees were in Vadodara.

The large number of employees included around 3,000 unskilled laborers who were mainly contract laborers absorbed and regularised in an out-of-court settlement in the 1990s. After 2002, RIL closed down four unviable units at the Vadodara complex but added six more.

In a release, the company said it proposed to relocate some employees from Vadodara on a rotational basis for handling the development of sites and greenbelt at Jamnagar. In order to modernise the Vadodara plant, the company has invested nearly Rs 500 crore during the last five years and about 300 workers have been given training for skill upgradation and redeployed in technical jobs.

About 2,300 employees have availed themselves of the VRS in 2003 and 2005. "Continuing the same process, a Voluntary Separation Scheme in 2007 has been announced and is currently open. No pressure or coercion is intended in this scheme as well." It appealed to the unions to give up its agitation in the larger interest of industrial peace and harmony and said it wanted to resolve all issues through discussion.