Temporary Truce to LPG Tankers' Row

TIRUCHY/NAGAPATTINAM: The dispute between truck owners and drivers attached to trade unions in IOCL  (Indian Oil Corporation Ltd) bottling unit at Inamkulathur has been temporarily resolved during a meeting arranged by the Collector on Tuesday. Both parties agreed to operate as many as 140 trucks out of a total 153 leaving 13 trucks and 13 ‘controversial’ drivers out. The trucks would be operated from Tuesday night to clear the backlog of refill supplies ahead of Deepavali.

The Inamkulathur unit caters to as many as six districts in the central region. Distribution of LPG cylinders of IOCL was affected from Oct 28 in all the central districts due to the tussle between lorry owners and drivers attached to the CITU. While the owners blamed the CITU for their resolute demand to involve drivers from the union, the union on the contrary blamed the owners that they are not ready to employ experienced drivers to operate heavy vehicle with loads of cylinders and alleged the owners were planning to abolish the union in the plant by distancing 13 office bearers of the trade union.

“We are ready to operate vehicles but they (drivers from union) are demanding us to ensure all their drivers are employed without using our experienced drivers. And they demand that the keys of the trucks be handed over to them and they would operate vehicles as per their will. How can we hand over the vehicles to unknown drivers”, asked T Vijayasekar, president of Tamil Nadu Federation of LPG Cylinder Lorry Owners Association.

R Raja, district secretary of CITU, claimed that the 13 ‘controversial’ drivers are office bearers of the union and the owners want to abolish the trade union in the Inamkulathur unit.

On Tuesday, CITU and the owners accepted the instructions of the Collector who directed the operation of 140 trucks out of 153 and for 13 trucks to be off the road until Deepavali.

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The New Indian Express
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