They expressed surprise over exclusion of a 'die-hard' Sramik League leader from the committee and condemned the new-members for their alleged involvement in metre tempering and corruption.

Jatiya Sramik League approved the 48-member unit convenor committee on April 23 this year ignoring its registered trade union 'Titas Gas Karmachari Union', they alleged.

Titas employees said some Sramik League activists of the unit joined their anti-party before 2001 national election and targeted the committed activists of Titas Gas Karmachari Union, the release read.

They compelled some of its leaders to resign from the Sramik League union and join its anti-union, transferred many Sramik League employees to different zones, harassed them physically and forced them to support taking tolls with the corrupted officials.

Jatiya Sramik League Secretary Roy Ramesh Chandra, however, denied the inclusion of any corrupted persons in the committee. "We did not have any such allegations about the committee members," he told The Daily Star yesterday.