Kolkata: Oil workers belonging to 30 trade unions (TUs) across the country have threatened to go on an indefinite strike if the Centre did not reverses its decision to privatise HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd) and BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd).

CITU (Centre for Indian Trade Unions) general secretary M K Pandhe, told reporters in Kolkata on February 11 that initially, they would participate in a long-drawn agitation against the proposed privatisation of HPCL and BPCL by the government.

Pandhe, said oil workers, under the banner of the National United Forum Against Privatisation of Oil PSUs (Public Sector Undertakings), would submit memorandum to the Prime Minister, after which HPCL and BPCL unions would serve a strike notice to the Central government on February 27.

According to him, the government had taken the authoritarian route to take decisions without consulting the Parliament.

He said that since these oil companies were formed by an act of Parliament, any decision to de-nationalise them should be debated in the House.

Pandhe said that the government was stopping its permanent source of income in the form of dividends as these oil companies contributed Rs 12,000 crore to the government exchequer.

PTI