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Nationwide pay strike cripples India's oil sector

NEW DELHI: Some 140,000 employees of state-run Indian oil firms launched an indefinite strike across the country on Tuesday, crippling crude processing, exploration and production.

"The strike began as scheduled and attendance is very thin," said a senior official of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) as the long-threatened stoppage over a wage dispute with the government finally took hold.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation said crude production at its offshore Bombay High field had been halted, and most of the big refineries were shut down after evacuation of crude oil was stopped early in the morning.

Officials said the refineries of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Bongaigaon Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, IOC and Cochin Refineries Ltd stood silent.

"The strike is total. All refineries have been shut down and there has been no production, exploration or processing of crude," a senior official of the Oil Sector Officers' Association (OSOA) said.

He said the impact of the strike would be felt on Wednesday, when most petrol pumps were likely to "go dry".

However, Reliance Petroleum Ltd said that work at its state-of-the-art 27-million-tonne refinery in the western state of Gujarat was proceeding normally.

The OSOA called last month for the strike to press for higher wages and inflation-indexed allowances. Union officials say a wage revision has been due since January 1, 1997.

The association represents employees in 13 oil firms, including Indian Oil Corporation, ONGC, BPCL, HPCL and Gas Authority of India Ltd.

It was the association's third announcement of plans for a strike. The union had withdrawn its threats twice earlier after the government assured it of a quick decision on the issue.

The government had warned that executives staying away from work would be liable to contempt proceedings following a court order banning the strike.

STRIKE WITHDRAWN

A nationwide strike by 140,000 employees of India's state-run oil firms was withdrawn on condition the government negotiates a revised wage package with unions, Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said on Tuesday.

"The officers' association has withdrawn the strike with immediate effect," Naik told a news conference hours after the strike began, bringing crude oil processing, exploration and production to a near-standstill.

"Finally they (oil employees association) said we withdraw the strike but negotiations should continue. I will try my best to see that the issues are resolved," Naik added.