The Refinery employees had threatened on Saturday to go on strike in support of their demands.

Sangh General Secretary Monsi Mathews told Express Newsline that the management had agreed in principle to remove the disparity between the conveyance allowances of the employees and the officers.

But no time frame had been set for this, he said, as it concerned all Indian Oil Corporation units in the country. Any such revision in allowances have to carried out simultaneously all over the country.

On the upgradation of the professional allowance, Mathews said employees of different categories would get an ad hoc hike of Rs 150, 175 and Rs 200 in their salaries.

Mathews further said a committee comprising representatives of the management and the Union had been formed to prepare a report on the abolition of the contract labour system.

The report is to be submitted within a month.

Agrawal is reported to have advised the management to settle the issues by February 28, 1999. Mathews said their future action would be decided by what the management did in the next few months.

Even as the talks continued, the Refinery, in apprehension of a disruption of its operations, had loaded petroleum products on Sunday as well.