143 workers of two shut cement plants of Adani group relocated
Solan, December 22
As many as 85 employees of Ambuja Cements Ltd (ACL) at Darlaghat and 58 of ACC Ltd at Gagal village in Bilaspur will be relocated to nearby sister plants of the Adani group in the northern region.
Meeting today
The standing committee on freight comprising the principal secretaries of transport, industry and food and civil supplies will convene separate meetings with the managements of the two plants along with the deputy commissioners of Solan and Bilaspur districts in Shimla tomorrow.
Employees from operational areas such as production, maintenance and quality will be shifted to three grinding plants at Ropar, Bathinda and Nalagarh and three integrated plants at Marwar Mundwa, Rabriyawas and Lakheri, according to a statement issued by the Adani Group here today.
The Adani Group had closed manufacturing operations at ACL, Darlaghat, and ACC Ltd at Gagal on December 15 after transporters refused to accept a lower freight of Rs 6 per tonne per km (PTPK) as against the existing freights of Rs 10.58 PTPK and Rs 11.41 PTPK, respectively, in the two plants.
The Adani Group management reiterated that the operations of the two manufacturing units had been suspended under compelling circumstances due to increasing operational costs of cement and clinkers mainly because of high transportation cost of raw materials and finished products. It sought cooperation from all stakeholders, including transporter unions, to resolve the issue amicably.
The Adani Group said that the decision to transfer employees from the two cement plants had been taken to ensure their well-being. It claimed that the step had become inevitable to protect jobs during the shutdown period. There are about 1,500 employees in the two units and they have no work since December 15.
The future of the employees is uncertain as several meetings held between the Adani Group management and the representatives of eight transporter societies have failed to break the deadlock.
The impasse has drastically reduced the work availability for hundreds of workers engaged in ancillary services like motor repair shops and eateries around the two cement plants. There were 2,979 trucks engaged in transportation work at the ACL, Darlaghat, and around 3,000 trucks at ACC Ltd at Gagal village.
Meanwhile, the standing committee on freight comprising the principal secretaries of transport, industry and food and civil supplies will convene separate meetings with the managements of the two plants along with the deputy commissioners of Solan and Bilaspur districts in Shimla tomorrow.
