Kochi: The flow of LPG cylinders from the IOC bottling plant at Udayamperoor was paralysed on Saturday too with the workers continuing with the strike which they launched on Friday demanding safety measures and ambulance facility at the plant to secure the lives of the workers. The flash strike was launched by the workers charging that the company officials had failed to ensure quick treatment for a contract employee who got burn injuries while on duty.
Akhil Raj (28), who was engaged in electrical work of the pump house section, suffered 45 per cent burn injury in a mishap occured at 2 am on Friday. There was no transportation facility to rush him to the hospital and finally he was taken to the hospital in the bike of another worker. If the strike continues, the LPG cylinder distribution by IOC in the central districts of Ernakulam, idukki, Thrissur, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha will be paralysed. A total of 150 loads, each of which contains 306 LPG cylinders, flow out of the Udayamperoor plant every day.
The strike is launched by the joint trade union of INTUC, BMS and CITU. However, AITUC workers are not participating in the strike. The labourers who conducted a gate meeting on Saturday at the plant said they have submitted a memorandum demanding measures to ensure their safety to District Collector, RDO and officials of Factories and Boilers Department. “Following a gas leak mishap in 2012, it was decided to implement 15-point safety measures. However, nothing has been done so far. IOC authorities took the stand on Saturday that deploying ambulance involved a policy decision which they cannot take,” said a CITU worker.
