NEW DELHI: Oil sector officers have called off their strike, proposed to begin on Tuesday, after a meeting with Petroleum Minister Murli Deora. Initially, in response to pleas made both by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mr. Deora on Monday night, the strike was deferred for three weeks, but now it has been dropped.

The decision came after Mr. Deora assured the officers that the Government would look into their demands for higher wages.

Ashok Singh, convener, Oil Sector Officers Association (OSOA), said the strike had been called off since Mr. Deora gave an assurance that all efforts would be made to resolve the issues raised by them.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Deora said an agreement had been reached on certain points. Besides, the Prime Minister also agreed to set up a pay revision committee for Central PSEs. However, no time frame was given for setting up the committee.

Talks between the Petroleum Ministry and the OSOA continued till late Monday night, but a firm decision could not be taken on calling off the strike owing to differences among the various associations affiliated to different oil companies. Some oil company associations were in favour of continuing the strike, while others were prepared to call it off. Ultimately, it was decided early on Tuesday morning to suspend the strike for three weeks pending implementation of the assurances given by the Government.

The OSOA, however, was finally convinced about the fact that commitments made by the Government would be implemented during a round of discussions on Tuesday with Mr. Deora as well as Heavy Industries Minister Sontosh Mohan Dev.

Demands

Among the demands made by the oil industry executives were 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. They also sought entry-level salaries of Rs. 50,000 per month for management trainees and commensurate increase in emoluments at senior levels. Mr. Dev informed the OSOA representatives that he would take up the issue of 50 per cent DA merger with the Cabinet. In addition, they were told the Government would consider their demand for five per cent profit distribution and release of additional stagnation increments.

In a statement here, Mr. Deora commended the officers for calling off the strike especially as it had spared consumers and the country of the hardships that would have been caused due to a strike in such a critical sector.

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