Staff Association of privatisation-bound Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd said on Wednesday it will not allow government-appointed global advisors to carry out valuation of the state-owned refinery and vowed to block due diligence by the suitors.

"We will not allow global advisors to come near our company. We will do everthing possible to block the due diligence process," Ashok Singh of HPCL Management Staff Association said after submitting a memorandum opposing privatisation of HPCL to Petroleum Minister Ram Naik.

Last year employees of National Aluminium Company Limited blocked due diligence by bidders, following which the government put-off divestment in the state-owned firm for the time-being.

Singh, who is also the president of Oil Sector Officers' Association--an umbrella organisation of oil sector unions--said officers associations of public sector telecom, power, insurance and banking companies, besides railways have extended support to their indefinite strike call against privatisation of cash-rich HPCL.

"We have submitted a notice of strike to Naik. All oil public sector units would go on indefinite strike the day government invites price bids for selling its majority stake in HPCL to a strategic partner," he said.

Advising HPCL unions restraint, Naik had said the decision to divest government stake in HPCL and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd was taken after due consultations and his ministry would implement the decision.

"We will oppose tooth and nail the government policy of privatising the profit making company," Singh said adding HPCL was created by an Act of Parliament and in order to privatise it, government is morally and legally bound to bring in a Repeal Bill because of the nature of aims and objectives of the Act, under which HPCL was created.

He claimed the chief minister of Maharashtra too had extended support to their cause as he feared that the strategic partner would close down HPCL's Mumbai refinery for using the prime refinery land for real estate business.

Employees unions of public sector insurance and banking firms and railways would meet in Mumbai on February 15-16 to chalk out the kind of support they would extend to oil union agitation against privatisation of HPCL and BPCL, he said.

Singh claimed that government had not once consulted the board of directors of HPCL. "We have been asking why they want to privatise HPCL. If they tell us the reason like improving quality of service or collecting money, then we are willing to perform better."

He said OSOA has not been able to make a representation to Divestment Minister Arun Shourie because they have not been given appointment in spite of repeated requests.

Asked to comment on Shourie's observation on Tuesday that valuation of HPCL shares would be affected if the employees went on strike, he said, "What valuation? We will not allow the process to take off. No one will be allowed to come near our property."

OSOA demanded that government reverse its policy of privatising highly profitable public sector firms and instead give them more automony to perform better.