R. Chandrasekharan, INTUC State president, has urged the government to take immediate steps to resolve the crisis being faced by Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT). He said trade unions, including INTUC, would be forced to extend the ongoing agitation by FACT employees to other public sector units in the State.
In a statement issued by him after visiting the protest venue at Udyogamandal here, he said the functioning of the fertilizer unit should be considered essential part of the Union Government’s flagship programme of food security. The proposed financial package, if allocated, would offer only a temporary solution. FACT needed an approach different from that being adopted towards other public sector units, he said.
The trade unions would launch a rally from container road to the factory premises at Udyogamandal on Saturday evening. The rally will culminate in a public meeting. CITU leader K. Chandran Pillai said in a statement that FACT was incurring high cost of production, but the prices of fertilizers were dictated by the government. FACT was getting LNG at higher rates compared to fertilizer units in other States. In the absence of working capital, the unit had to depend on loans from banks at high rates, which again resulted in higher liability.
The statement said FACT revival package had got the nod of Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises last year. It was yet to get the approval of Union Cabinet. The trade unions were demanding Rs.250 crore
one-time financial assistance; allocation of Rs.300 crore as interest-free loans; and writing off of accrued loans and interest worth Rs.442 crore.
