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Strikes hit Indian oil refiners
NEW DELHI, India (Reuters) -- Thousands of workers at Indian state-run oil firms HPCL and BPCL have launched a three-day strike to oppose plans to privatize the huge refiners. The Center of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), one of the nation's biggest unions, said some 30,000 workers were off the job Tuesday to demand that "the move to privatize these national assets be reversed." The privatization of Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd marks the biggest initiative in India's decade-long disinvestment drive, which has been dogged by labor and political opposition. The government hopes to complete the sales at the latest by October. That comes after a Supreme Court ruling on Monday allowing the government to proceed with the sale, despite a pending legal challenge. The government plans to sell a controlling stake of 34.01 percent in HPCL to a strategic partner and shed majority control in BPCL with a public issue of 35.2 percent of the company. Oil giant Chevron Texaco and Malaysian state giant Petronas are among those in the race for the HPCL stake. Unions said the strike was not aimed at halting operations. "Nothing will come to a standstill as operations are all mechanized," said CITU national secretary Swadesh Debroye. "It's not our purpose -- our purpose is to give a serious warning to the government on privatization." "These may be hiccups but not roadblocks," said Dileep Madgavkar, chief investment officer of Prudential ICICI asset management. "Given the resolve of the government, it's difficult to see the disinvestment process being halted or reversed." Union officials said they were pleased at the response to the strike call. It "has taken off very well. Twenty-six unions have come together," said Swadesh Debroye, CITU national secretary. But a BPCL spokesman said observance of the strike had been partial and "all refineries and plants are working normally." An HPCL spokeswoman said 10 of its 12 non-management unions had heeded the strike call. "There's no loss of production and no loss of sales. Both refineries are working normally." The unions say they oppose privatization of the refiners on grounds that the government is selling off the state's crown jewels. Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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