For the employees of the debt-ridden public sector undertaking (PSU) Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited (HOCL), the future seemed dismal until just a few days ago. But now they have a ray of hope: company authorities say that the plant is likely to restart operations in the next three months. Union leaders, however, greeted the news with scepticism.
HOCL is the sole producer of N2O4, dinitrogen tetroxide, which they supply to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which uses it as a propellant and for research purposes. Its N2O4 production continues intermittently, but plants manufacturing other chemicals have been closed, though in working condition. The company has a huge financial backlog, sources said, with an outstanding liability of over Rs. 400 crore. HOCL was declared a sick unit by the government, which proposed to shut it down in July this year, as it was unable to raise enough capital to resume operations and buy raw material.
At the company’s facilities in Rasayani, Raigad district, almost 650 staff members and over 350 daily wage-workers have not been paid for the last 18 months. Another 400 workers in its Kochi facility have not been paid either. For some, the financial pressure was too hard to bear, according to the HOC Employee Union, which led to the suicides of three workers in Rasayani.
The union alleged that there were blatant violations of stated protocols while ceasing operations at the Rasayani unit. As per the Companies Act 1956, the planned closure of a PSU entails passing a resolution in an Annual General Meeting (AGM) of company shareholders and taking their consent. “No AGM has been held, violating the rights of shareholders. The land of more than 250 workers belonging to the SC/ST category was also taken for the construction of the unit and they were given jobs at the unit as a compensatory gesture. Without rehabilitating these workers in a proper manner, there is no legal sanction for proceeding with the closure of the unit,” a union member said. The union alleges that the sudden decision of the government to wind up the company is a move to privatise public assets and make money, and called for reimbursing of employee’s salaries. The union had also suggested leasing the 1,000 acres of company land to another PSU to would raise capital, and thus mobilise raw materials and restart operations.
But a senior executive of the company, speaking off the record, said that the talks were on with the government at the highest level, and that the Union Minister of Chemical and Fertilisers, Ananth Kumar, has backed the move to restart operations.
The union, however, is dubious. Bhaskar P. Peshattiwar, president of the union, told The Hindu said that their appeals to the government have been consecutively rejected, and suggestions put forth by the have been ignored. He says that the Union Minister has made promises in the past but nothing has come out of it.
“The company has potent formaldehyde and aniline plants and can easily earn good revenue if the consistent flow of raw materials is provided. The problem here is that if the government is planning to spend Rs 6,000 crore for the revival of four sick fertiliser units in other states, why can’t the HOCL, which has the potential to make profits, not be given the same importance?” He also added that the physical condition of the plant needs to be looked after and it needs to be updated with modern technology and equipment.
The writer is an intern at The Hindu
