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Strike at Haldia Petro halts expansion programme

KOLKATA: The ongoing expansion project at eastern region’s biggest integrated petrochemical company, Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL), came to a halt following a strike by the contractors’ workers union. The temporary workers employed at HPL site went on a strike demanding better wages and absorption on the company’s rolls. The expansion project is already running behind schedule.

A management spokesperson said in a statement that there were ongoing conciliation proceedings towards settlement of charter of demands between HPL and HPL Contractors’ Workers Union on Friday in the presence of Additional Labour Commissioner, in the course of which the Union served notice of an indefinite strike effective Saturday.

“The strike has started since this morning and the ongoing work for the implementation of ‘Project Supermax’ has thus come to a halt at the moment,” the management admitted. The cost of the project, at around Rs. 1,200 crore, has doubled owing to the delay due to various reasons.

The project does not have a direct employment potential but is expected to create sizable indirect employment opportunities through the downstream units that will come up in the region.

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