City runs out of gas

LPG supplies in the capital city and around continue to be badly hit and are worsening, following the ongoing dispute between labour unions and the oil companies over loading/unloading charges.

 With the stocks with Indane and HP LPG dealers in the city drying up within a week since the launch of the strike on July 26, the scarcity has become acute. As many as 45 truck loads of LPG are needed every day to address the domestic fuel needs of the city.

The adamant stand of transport contractors against paying the demanded hike in wages, or at least the statutory levy for wages, has led to the crisis, and the managements are yet to act against them even when the tender conditions of the transporters, as mentioned in the ‘credential bid’ while appointing them, could be easily invoked.

The root cause of the issue is that the agreement between the transport contractors and the headload workers, which had lapsed in 2008, has not been renewed till date.

The striking headload workers have demanded higher wages from the existing ` 830 per truck for loading and unloading. A truck load of domestic LPG cylinders will have 306 cylinders.

Headload workers, owing allegiance to CITU, INTUC, AITUC and BMS, engaged in loading and unloading at various LPG godowns in Thiruvananthapuram district, had resorted to an indefinite strike from July 27 after giving due notice, demanding higher wages. Prior to that, the conciliatory meeting convened by the District Labour Officer was boycotted by the transport contractors, who are contractually obliged to settle all such disputes.

 While the conciliatory meeting convened on July 26 by the state Labour Commissioner was boycotted by transport contractors, another meeting held after two days to end the stalemate too ended in failure.

The plea of the Labour Commissioner to at least pay the statutory levy for the wages as per the Kerala Headload Workers Act in the three distributorships which are in the project area of the Kerala Headload Workers Welfare Board (KHWWB) too was not agreed upon by the transport contractors.

 It is not the lack of relevant clauses which stands in the way of resolving the issue of loading and unloading - they are clear in the tender conditions of the transporter and are  clearly and affirmatively mentioned in the credential bid - but the absence of an assertiveness by the management to implement them that is dragging the issue. As there is no onus on the transporter to come out with a solution, the consumers are left in the lurch. The State Government too has not sensed the gravity of the issue, either.