Workers’ strike continues at Indian Oil bottling plant in Salem district

SALEM: The strike by contract workers at the Indian Oil gas bottling facility at Karuppur in Salem district entered the fifth on Monday. The workers, who are members of the Tamil Nadu Petroleum and Gas Workers Union which is affiliated to the CITU, have been on strike since Thursday (June 12) demanding that 12 of their colleagues -- who were suspended on Wednesday for dereliction of duty -- be reinstated.

Company and revenue department officials held discussions with the workers on Wednesday. During these discussions, the management agreed to take back 10 of the 12 workers. A CITU representative stated, "The administration maintained that it would not be feasible to reinstate the two workers." The trade union was insisting on the unconditional reinstatement of all the 12 workers, he added. The management did not agree to this demand, leading to a breakdown in negotiations.

There are 80 contract workers at the plant for filling 20,000 cylinders each day. The strike affected cylinder filling operations at the plant. The distribution of Indane cylinders to the districts of Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri, and Krishnagiri has been impacted. The IOCL is supplying cylinders to four districts, including Salem, from another plant. However, due to the limited supply from this source, customers are experiencing delays in receiving their cylinders.CITU representatives said workers at the Indian Oil bottling plants in other parts of Tamil Nadu might join the stir.