The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Equity proposal impracticable, say NLC staff

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 04, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Equity proposal impracticable, say NLC staff

A.V. Ragunathan

Each of the 19,000-odd employees will have to shell out more than Rs. 5 lakh

ON FAST: Members of NLC trade unions observing a fast in Neyveli on Monday, protesting against the Centre's move to divest 10 per cent of its share in Neyveli Lignite Corporation. — Photo: T. Singaravelou

NEYVELI: Neither the employees nor the officials of Neyveli Lignite Corporation are enamoured by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's proposal that the Centre give them the option to buy over 10 per cent of its equity in NLC, as an alternative to disinvestment.

They want the divestment, in whichever form it is contemplated, abandoned. They feel the idea is impracticable and will ultimately lead to privatisation.

Even the Labour Progressive Front (LPF), affiliated to the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam, is not ready to bite the bait. Its general secretary S. Rajavanniyan told The Hindu that when the employees were rejecting outright the divestment proposal, there was no question of buying the shares.

I. Nedumaran, president of the NLC Graduate Engineers' Association (NGEA), termed it an impracticable proposition, because the employees cannot not raise Rs.1,100 crore for the shares. Each of the 19,000-odd employees would have to shell out Rs. 5 lakh to Rs 5.5 lakh. If their savings were locked up in such a manner, when exigencies arose, they would dispose off the shares, paving the way for privatisation.

Profitable venture

Other trade union leaders said the financial condition of NLC ought to be taken into perspective before embarking upon the "misadventure of divestment." As per a 2003 estimate, NLC had assets worth Rs. 46,000 crore. It was making profit for the past 30 years.

From the year 2000, NLC was notching up an annual profit of over Rs 1,000 crore. Its tax liability was Rs. 350 crore a year. Considering these facts, there was no need for divestment.

K. Radhakrishna, general secretary of the NGEA, said NLC, enjoying Mini-Ratna status, had embarked upon expansion projects and poised to take up new projects in Orissa, Gujarat and Rajasthan. It was unfortunate that the same Central Cabinet Committee that had cleared these projects mooted the idea of divestment.

Nallusamy, president of Cuddalore and Villupuram units of INTUC, had sent a fax message to Central Congress leaders conveying the views of the employees on the issue.

Hunger strike

Trade unions and officers' associations led by the LPF observed a day's hunger strike here on Monday to protest against the Centre's decision to divest 10 per cent of its share in Neyveli Lignite Corporation.

This is a precursor to the indefinite strike scheduled for 10 p.m. on Tuesday, according to Mr. Rajavanniyan. He told a press conference here that said owing to the work-to-rule agitation for the past two days and the hunger strike on Monday, NLC had suffered 20 per cent production loss.

Power supply

From Tuesday night, lignite excavation and the functioning of the thermal stations would cease, disrupting power supply to Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and the Union Territory of Pondicherry.

Mr. Rajavanniyan said the strike would continue until the Centre withdrew the divestment move. It had got the firm backing of the CITU, AITUC, INTUC, MLF, PTS, LLF and AICCTU, and engineers' and officers' associations.

He said though the NLC management had threatened to invoke provisions of Labour Disputes Act, 1947, against the striking employees. But they would not relent. However, upon the management's request the trade unions might consider exemption to supply of power to the Neyveli Township, hospitals, the Ground Water Control Department which pumps out water from the mines and running the machinery.

Mr. Nedumaran, reacting to the management's plea that it did not have any say in divestment, said in that case it did not have the locus standi to urge the employees to end the strike.

Pattali Thozhilalar Sangham general secretary Panneer Selvam said the divestment proposal was a betrayal of the trust of the people who gave land for setting up the NLC.

Bandh tomorrow

Leaders of the unions said expressing solidarity trade and establishments, educational institutions, autorickshaw drivers and transport services in Neyveli would observe a bandh on Wednesday. However, Neyveli Book Fair-2006 would go on. Official sources said Monday's power generation was 2,020 MW against the normal level of 2,490 MW.

Left unions oppose move

Left trade unions have opposed the move to sell part of the stake of the Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) to employees and said, in separate statements, that the opposition was to the idea of selling; not whom it should be sold to.

The Tamil Nadu State Committee of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions said that Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's suggestion in his second letter to the Prime Minister - that the shares could be sold to NLC workers - was not acceptable. Shares worth Rs. 1,100 crore cannot be purchased by workers. It was only because the Prime Minister was aware that employees would not be able to purchase these shares, did he offer it to them.

The CITU will support the indefinite strike call given by NLC employees from July 4. In a press release, A. Soundararajan, general secretary of the union, said it strongly opposed the move of the Centre to privatise profit making public sector undertakings. The CITU decided to hold demonstrations all over the State in industrial clusters on July 4 in association with other unions.

Tamil Nadu AITUC general secretary S.S. Thiagarajan said that the new scheme to sell shares to workers was an attempt at "cheating." It was not practical for employees to purchase the 10 per cent shares, he said. Besides, the move was as good as privatising the corporation. Workers were united in the struggle against privatisation and the strike would go ahead as planned, he added.

The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) on Monday reiterated its appeal to the Centre not to initiate further steps for disinvestment of NLC shares.

In a statement, Vaiko, general secretary of the MDMK, wondered why the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) which is part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government, had not compelled the Centre not to take such a step.

The MDMK opposed the move of the DMK, which he said, was aimed at cheating NLC employees.

NLC had 18,873 employees and a share was priced at Rs. 54. Each employee would require Rs. 5 lakh to buy the shares. Are PSU workers in a state to buy these shares, he asked.

The State Committee of the Communist Party Of India (Marxist), in a release, urged the Centre to rescind on the move to divest shares in NLC. It reminded the UPA Government that the Common Minimum Programme had stated that profitable Public Sector Undertakings would not be sold.

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