Truck drivers owing allegiance to the CITU-affiliated IOC Bottling Plant Drivers Association of the Indian Oil Corporation’s LPG bottling plant at Inamkulathur in the outskirts of the city have gone on a strike since Tuesday demanding the reinstatement of drivers who were denied work by lorry operators.
The IOC bottling plant, producing about 42,000 LPG refills a day, caters to the requirement of Tiruchi, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Perambalur and Ariyalur districts. The IOC has a contract with the LPG Cylinder Lorry Owners Association to transport the cylinders from the unit.
In November, a dispute between the lorry owners and the drivers led to a strike and four drivers were removed from the job.
The strike was withdrawn after labour officials intervened and it was assured that issue would be resolved through talks.
“The four drivers have not been reinstated and in the meantime five others have been dismissed from service on flimsy reasons such as going on leave and failing to show adequate mileage.
Some drivers of Anna Thozhir Sangam are said to have come forward to work but we will continue the strike,” said R.Raja, district secretary, CITU. Sources in the IOC said that production at the plant has been hit since Tuesday and expressed hope that the issue would be resolved in a day or two.
