OPPOSING PRIVATISATION MOVE  

HPCL-BPCL Workers Strike

Swadesh Dev Roye

 THE magnificent success of the  three day countrywide strike by the total workforce of the BPCL and HPCL on March 25-27 3 has added a new dimension to the anti-privatisation movement in the country. The strike has totally rejected the fallacious claim of Arun Shourie, the disinvestment minister, that the workers of the oil PSUs are not against privatisation. The depth and sweep of the strike has clearly demonstrated the determination of the oil sector workers to fight the move to privatise the oil PSUs.  Further, the apprehension within the trade union movement about the possibility of realisation of total unity of the trade unions in the oil sector and launch of united strike action has been fully disproved by the oil workers.  And yet another vital highlight of the strike is the resolve of the oil sector workers to widen the unity and carry forward the fight to stop privatisation of the oil PSUs.

The strike was jointly called by the 26 trade unions functioning in the BPCL and HPCL refineries and the entire marketing network throughout the country under the banner of National United Forum Against Privatisation of OIL PSUs. The Kochi Refineries Limited (KRL), Kochi also participated in the strike. The Indian Oil Shramik Union (CITU), Kolkata observed a day’s solidarity strike on March 26, throughout the east and northern states. The CITU unions in the refineries in Digboi and Numaligarh, Assam, also conducted agitional programmes in support of the strike. The unions which took part in the strike included those affiliated with the AITUC, CITU, a section of INTUC, Maharashtra General Kamgar Union (of late Dr Dutta Samant fame), trade unions of the Shiv Sena and many unaffiliated unions with large followings in the refineries and marketing departments.

THE IMPACT OF THE STRIKE

The strike was a spectacular success. Alongwith the BPCL refinery, Mumbai, HPCL refineries in Mumbai and Visakhapatnam and KRL refinery at Kochi, the four regional marketing networks based at Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai and the corporate headquarters of both the oil PSUs at Mumbai also observed the strike. The bottling plants of the two oil PSUs all over the country were almost completely shut due to the strike. It is noteworthy that the management adopted nefarious design to frighten and demoralise the workers through heavy deployment of territorial army, intimidating measures like obtaining   ex-parte court orders prohibiting strike, issuing notice of alleged contempt of court to the leaders, threatening dismissal from services etc, but totally failed to demoralise the workers and foil the strike. The success of the strike in the different regions of the country was as noted below.

In the Northern Region consisting of the states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, UttarakKhand, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, the strike has been cent percent successful. Here the unions affiliated with the AITUC and the CITU functioning in both the companies and the sole independent union functioning in the HPC joined hands to bring the HPCL, BPCL workers of the region on the street during all the three days of the strike.

In the Eastern Region consisting of the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, Tripura and other North-Eastern states, the success rate of the strike has also been grand. A distinct feature of this region relating to the strike is the participation of the INTUC union in the strike. The Kolkata office of both the companies wore a deserted look. There were no activities in the depots and installations throughout the region.

In the Southern Region consisting of the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the strike was a reverberating success. In the offices, depots and installations all over the region all the workers participated in the strike.  The KRL refinery, Kochi witnessed partial strike under the leadership of CITU in solidarity on all the three days.  As per reports, in Kerala the retail outlets of  both BPCL and HPCL had gone dry.

In the Western Region consisting of the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh & Goa, the situation is different from that in the other three regions due to various factors. This region has got the highest refining capacity of HPCL and BPCL and also the largest marketing network. Mumbai is also the corporate headquarters of BPCL and HPCL. Large number of unions with different affiliations is functioning in the region. Thus the most widespread unity composing of the trade unions affiliated to AITUC, CITU, INTUC, Shiv Sena, Maharashtra General Kamgar Union and the unaffiliated unions has been forged in the region. As already mentioned, while in the BPCL Mumbai refinery the strike was complete, in the HPC refinery the strike was not cent percent success due to the opposition of INTUC union. On the other hand, in the marketing division in the region, the strike was more successful in HPCL compared to that in the BPCL marketing set-up. Both the corporate offices in Mumbai also witnessed good strike. 

STRIKING WORKERS ON THE STREET

On the first day of the strike the striking workers in Mumbai organised a grand march to the Mumbai residence of Ram Naik, union minister of petroleum & natural gas. The march was joined by more than 2000 striking workers. The CITU affiliated Contractor Workers Union in BPCL and HPCL, Chembur, Mumbai also staged demonstration in support of the strike. The last day of the strike was marked by huge demonstrations of the striking workers at the major centers – Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi etc. Around 5000 workers from the refineries and marketing set-ups of both the companies participated in a gigantic demonstration at the BPCL refinery gate in Mumbai. The leaders of different affiliations including K.L.Bajaj and Vivek Monterio (CITU), Sukumar Damle (AITUC), Dada Samant (Kamgar Aghadi), Bhai Jagtap (INTUC), Chandrakanth Dalvi (an Independent Union), Suryakanth Dalvi (Shiv Sena MLA) addressed the demonstrators. After the demonstration the workers went in a procession and at the end burnt the effigy of Arun Shourie.

