New Delhi (Sputnik): Over 12,000 employees of India’s state-run Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (BPCL), a prominent refiner recognised as Navratna Company, have announced a nationwide strike against the Indian government’s decision to privatise the company.
The protesting employees of the Indian refiner BPCL on Thursday claimed that the decision to sell the company would be detrimental to the future of thousands employed in this profitable firm.
He participated in sloganeering against the move at the protest site, just a mile away from the Indian Parliament and key central government offices in New Delhi.
Hundreds of employees, including many women, gathered in Delhi to raise awareness, citing the profitability of state-run BPCL and chanting slogans such as “This is the beginning, we will fight till the last breath” and “Modi government Go Back”.
Thousands of Indian Refinery Workers Stage Nationwide Protests Opposing
As of 31 March 2019, BPCL had 11,971 permanent and 22,267 temporary or contractual employees. The firm had paid around $580 million in dividends to the government as well.
On 20 November, the cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the sale of the government’s entire stake in BPCL.
In 1997, the Indian government named nine public sector enterprises (PSEs) ‘Navratna’; the move gave the public sector companies greater autonomy to compete in the global market, so as to support them.
The government announced that it would sell its 53.3% stake in BPCL, which may fetch $8.4 billion. This amount will prove to be a major cushion to the Indian government budget, which is facing a severe financial crisis amid lower-than-expected goods and services tax receipts and a corporate tax cut.
BPCL was nationalised by an Act of Parliament in 1976 after being set up in the 1920s as Burmah Shell — an alliance between Royal Dutch Shell, Burmah Oil Co. and Asiatic Petroleum (India).
Sourse: sputniknews.com
