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PSU oil firm executives plan strike

NEW DELHI: Terming the constitution of an inter-ministerial group to look into its wage-related demands an ‘eyewash,’ the Oil Sector Officers’ Association (OSOA) has said it would go on an indefinite strike from January 7 to protest the government’s ‘failure’ to give them a fair deal.

Refusing to heed the appeal by Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora not to go on strike, the OSOA, an amalgamation of officers’ unions of 14 PSU oil firms, said the November wage hike, approved by the government, worked out to only 17 per cent. “We feel betrayed by the numerous promises that have not been kept by the Ministers. It is a decisive battle for us,” OSOA president Amit Kumar said here.

Mr. Kumar said what was most unfortunate and indicated the non-serious approach of the government was that the quartet — of Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Mr. Deora, Heavy Industries Minister Santosh Mohan Dev and Minister of State for Finance P.K. Bansal — charged with looking into their demands was not officially a Group of Ministers (GoM).

“The inter-ministerial panel has not been notified officially. It has no terms of reference or a time frame to address our problems.”

Officials said a strike in oil PSUs could cripple the already strained economy, beginning with a disruption in fuel supplies to the airlines and slowly impacting on auto fuel and cooking fuel supplies.

“On November 17, Mr. Santosh Mohan Dev had agreed to our demands and promised to get us a fair deal. He stated that the then Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had agreed to a five-year periodicity of wage revision. A similar promise was also made by Mr. Deora. But three days later, what we got were peanuts and we will have to live with it for the next 10 years,” he said.

Officers stopping work at refineries and oil fields may cripple fuel supplies and do irreparable damage to oil wells, as some of the older ones may never be able to start production again.

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