ESMA invoked to counter IOC stir

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Thiruvananthapuram/ Kollam: With the state government failing to resolve the strike at the Indian Oil Corporation plant at Parippally for the last four days, chief minister Oommen Chandy on Friday directed home secretary L. Radhakrishnan to confiscate tanker lorries attached to the plant for supplying LPG by invoking ESMA.
The employees at the plant had been on strike for the past many days demanding bonus.
Labour minister Shibu Baby John told DC that the talks remained inconclusive following the negative attitude of the tanker owners. The government even while going for talks  was also planning stringent measures against the striking employees, John said.
All-India LPG Distributors’ Association, Kerala Circle general secretary M. Sangeeth Kumar said that the strike has already affected the LPG distribution, with a backlog of almost 28 to 30 days.
However, the state government has intervened effectively by ensuring that three truck loads are brought from Madurai.  It would take some time for these loads to reach the state, he said.
Union minister of  state for human resource and Thiruvananthapuram MP Dr Shashi Tharoor said that he has spoken to R.S. Butola, Chairman, Indian Oil Corporation, to ensure adequate supply of cylinders. He has assured the minister that immediate steps will be taken to resume supply to Thiruvananthapuram from their Madurai plant, Tharoor said.
Meanwhile, talks held with district collector B. Mohanan with the striking employees and  truck owners  on Friday also failed. Following this, the  Collector has ordered to seize carrier vehicles under the Fair Wages Act and Motor Transport Workers Act  to ensure proper distribution of the gas cylinders bottled in the plant.
The strike has already affected distribution of LPG cylinders to 84 agencies in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Alappuzha and Kottayam districts and also three agencies in Kanyakumari district, who take supply from Parippally.