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JVP
unions spearhead fuel strike
Fourteen trade unions, including those of the JVP, the SLFP and the UNP, plunged the country into a fuel crisis over the weekend, leaving filling stations empty, public transport at a standstill and thousands of vehicles stranded. The panic and chaos over the fuel shortage coincided with petrol and diesel price hikes which are expected to send the cost-of-living soaring. Minister and JVP parliamentarian K.D. Lal Kantha slammed the UPFA government for going back on the common programme agreement between the PA and the JVP with regard to privatisation. He told The Sunday Times yesterday they were only suspending the strike until Tuesday, the earliest day President Chandrika Kumaratunga has given the unions for a meeting saying she had to await the return of Power and Energy Minister Susil Premjayanth from the US to meet the unions. Minister Premjayanth is also a co-secretary of the UPFA. The unions said there was no need to await the Minister's return because the privatisation programme related to the CPC was being handled by the Ministry of Finance. (Please see page 6 for details of the privatisation programme). Filling stations run by the CPC and the Indian Oil Company were affected by the strike, which had been launched in protest against a government decision to sell 33 percent of the CPC shares to an Indian company. Work resumed last evening at the Kolonnawa oil installation but it might take some time for the situation to be normalised and for filling stations to resume normal supplies. Even by 10 p.m. yesterday CPC bowsers had not arrived at Colombo's filling stations. Amidst the chaos and panic of the shortage, a price increase was also announced on Friday. With effect from Friday midnight, the price of petrol was increased by Rs. 3 a litre and diesel by Rs. 4. As transport was severely curtailed amidst fears that bus fares and food prices might skyrocket within the next few days, the Government yesterday held emergency talks with striking union leaders but little progress was reported till Mr. Lal Kantha announced the temporary settlement last evening. Power and Energy Deputy Ministers Kumar Welgama and Mahindananda Aluthgamage had held crisis talks with striking unions including those affiliated to the JVP, the SLFP and the UNP. Amidst the deadlock, the union leaders went into talks with Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama, but little headway was reported. As the crisis deepened, many of the filling stations in Colombo and outstations were shut down yesterday while a few stations providing limited stocks were jammed with more than 50 vehicles in and around them. As a result of the strike, a large number of private buses and three-wheelers kept away from roads forcing the cancellation of various events. Students attending the year five scholarship exam due to be held today might also be affected as fuel distribution from the Kolonnawa installation has come to a standstill. Hospitals in the outstations said they were compelled to curtail even their ambulance services due to fuel shortages. Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera said the government was still holding talks with the three companies short-listed to come in as the third player in the petroleum retail sector. "No decision has yet been taken on the third player. All three parties are still conducting due diligence studies," he said. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd are among the short-listed companies. The UFPA government's decision to change the terms of entry of the third player into the petroleum retailing sector has raised the prospect of Indian domination of this crucial sector. The government is also likely to get much lower revenue from the deal under the new terms, analysts and union leaders said. |
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