Staff strike at one oil firm ends, others to follow suit

New Delhi: The strike by oil public sector units official is all set to end with all Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) employees reporting back to work on Friday afternoon.

“BPCL workers have called off the strike. HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited) is working fully,” Petroleum Secretary RS Pandey said in New Delhi.

"Over 70 per cent of the people have resumed work in marketing. By this (Friday) evening, we will be able to resume fuel supply at all locations. To make up for the backlog we would work on Saturday and Sunday too," BPCL Director (Marketing) S Radhakrishnan was quoted as saying by PTI.

BPCL accounts for 25 per cent of the petro goods market in the country, while HPCL accounts for 27 per cent and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) the rest. HPCL has been functioning normally and its employees have not joined the strike by nearly 50,000 oil PSU officers.

Sources said that all probation officers of the oil PSUs has been asked to report fopr work regularly, otherwise their services would be be terminated.

The Petroleum Ministry also said that Mathura, Panipat and Chennai oil refineries would be functional within the next few hours.

Only Barauni and Haldia refinery will take some more time to open, ministry officials said.

Sources also said that the strike will end in other PSUs soon.

"The crisis created by the ongoing oil strike should be under control by Friday afternoon or midnight," Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said in New Delhi on Friday.

However, Oil Sector Officers Association (OSOA) President Amit Kumar Verma said that the association has not decided to call off the strike.

"We have asked the minister (Petroleum Minister Murli Deora) for a meeting. The minister was concerned and admitted that our demands were genuine. He was amenable to our demands. We are willing to meet and hold talks with the government," said Amit Kumar Verma.

IOC sources told CNN-IBN that striking workers have not yet reported back to work.

Earlier, on Friday morning Union Government decided to act tough with the striking employees and decided to call in the Army to ensure smooth fuel supply.

"All resources of government, including the Army, will be pressed into action to ensure smooth supply of fuel in the nation. OSOA cannot hold country to ransom,'' Petroleum Secretary RS Pandey said in New Delhi on Friday.

Army units have already been called in for oil cargo movement and they have also been deployed the Mathura Oil Refinery.