LPG Transporters’ Association has appealed to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to intervene to ease the transport of cooking gas in the wake of an ‘undeclared strike’ by loading and unloading workers at the BPCL Bharat Gas filling station here.
Binoy Alex and Bijoy Mathew of the association, among others, said in a submission to the Chief Minister that gas cylinder loading and unloading workers had resorted to a strike without notice since November 18.
They said that as a result of the ‘undeclared strike’, the daily number of gas cylinders being despatched from the BPCL facility had come down to 30%. The number of gas cylinders being despatched from the facility had come down from around 40,000 cylinders per day to around 35,000 cylinders. The situation is likely to affect cooking gas distribution in nine districts in the State.
Binu K. Paul of the Kerala Petroleum and Gas Workers’ Union, CITU, denied any strike at the plant by loading and unloading workers, who number around 60. Mr. Paul said a wages revision for loading and unloading workers had been pending. The last wages agreement was for a period of five years. The agreement expired but it was extended for one year, and it is learnt that the validity of the agreement has now been extended for another two years, he claimed.
The transporters claimed in their submission before the Chief Minister that loading and unloading workers had enjoyed a hike in wages between August 2015 and August 2021 at different stages. They claimed that last year had seen a hike of ₹3,000 in wages. The transporters appealed to the government to intervene to smoothen the distribution of cooking gas as well as to renew the wages agreement with the workers.
