A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court asked the State government to inform the court in two weeks as to why could not the LPG and other petroleum products be brought under the provisions of the Essential Service Maintenance Act (ESMA).
The Bench comprising Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice K. Harilal issued the directive to the government pleader when the two writ petitions filed by All India LPG Distributors Federation, Kerala Branch, and Confederation of Consumer Vigilance Centre came up for hearing.
The court observed that there was a concentration of ‘unholy bargaining power’ in the hands of a few against the common good.
According to the petitioners, there were frequent disruptions in the supply of LPG cylinders in Thiruvananthapuram and other districts as the trade unions engaged in loading and unloading works constantly resorted to strikes.
The confederation in its petition sought police protection for loading and unloading LPG cylinders at the IOC distributors’ site in Thiruvanathapuram.
They pointed out that the supply of cylinders had come to a standstill because of the strike by the unions. Though the District Labour Officer had enhanced the wages for them, they still continued the strike in Thiruvananthapuram.
