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Trade Unions ask PM to reverse privatisation of oil PSUs
By Our Special Correspondent
The unions warned that they would take to the streets and resort to a lightning strike to fight disinvestment in case the Government did not reverse the decision.
Not satisfied with the outcome of their meeting with the Prime Minister during which they presented a memorandum terming the decision to privatise the two PSUs as "suicidal" and harmful for the country, the CPI(M) leader, Somnath Chatterjee, on behalf of the delegation said that "it is regrettable that the Prime Minister did not utter a word nor respond to the delegation of unions and 8-10 MPs from different political parties... now we will fight both inside and outside Parliament''.
The delegation included representatives of unions affiliated to the Congress, the Shiv Sena, the CPI(M), the CPI, representative bodies in BPCL and HPCL and other refineries.
Although it was claimed that the Congress leaders, Manmohan Singh and Pranab Mukherjee, would join the delegation, the party was represented by the Rajya Sabha MP, Moolchand Meena.
However, the Secretaries in Ministries of Disinvestment and Petroleum besides Vijay Goel, Minister of State in PMO, were present when the delegation met the Prime Minister and handed over the memorandum.
Mr. Chatterjee told reporters that the delegation impressed upon the Prime Minister that it was not in the nation's strategic interest to privatise HPCL and BPCL as the two PSUs had been acquired and nationalised through Acts of Parliament.
By taking a decision to go ahead with the privatisation proposals, the Government had shown a total indifference to the fate of the 30,000-strong work force in the two corporations, which were highly profitable, he said, adding that the workers would resist the disinvestment.
In fact, the decision to call for a lightning strike on the day Government invited bids for privatisation of the oil PSUs was taken at the day-long joint convention of 20 oil sector unions held here under the banner of the National United Forum against Privatisation of Oil PSUs.
The forum said that the privatisation programme was akin to selling the family silver.
The Government was neglecting the "strategic importance of the oil PSUs in the matter of national security and protecting the economic sovereignty of the country" and resolved to intensify the campaign and agitation to oppose the privatisation move.
The forum demanded a halt to the privatisation programme of HPCL and BPCL.
``It is a matter of serious concern that with the Reliance Industries or any other oil MNC purchasing the refineries of HPCL or BPCL, there is a threat to the existence of these refineries as private oil companies with most modern technology-based refineries shall dump the PSU oil refineries as economically unviable and capture the market created by these oil PSUs for their own products."
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