People relieved as oil companies call off strike

People heaved a sigh of relief after employees of public sector oil companies called off their strike on Tuesday.

By Praful Kumar Singh

New Delhi, Aug 21 : People heaved a sigh of relief after employees of public sector oil companies called off their strike on Tuesday.

A majority of them were worried about a break in the uninterrupted supply of oil and gas, after oil companies announced that their employees would go on an indefinite strike from 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

"It is good news for the people that oil company employees have decided to call off their strike. I have come to a petrol pump to get my car tank full in view of the strike," said Rajyavardhan, a businessman.

Madhu, a chartered accountant by profession, welcomed the decision of oil companies, saying a tough time for people are over.

Sensing the strike, people had started queuing up before petrol pumps to get their vehicle tanks full, rather than face the uncertainties ahead.

Navin, working in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), said the government reacted in time to save people from any further problem, as common man in Delhi is already hit by decreased frequency of Blueline buses.

However, Tilak Raj Bathla, the owner of the Evergreen Service Station, said, "We had stocked fuel in advance for three-four days, but are still worried about future oil supplies. Now, all these worries have disappeared after strike was called off."Earlier in the day, the Union Government agreed to most of the demands of the Oil Sector Officers Association (OSOA).

OSOA coordinator R P Srivastava said, "We had talks with the Petroleum Minister Murli Deora this morning, and he has agreed for higher interim relief for the period from January 1, 2007, when wage revision was due."

Around 45,000 officers of the 12 state-owned oil firms, under the banner of Oil Sector Officers' Association (OSOA), had gone on strike this morning.

They were demanding adhoc relief of Rs 60,000-1,20,000 per employee for the period from January 1, 2007, when wage revisions were due, reimbursement of perks tax, and implementation of 50 per cent D.A. merger in line with Central Government directives.

Sanjay Goel, president of the ONGC Officers Union, said the Petroleum Ministry had accepted their demand for giving them interim relief of Rs 60,000 to 1,20,000 per employee.

Last evening, the OSOA had rejected the Rs 50,000-1,00,000 interim payment, which was offered by Deora.

Rajesh Kumar, Treasurer, Indian Oil Officers Associations, BKPL, IOCL said that two of our demands have been met, and the Petroleum Ministry has given assurance that the matter of 50 per cent D.A. merger would be discussed at length during the forthcoming Long Term Settlement meeting.

Companies like the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the Indian Oil Corporation, the Bharat Petroleum Corporation, the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, MRL, CRL, IBP, BL, GAIL, LIL, and BRPL were on strike.

Deora termed the strike call as 'unfortunate'.

The Petroleum Ministry had declared the strike illegal as various High Courts had refrained the officers from taking such action. Besides being liable of contempt of court, the officers also faced severe disciplinary action.

Last year, the association had planned to go on strike in September, but called it off following assurances from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that their demands would be met.

ANI