By IANS
New Delhi : Some 45,000 officials working for state-run oil firms Tuesday called off their indefinite strike after assurances from Petroleum Minister Murli Deora on enhancing their interim pay, pending a wage settlement.
“We spoke to the petroleum minister and he has agreed to look into our demands for higher interim relief from the beginning of the year,” said R.P. Srivastava of the Oil Sector Officers Association (OSOA).
The association has members from companies like the Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum, and their strike was expected to choke the supplies of hydrocarbon fuels.
Deora urged the officers to appreciate the fact that strikes would cause immense inconvenience to the public by disrupting supply of fuels and reminded them they were the highest paid officials among state-run firms.
For them to repeatedly seek relief through strikes and agitations was “totally incorrect” and not in keeping with the best tradition of public service. The action also amounts to contempt of court orders, he added.
“Our government has always been sympathetic to the genuine demands of officers and employees of the public sector in general and oil sector in particular.”