Workers' massive protest, official clarifies, Congress reacts: What's happening at Panipat refinery

TEnsions continued at the native american oil colour refinery in Haryana's battle of panipat for a thirdly daytime on Wednesday, with the workers calling off work amid intensifying agitation over delayed salary and extended work hours.On Monday, the construction labourers at the Panipat Refinery and Petrochemical Complex at Baholi engaged in a violent face-off with security forces, with two CISF personnel sustaining injuries.The massive stir at the Indian Oil refinery has led to claims and counterclaims, including by political parties like Congress. The Congress took to X to share a video showing the massive agitation and alleged that workers' demands had been neglected. However, a company official claimed that there was a “communication gap”.Workers clash with security forces: How did stir escalate?The workers at the refinery expansion site held a protest on Monday, demanding fixed eight hours of duty, basic amenities at the work site and timely payment of salaries. Workers had gathered at the main gate for a scheduled protest amid heavy police presence at around 11 am.Teams from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) had also been deployed at the refinery amid the stir. The situation turned tense after some of the workers took exception to the CISF personnel asking them to remain in their designated area so that refinery operations were not affected.Also Read | Security forces fire in air as protest turns violent at Panipat refinery; 2 CISF men injuredFollowing this, the workers resorted to stone pelting, while some of them vandalised two security vehicles parked at the site. Panipat deputy superintendent of police (DSP) City Rajbir Singh, along with his team were rushed to the spot. The forces brought the situation under control with the help of CISF, while two shots were also fired in the air.Inspector Neeraj Kumar, in-charge of the Panipat Sadar police station, said the warning shots were necessary to restore order.Congress alleges neglect, IOCL official claims matter resolvedFollowing the incident, Congress shared a video of the incident on social media platform X and alleged that the demands of workers had been neglected. “These workers were continuously talking to the government and the refinery administration about some of their demands, but their demands were not heard,” the party said. On its official X handle, Congress said that the workers had to resort to the strike after their demands were not met. “The workers demanded that they be made to work eight hours a day instead of 12. If they are made to work 12 hours, they should be given 4 hours of overtime. Furthermore, salaries should be paid between the 1st and 7th of each month, which is often very late,” the post said. Congress called for the demands of the workers to be accepted.However, an official from the IOCL said there had been “misunderstandings and communication gaps among the contract workers.” Ashutosh Pandey, manager at the human resources department of the refinery said a dispute had taken place when the workers tried to express their views.“Later, when they sat down and presented their demands, IOCL discussed these demands with all the contractors. Yesterday, the DC and SP of Panipat were also present. They also spoke to all the contractors and instructed them to immediately implement whatever was legally required,” Pandey told ANI news agency.He said that the workers had agreed to return to work after assurances and the matter has been resolved.