IPCL unions protest against transfer to Jamnagar SEZ

20 March 2007

Ahmedabad: The labour unions of Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd (IPCL are protesting against the alleged mass transfer of mainly unskilled employees from Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd (IPCL) from Vadodara to the Reliance Group''s proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Jamnagar.

The Reliance group had recently announced the merger of IPCL with itself, with a share swap ratio of one to five.

Before this the company issued transfer orders of some 1,200 employees on March 1, which was challenged in the court by some employees. Subsequently, on March 6, the company announced the fourth phase of the VRS for the Vadodara facility employees and the merger of IPCL with RIL the next day.

The last date for applying for VRS is Tuesday. Around 300 employees have already applied for VRS and the number is likely to swell to 1,500-2,000 in the next couple of days, company sources said.

The unions have demanded that issues related to welfare of employees and post-merger of IPCL with RIL, should be resolved unanimously by the unions and the management.

They have charged the management with issuing "indirect threats" to the employees to accept whatever was being given to them by way of the VRS compensation package.