Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

'We are opposed to the way the Balco deal was done'

Yet P N Sharma, senior supervisor, is extremely busy. His phone is ringing off the hook and it is well nigh impossible to get through to him. As the general secretary of the Employees' Union of Balco, Sharma is busy monitoring the strike, on since the weekend, after the government sold a controlling stake of 51 per cent to copper and aluminium maker Sterlite Industries Ltd.

Sharma is constantly on the phone assessing the mood of the workers and encouraging them to hold on. He knows everyone there. After all, he has spent 24 years working for Balco.

He joined Balco in 1977 as a clerk and typist and is now senior supervisor there. The union leader since 1984, he is confident that he can steer the workers through this crisis. "Workers sab hamare saath hain (all the workers are united)," he says.

He spoke to Priya Ganapati on the status of the strike, the mood of the workers and the way to resolve the issue.

Why did the workers go on a strike?

The Balco workers do not want to go a strike, but they have been forced to. Strike hamare culture mein nahin hai (We do not like to protest). But we are opposed to the way the Balco deal has been done.

Balco has been sold very cheaply and we do not think there was any transparency in the deal. The Divestment Commission in its report had recommended a divestment of only 40 per cent. Yet, the government increased it to 51 per cent. What we are demanding is that the government retain 51 per cent stake in Balco and divest 49 per cent stake to Sterlite, instead of the reverse.

Sterlite se hamari koi dushmani nahin hai (We have nothing against Sterlite). We want the plant to work smoothly because our jobs are at stake too. But we are worried about the nature of the deal. There are many clauses in the deal that affect us directly.

Sterlite has now said that it will not fire any employee, but it has the power to do so after a year. Jo party ne plant kharida hai, woh to apne tarike se hi chalayegi (Whoever buys a plant, will run it according to his style). But when I have put in so many years as a government servant, I am assured of service conditions till I am 58 or 60 years old.

How can I accept that the service security will be reduced to only one year? The workers are worried about this. We had been constantly asking the government and the management to set up a meeting of the workers with the bidding party. But they have not done that.

The management has shut down three of the four power plants for technical reasons. How will this affect the plant?

This is a calculated move by the management. They have decided to shut down three of the four power plants and just keep one running. But we are protesting that this is not enough.

There has to be one more power plant operational on standby. We are afraid that if the power plant that is operational fails then it will greatly affect the smelter, which forms the heart of the plant.

Management galat tarikhe se plant chala rahi hai (The management is not running the plant properly) They are doing it just to pressurise the workers.

What is the feeling among the workers now?

Our strike is continuing. We are more hopeful now that the state (Chhattisgarh) is asking for a CBI enquiry into the Balco deal. We have also asked for this. In fact, I have written a letter to the Central Vigilance Commissioner, Mr N Vittal, asking for a probe.

The workers are keen to observe a peaceful strike. We are ready to co-operate with the management as and when it is necessary. We have deployed our workers in certain essential operations and will be ready to allot more if is necessary.

Protecting the plant and its operations are in our interest too. So, strike bilkul shaant hai (The strike is totally peaceful).

There were reports of violence earlier: some workers not allowing management officials to enter the plant… Is that still continuing?

There was a little skirmish yesterday, but it cannot be called violence. The workers were trying to prevent only one director, K B Chattopadhyay, from entering the plant. They are not happy with his style of functioning.

Unka record workers ke saath aur plant mein bhi theek nahin hai (His rapport has not been particularly good with the workers). The workers were opposed to him continuing as the director. He has spent very little time at the plant. For example, of the 365 days in a year, he has been on the plant premises for less than 100 days.

Though Chattopadhyay had retired, the government pressurized Sterlite into re-appointing him because of certain caste factor politics at play.

The workers were very upset over that and so when Chattopadhyay tried to enter the plant yesterday they prevented him. At that time there was a little tension at the plant. But after that, it has been completely peaceful.

When will the strike come to an end?

We do not know. Neither the management nor the government seems to be keen to end the strike. Both of them have not yet approached us in order to arrive at a solution.

We have not yet sat across the table with them to discuss, despite the strike going for over four days. Now we are feeling apprehensive that the management is trying to damage the plant by shutting down the power units and in return making allegations that the union is responsible for this.

We do not want this strike to create any damage and have done our best to protect the smelter, which is the heart of the plant. But there has been no communication between the management and us, so we do not know when the strike will end.

What is it that you expect the government to do to resolve the strike?

Our demand is that the government increase its shareholding to majority stake of 51 per cent. We believe that this is not difficult and that the government needs to sit with Sterlite and re-negotiate.

If that is not possible, then we want an investigation into the valuation of Balco. We believe that Balco has been sold very cheaply and that there has been no transparency in the deal.

The government is unwilling to look into the few offers for Balco that have reportedly come offering a better price. This is something we cannot understand. All the government wants is the money, so if there are better offers now coming, why is it not considering them? We want a complete investigation into the entire process.

ALSO READ:
Govt to sell 51% BALCO pie to Sterlite
Provide full protection to Balco workers, says SC: BS
Provide full protection to Balco workers, says SC: BS
Balco workers promise to maintain smelter: Reuters
Govt criticised for moving SC on Balco
Shourie asks CAG to audit Balco transaction
Showcause notice to Baijal, Sterlite, Balco officials

Money
Interviews

Tell us what you think of this interview