K Chintamani in Korba

It is virtually a matter of tedious routine now for the 7,000-odd employees of the Bharat Aluminium Company. Each morning they pedal their way to the dharna site near the Balco main gate, and stand mute spectators to whatever is dished out to them by the leaders of the Balco Bachao Sanyukta Abhiyan Samiti (BBSAS).

Drawn faces, creased in distinct patterns of anxiety, stare numbly at the proceedings. Yet others derive nervous support from biting their nails. Fear seems to be the all-pervading emotion, as the future looks tenuous.

Amid endless speeches, a police-escorted convoy breaks their silence. The fleet, carrying officers who were instrumental in starting the steam-heating process in the plant, invites anger of the employees.

The passengers of the vehicles are as afraid as everyone else. They also carry the burden of trying to coax their protesting colleagues to rejoin duties.

Their voices, however, go unheard. They find invectives being hurled at them by the striking employees who chase them till the bus vanishes beyond the main gate within the plant.

'Most workers have been caught in a bind'

Amidst the tussle between the workers and the management, some workers, however, find themselves in a bind. "We just want a peaceful solution to the crisis. The sooner the impasse ends the better, so that we can finally get on with their lives," says Sajjad Ahmed.

Sources say that many of the employees are apolitical in their views, but have been sandwiched between two strong political parties.

They fear that if the strike forces the company to effect a lockout what would happen to their families. "We would have helped them (the striking employees) had their fight been for a just cause. They committed a mistake by adversely affecting the production. They should have given written demands to the Sterlite Group and talked with the new management," the aggrieved ones say.

A worried lot

Union leaders have also been instrumental in fanning the workers' fears further. Fiery speeches tell workers that privatisation will lead to retrenchment.

Needless to say thousands of workers in the sprawling industrial township are a worried lot. The promises made by the new Balco managing director S C Krishnan that not even a single employee will be retrenched, have done nothing to allay these fears.

However, the striking workers are aware of a possible law and order breakdown and have managed to keep away from precipitating such a scenario.

No such incident has been reported so far, informed a police officer posted at the Balco police station. And the leaders are also satisfied to maintain the situation.

'Our only objection is to the unfair valuation'

"The officers, who were inside the plant and started coming out without any protection on Monday, are freely roaming. We don't have any objection on that. We are demanding reversal of the Union government's divestment decision. The government should talk to us because we are central employees. We don't follow any management," says Bramha Singh, a senior leader of the BBSAS.

He says that the government's stake in the profit-making plant should have been valued at a much higher sum than the meager Rs 5.515 billion.

"The plant has Rs 800 million worth of finished crude aluminium, stored products in the central store inventory of around Rs 700 million, scrap worth Rs 500 million, raw material costing around Rs 1.50 billion, material of Rs 1 billion in the process, apart from Rs 3.60-billion fixed deposit and the Rs 13-billion Balco captive power plant," he sums up, without pausing for breath.

The BBSAS welcomes the state government's willingness to take over the company for Rs 5.52 billion.

Harinath Singh, a senior leader of the Samiti, lauds Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi's move saying it would boost the morale of the agitating employees.

Frozen units being revived

Meanwhile, the Balco management would have heaved a sigh of relief after the officials succeeded in 'de-freezing' the 40 frozen units at the plant, hence avoiding any further loss to the unit.

C W Deoras, the newly appointed vice-president (works), informs that two pots of the smelter plant were shut down and due to this the molten metal in there was frozen. This jammed the pipelines."

"Immediate attention was given to the. The steaming process was begun on a war footing. The officers and workers worked hard towards starting the process," he adds. He is also happy that the plant is getting regular water, power and compressed air supply.

"However, it would need around Rs 1 billion and nearly three months to restart the smelter plant and other units," he says ruefully.

About 570 officers and 70 workers, who are inside the plant since the Union government sold its 51 per cent stake in the company to Sterlite, have been steam-heating the congested pipelines.

Their efforts finally paid off on Monday when the high-pressure boiler started providing steam to the digester, the precipitator and other jammed units.

"This would help us maintain the position for days to come," he says.

Enthused by the success, the management has divided the available staff into two shifts. However, Deoras says that production is still at a standstill. "It was impossible to produce anything with the existing staff. We have only succeeded in saving the plant from further deterioration," he says.

'No lockout'

Even as the Balco workers wait with bated breath for a favourable decision, Deoras offers some hope. He denies that there's any possibility of a lock out at this stage.

"I don't have any orders from my seniors in this regard at the moment. I am only concentrating on ensuring that the plant is not damaged and the units are functional," he declares.

His other worry is the 4,000-odd tonne finished product lying in the plant. "If the finished product (priced approximately at around Rs 380 million) remains idle for some more time, the plant's financial position would take a significant beating," he fears.

Call for Chhattisgarh bandh on March 16

On Wednesday, nonetheless, the striking employees of the newly privatised Bharat Aluminium Co called for a statewide shutdown on March 16 as their protest entered its twelfth day.

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