In Delhi the workers from all the offices, depots and installations of BPCL and HPCL participated in a big demonstration at the Jantar Mantar Park, New Delhi.  Apart from Basudev Acharya, Sunil Khan and Ms Chandrakala Pandey, all MPs of the CPI(M), Y D. Sharma (vice-president AITUC) and Swadesh Dev Roye (secretary, CITU), Dr Iswar Singh (general secretary of an independent union in HPCL, Northern Region), Mamraj Singh and Kharbanda of AITUC and Ramashnakar Prasad Singh of CITU also addressed the demonstrators. Meetings and demonstrations were organised in other parts of the country as well.

THE LONGDRAWN CAMPAIGN

It is important to note that the majority of the unions of HPCL and  BPCL workers with various affiliations were brought to the platform of struggles through an almost yearlong persuasion and initiative by the CITU. All the unions, many of which were independent or with other affiliations have been approached again and again, both separately and collectively for united countrywide struggles. A long process of joint consultations, all-India convention, regional conventions, joint representation to prime minister etc all at the initiative of the CITU,  ultimately led to the success of the three-day strike action in HPCL, BPCL & KRL. In this very process of struggles, the National United Forum Against Privatisation of Oil-PSUs has been formed.

That the government did not pay any heed to the campaign opposing privatszation is evident from the fact that the memorandum submitted to the prime minister jointly by the trade unions was not even acknowledged. The memorandum noted, “The oil and petroleum sector is the most efficient and highest profit-making sector amongst the entire CPSUs in the country. Out of the top ten profit making CPSUs, five are from oil and petroleum sector alone. During the year 2001-2002 the oil PSUs recorded profit after tax of Rs 12, 749.53 crore against the paid up capital of Rs 5, 204.00 crore

“The net profit earned by BPCL in the year 2001-2002 is Rs.835.72 crore and dividend paid to the central government is Rs.330.00 crore and in HPCL, the net profit earned and dividend paid are Rs.788.00 crore and Rs.340.00 crore respectively. HPCL was nationalised at an acquisition cost of Rs.49.00 crore against the company’s then share capital plus free reserves of Rs 16.80 crore. Since nationalisation, HPCL has generated huge internal resources and has invested more than Rs 9,000.0 crore. The present share capital and free reserves of the company are little less than Rs.6,000.00 crore. The current assets value of the oil PSU is estimated at Rs 20,000.00 crore. It is important to note that HPCL and BPCL together own more than 9,000 petrol pumps situated at prime locations throughout the country.”

The long-drawn and meticulously planned joint campaign and the patience employed in conducting the agitation and propaganda in a gradually ascending order has definitely contributed in making the strike a huge success.  The massive countrywide strike by the HPCL and BPCL workers reflects the firm determination by the oil and petroleum workers to resist the anti-national conspiracy to handover the public sector oil industries to monopoly capital both Indian and Foreign.  

THE NEXT PHASE OF ACTION   

 Emboldened by the more than expected success of the strike, the confidence and unity of the oil sector workers has strengthened and provided a big moral boost in the fight against privatisation. Further, in the absence of any positive response from the government even after the 3-day successful countrywide strike, the workers have no other go but to intensify the struggles against the move of privatisation.

It is shocking to note that according to report, Reliance Industries, Shell, Essar Group, ChevronTexaco, Petronas, Saudi Aramco and Kuwait Petroleum have responded the formal expressions of interest for HPCL’s strategic sale of the majority equity. The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation has been appointed the global advisor for the HPCL sale.

It was in the above background, the National United Forum Against Privatisation of Oil PSUs had its meeting at Mumbai on April 5. The meeting was attended by the representatives of all the 26 unions. It  took stock of the post-strike situation and  decided to carry forward the struggles against the privatsation move.  As a first step towards the next phases of the anti-privatisation struggles, the forum has fixed up a national convention of the workers of the entire public sector oil and petroleum industries of the country in Mumbai on April 27. The forum has decided to request all the trade unions functioning in ONGC, IOC, IOC-(AOD), GAIL, OIL, BRPL, NRL, KRL IBP, IOBL etc to participate in the convention.  The preparation for the convention is going on in full swing. The convention is slated to adopt a concrete programme of action against oil PSUs privatisation move of the government,   expectedly involving the entire oil sector workers in the public sector.