Jamshedpur, Oct. 13: The recognised labour unions of the four units of the ailing Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) have joined hands to protest against the Centre’s decision to undertake disinvestment in the public sector undertaking.

The four unions — ICC Workers Union in Ghatshila, Khetri Employees’ Union (Rajasthan), Malajkhand Workers’ Union (Madhya Pradesh) and Taloja Labour Union (Maharashtra) — will move the Supreme Court. The Aituc-backed ICC Workers’ Union and Khetri Employees’ Union and the Intuc-backed Taloja Labour Union will file a joint writ petition against the Centre in the Supreme Court in the next couple of days. The Bharat Mazdoor Sangh- backed Malajkhand Workers’ Union will also file a case in the same court.

“The unions have decided to oppose the proposed disinvestments in all four HCL units. We will all appeal to the Supreme Court,” president of the ICC Workers’ Union and state president of Aituc, Tikaram Majhi, said today, adding that G.S. Parmar, national secretary of Aituc, would file the petition on behalf of the three unions.

Majhi said the Centre is planning to offload 51 per cent of its stake to a private firm. “Talks are on and representatives of a firm met senior officials of the Union mines ministry and HCL in Calcutta on October 9. But the unions will oppose any disinvestment move,” the senior Aituc leader said.

Majhi said the writ petition would be based on the Supreme Court judgement in the privatisation case of BPCL and HPCL. “The court ruling (case number WB-C 286 of 2003) said private units that were nationalised with the consent of the Parliament cannot be handed over to private parties without the consent of the Parliament,” he said.

“HCL was nationalised,” Majhi said, “in 1972 after the Parliament passed the ICC (government undertaking) Act. So it would be illegal on part of the Centre to go in for disinvestment in HCL without seeking the approval of the Parliament.”

The unions are apprehensive that once a private firm takes over the management, it would reduce the workforce. General secretary of the ICC Workers’ Union Ajit Ray said the unions would also highlight how the governments at the Centre had, over the years, meted out a step-motherly treatment to the PSU. “When HCL was nationalised in 1972, the Centre had vowed to spend nearly Rs 500 crore to upgrade the copper mines. But we have statistics to prove that the government did not keep it’s word,” he said.