The Hindu Business Line : IPCL strike ends as co defers transfers

Ahmedabad March 22 With the management of RIL-controlled Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd (IPCL) deferring the transfer of surplus staff "for the time being" and announcing an ex gratia payment of Rs 1.5 lakh each over and above the compensation package for those opting for a Voluntary Separation Scheme, the agitation by employees fizzled out at the Vadodara complex last night.

The relay hunger strike, which lasted two days, began on March 19 and the employees had decided to go on fast-unto-death from April 3.

Mr J.D. Majumdar, General Secretary of the BMS-affiliated IPCL Employees' Association, told Business Line over phone that the management had agreed to jointly chalk out with the trade unions a transfer policy. "Our agitation was against the unilateral policy of transferring employees with effect from March 25, 2007. Now that the management has agreed to create a consensus over the issue, we have `postponed' our agitation. In any case, we had not stopped work even during our relay hunger strike."

On the other hand, a company spokesman said nearly 2,400 employees out of 5,500 at the Vadodara complex, had opted for the management's declared Voluntary Separation Scheme 2007 until Wednesday night. Most of those seeking separation are non-supervisory staff such as semi-skilled and unskilled workers. They are also being paid an additional Rs 1.5 lakh each as ex gratia payment over and above the golden handshake compensation package in the range of Rs 10.5 lakh to Rs 16 lakh, depending on conditions like remaining service, seniority, skills and nature of jobs. The agreement between the management and the trade unions was arrived at in the presence of two senior officials of the Labour Department, Government of Gujarat, Vadodara.

In the case of the remaining employees, whose transfers have been "deferred" for the time being, the spokesman said the nature of their work at Vadodara and their requirement at Jamnagar would be analysed before effecting transfers. "Depending on the availability of vacancies at Jamnagar, they would be redeployed."

The spokesman clarified that some of the plants at IPCL's Vadodara complex had already been closed down due to obsolete and unviable technology among other reasons, and the company already had surplus staff, which remained to be redeployed.