New Delhi: Officials of state-owned oil companies on Friday began a 24-hour nationwide hunger strike to mount pressure on the government to accept their demands, including a hike in salary.
About 500 officers of public sector oil companies joined the protest starting at 0600 hrs, IST on Friday at Rajghat.
"Fast is being observed throughout the country by officials at their respective work places," Oil Sector Officers' Association (OSOA) Convener Ashok Singh said. OSOA is a representative body of executives of all public sector oil firms.
Public sector oil employees are demanding periodic pay revisions every five years. They demand 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 for management trainees and commensurate rise in emoluments at senior levels.
The officials have also threatened to go on an indefinite strike beginning September 5, if the Government does not pay heed to its demands.
The association also submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard on August 4.
"We are yet to hear from the Government and we will go ahead with our plan of an indefinite strike from September 5," Singh said.
According to sources, the Petroleum Ministry has already made its recommendations to the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) favouring the demands of the oil PSU officials.
However, the DPE has still not made a decision. 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.
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.
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