Chennai: The Southern Region Bulk LPG Transport Owners' Association has given an undertaking to the Madras high court that it would not go on strike until the issue between the association and the three oil companies is resolved through mediation.
The undertaking follows the appointment of Justice N.Paul Vasanthakumar, a retired Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir high court, as mediator to resolve the issue between the HPCL and the association, by the Madras high court.
Passing interim orders on a petition from Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Justice P.D.Audikesavalu made the appointment on Monday.
Posting after two weeks, further hearing of the case, the judge in his interim order said after hearing senior counsel A.R.L Sunderesan for the petitioner and advocate N.G.R. Prasad for the association, having regard to the gravity of the nature of the matter, the counsel for both side suggested that the matter may be resolved through mediation and also agree that till the mediation is completed, the strike called by the Association shall not be given effect to. Having regard to the submission by both counsel, Justice N.Paul Vasanthakumar, a retired Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir high court, is appointed as mediator to enquire as to whether there is any violation (of contract/agreement) by Southern Region BulkLPG Transport Owners' Association and mediation shall take place on July 3. Any violation of undertaking by the association shall amount to contempt of court, the judge made it clear.
In its petition, HPCL sought to restrain M.Ponambalam and N.R.Karthick, president and secretary respectively of Southern Region Bulk LPG Transport Owners' Association, to immediately stop the illegal strike and place their tanker lorries in terms of the contract entered between the transporters and petitioner at all Southern region locations.
According to Ananda Nataraj, counsel for the petitioner, the instant issue relates to the “All India Bulk LPG Transportation by Road” Public E-Tender on Industry basis, all the three oil companies floated the present tender, on January 23, 2018, and was opened on April 20, 2018. Members of the SRB LPG Transport Owners Association were the transport contractors. They issued a letter dated June 21, 2019, requesting the oil companies to induct all the quoted and qualified Tank Trucks in the 2018-2023 Bulk LPG Transportation Tender, failing which, they threatened to go on strike from July 1. The request was not in line with the tender terms and conditions. Further, corporation has not mentioned in the tender that all quoted/qualified trucks will be inducted, he added.
He said as per the tender conditions and agreements signed by the individual transporters with the corporation, transporters should not resort to strike which was termed as illegal, as the contract has already been given to these transporters for running their trucks, by which transporters were obliged to operate the contract executed and there was no individual grievance by running contractors and the association was trying to put pressure on HPCL by forcing a strike to induct the additional contractors/trucks.
The act of the transporters to disrupt the operation/supplies from the terminal by not placing the trucks was with the sole intention of getting their unlawful demands. If the transporters were aggrieved that the terms of the tender were arbitrary or unlawful, they were free to invoke the appropriate legal remedies including that of approaching this court. They have not done so being fully aware that the tender terms were perfectly legal. While so, they were resorting to illegal means of pressure tactics by calling strike in breach of the transport contract, he added.
