STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: An indefinite protest under the Assam Petroleum Mazdoor Union (APMU) will be held from March 4 at the LPG bottling plants, where the supply of LPG cylinders will be disrupted across Assam. However, the strike will not cover any oil plants in the state. The transportation of all LPG-carrying vehicles, LPG cylinder-carrying vehicles, and seven bottling plants will be closed in the state due to the strike.
There are six LPG bottling plants in the state under the Indian Oil Corporation (UICL): North Guwahati, Sarpara (near Bojoy Nagar), Jarailtola (Cachar), Dhaligaon (Bongaigaon), Duliajan (Dibrugarh), and Gopanari (Tinsukia). The seventh LPG bottling plant is in Numaligarh under Bharat Petroleum Cooperation Limited (BPCL). The North Guwahati LPG bottling plant produces more than 10,000 LPG cylinders per day.
Ramen Das, general secretary of APMU said, "We are demanding a basic pay scale, provident fund, and Employees State Insurance (ESI) for the workers engaged in bottling plants, LPG cylinder carrying trucks, and LPG carrying trucks."
Das said, "Our demands are justified under Labour Act. We have been placing these demands before the oil companies and their contractors for a long time. But there is no response from them."
He also informed, "These labourers have been compelled to work for 24 hours a day at a minimum salary of Rs 6,000. The contractor groups said they have received a little money from the oil companies for the transportation of LPG cylinders and LPG, which is not acceptable to us."
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