KOCHI: Kerala High Court on Tuesday stayed the strike called by various trade unions on Thursday to protest against the Central government’s decision of disinvestment of its shares in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL).
Justice S V Bhatti issued the interim order on a petition filed by BPCL seeking a directive to the employees’ unions restraining them from resorting to a strike from 7 am on November 28 to 7 am on November 29. P Benny Thomas submitted that the unions could not have declared a strike in BPCL, which is a public utility service, during the pendency of conciliation proceedings before Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner, Kochi.
The strike proposed by the unions could lead to unsafe operation of the plant with inadequate manpower to check all the sensitive areas, which may affect the safety of the employees, plant, machinery, environment and neighbourhood. The unions have no reason to carry out any agitation against BPCL as the demands raised by the unions are beyond its control. It was submitted that any strike by the unions is not legal or justifiable, as it goes against Section 22 of the Industrial Disputes Act and the judgments of the Supreme Court, said BPCL.
According to BPCL, the strike called by the unions will virtually paralyse the entire operations, including loading and unloading, transportation of petroleum products, the supply of diesel and petrol at the retail outlets, distribution of LPG, completion and commission of activities of the two major projects, and it will cause untold hardship and inconvenience to the public. The strike will severely impact the fuelling of aircraft in airports which could delay flights and this, in turn, would leave passengers stranded.
The counsel submitted the unions or their members have no right to strike the work, obstruct or prevent the activities of BPCL or to cause obstruction to smooth functioning of Kochi Refinery. The court said the conciliation was pending and the proposed strike was contrary to law. Hence, there shall be an interim stay for two weeks.