Refinery workers protest against workforce reduction

Unions allege move is in preparation for privatisation of the company

The Samyukta Trade Union Samithi, a combine of workers under various trade unions at the BPCL Kochi refinery, staged a protest in front of the refinery gates on Wednesday morning against what they described as the management efforts to cut the number of employees in preparation for privatisation of the company. The Union government had declared its intention to privatise the refinery in November 2019. There have been no permanent appointments in the refinery since the announcement was made and a total of 158 employees had retired and some had resigned from their jobs since then. However, none of these vacancies had been filled, the employees’ unions alleged. The company management had handed over the operation of the effluent treatment plant to a contractor and 26 jobs had been reduced on this account. Twenty-one employees had been reduced in the maintenance department. Similarly, the number of hands in various department had been reduced over these recent months, the unions said. These unilateral actions were a violation of the mutual agreement between the management and the workers’ unions, said a statement from the trade union combine.