Oil companies to strike work, services to be hit

New Delhi, Sep 4 (UNI) Oil companies including ONGC, IOC, HPCL, BPCL will go on indefinite stir starting tomorrow morning demanding pay parities with multi-national companies after talks with Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora today failed to make any head-way.

The stir is likely to hit petrol and other fuel supply services even as the government is gearing up to combat the fall-out of the strike.

Thousands of oil officers under the banner of the Oil Sector Officers' Association (OSOA) led by convenor Ashok Singh today met Petroleum and Oil Minister Murli Deora to press their demands but talks have failed, the officers Union said.

Officers of the public sector oil companies have threatened to launch an indefinite strike from September 5 to press for their demands of salary hike.

"Despite repeated pleas, we have not heard from the government even once. As such, we have decided to launch an indefinite strike from September 5," Oil Sector Officers' Association (OSOA) convener Ashok Singh said.

OSOA is a representative body of executives of all public sector oil firms. The body also submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard on August 4.

If the officers go on strike, the first to be affected would be the aviation sector. According to estimates, a halt on aviation refuelling would cost the exchequer around Rs 200 crore per day. The Air Force has been asked to be on a standby for any eventuality in disruption in air fuel supply.

OSOA, which represents one-third of the 1,30,000 strong workforce in PSUs, including ONGC, IOC, OIL, BPCL, GAIL and HPCL, had last struck work on January 11, 2000, which had crippled the aviation sector.

''Besides, companies have asked them to top up their tanks and requisition the services of retired oil company PSUs have been sought'', a petroleum ministry spokesperson said.

Even the territorial army has been asked to be on standby, the official said.

There has even been a Delhi High Court injuction against the strike of IOC and ONGC recently.

Besides, work at the refining facilities and production platform at ONGC will also be affected because of the strike.

A strike in the oil sector could mean a loss of Rs 164.5 crore on oil sales of 5.22 lakh barrels a day and Rs 17.28 crore on gas sales of 54 million standard cubic metres a day.

Loss of production for value added products like naphtha, high-speed diesel and kerosene is expected at 9,300 tonnes per day.

Public sector oil employees are demanding periodic pay revisions every five years; 100 per cent dearness allowance neutralisation with effect from January 1, 1996; 50 per cent DA merger; and immediate release of additional stagnation increments.

The association is also seeking an entry-level salary of Rs 50,000 per month (from Rs 20,000 per month) for management trainees and commensurate rise in emoluments at senior levels.

Sources in the Petroleum Ministry said that the ministry has already made its recommendations to the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) favouring the demands of the oil PSU officials.

Mr Deora had appealed to the officers of the state-owned oil companies to call off their agitation, as the government was considering all their demands sympathetically.

UNI/RT SBA HT1818