The Hindu Business Line : Wage issue: Oil officers threaten strike

Unmet demands
As per a memorandum of understanding with the Petroleum Ministry, the salary of oil sector officers was to be raised from January 1, 2002
The Ministry has agreed that salary grievance is genuine but the Department of Public Enterprises has said that it is unable to increase remuneration

New Delhi , July 18

The Oil Sector Officers Association (OSOA) on Tuesday said that it would go on strike, if the demand for higher wages was not met.

The Convenor of OSOA, a body representing executives of public sector undertakings (PSUs), Mr Ashok Singh, said that the Delhi High Court on Monday had lifted the restraint imposed on the Association from going on strike. This came while the Court was disposing of a petition moved by ONGC.

`Agitation notice'

The Association is protesting against the non-implementation of a decision to revise salaries of oil PSU executives with effect from January 1, 2002. The Association plans to launch an agitation after serving notices to the Ministry and the oil companies, Mr Singh said.

"We are issuing agitation notice to the Government and respective oil company managements today (Tuesday). On July 28, the Association is going to hold a dharna in front of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, followed by a protest march to the Prime Minister's office on August 4 and hunger strike at Rajghat on August 25," he told Business Line.

Unfulfilled promise

Mr Singh said, "If our demands are still not met, then we plan to go on flash strike." As per the January 11, 2000 memorandum of understanding with the Petroleum Ministry, the salary and compensation of oil sector officers was to be raised from January 1, 2002.

"But that promise has not yet been fulfilled," he said. OSOA demanded pay revision after every five years with effect from January 1, 2002, DA neutralisation with effect from January 1, 1996 instead of January 1, 1997 and 50 per cent DA merger with basic pay.

Unable to increase

According to a member of the Association, while the Ministry agreed that the salary grievance was genuine, the Department of Public Enterprises stuck to its earlier position of not being able to bring about an enhancement in remuneration. OSOA is a representative body of oil PSUs, including IndianOil, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and GAIL (India).

ONGC officers are represented in OSOA through the Association of Scientific and Technical Officers, which has 24,000 members.

The association was making a case for an entry-level salary of Rs 50,000 per month (from Rs 20,000 per month at present) for management trainees and commensurate rise in emoluments at senior levels.