Executives of public sector oil companies have deferred their proposed indefinite strike from tomorrow by one week, pending consideration of higher wages for employees in the state-run companies by the Cabinet. "The Cabinet will meet on November 20 to take up the proposal for higher wages for PSU staff. In view of this, we have deferred the strike by one week," Oil Sector Officers Association (OSOA) President Amit Kumar said in New Delhi. The Association had earlier in the day announced that 50,000 officers in 14 oil PSUs would strike work from Tuesday, protesting non-revision of wages that was due from January, 2007. A Committee of Secretaries have approved higher wages for employees of all public sector units as per the recommendations of the Justice Rao Committee and the proposal is now lying with the Cabinet. Also, there were divisions within the Association with officers of Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) deciding to stay away from the proposed agitation. Executives of Oil India and Engineers India too were unlikely to joint the strike. Amit Kumar did not say when Association proposed to go on indefinite strike next, if the Cabinet did not approve of the proposal this week. "We will let you know," he said. Oil Minister Murli Deora had appealed to the officers to keep the wider national interest in mind and desist from going on strike as such a move would cripple economy by impacting oil and gas output and fuel supplies. "Petroleum Ministry and I for one have always supported that PSU employees should be paid wages to stop attrition. We have also recommended to the Department of Public Enterprise for the same. But it (sanctioning higher wages) is not in our hand. There is a process and the process has to be followed," he said. Deora said his ministry favoured higher wages and had recommended the same to the Department of Public Enterprises and the matter was under consideration. "I am hopeful that a decision will be taken soon and so the officers should not resort to such a move," he said. The Association said that it had earlier submitted a 13-point charter of demands that included categorisation of all oil sector PSUs in highest A+ category – thereby entitling workers to the best remuneration available for a government-sector company. It is also seeking introduction of open ended pay-scales, removal of 50 per cent ceiling on perks and allowances, five -year periodicity of wage revision and maintaining the same annual and promotion increment levels of four and six per cent already in vogue.
