The employee unions in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd ( BPCL) are planning to go on a strike, as a mark of protest against the proposed privatisation of the company. The strike will coincide with the winter session of the parliament.

The first strike would be a two-day token strike, and after that, an indefinite strike would be launched with the help of unions in all other public sector companies. The strategy of the strikes would be chalked out on October 26 in Mumbai.

Any prolong strike in the company will have a significant impact on the availability of fuels and lubricants in the country. For 2018-19 BPCL refineries aggregate throughput, which included its subsidiary and a joint venture was 36.76 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT), while the national figure, which includes private refineries was about 249.36 MMT. In effect, the BPCL controls about 14.74 per cent of the total refining capacity in the country.

Aggregate throughput is the capacity of a refinery for refining crude oil over a given period.

General secretary of Cochin Refinery Workers’ Association, MG Aji told BusinessLine that in Kochi there are four recognised unions, out of which one union associated with Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) has a separate plan for protest. But the other three unions have formed a joint action committee for a demonstration and strike. On October 26 a meeting would be held in Mumbai for the announcement of the national strike, he said.

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