OSOA officials, who are in hiding, said the stir may intensify as the Petroleum Employees’ Union, an association of oil sector workers, may also extend support from tomorrow.

The face-off between the government and the striking officers took an ugly turn with the ministry implementing its threat to terminate the services of 67 officers — three from IOC and 64 from Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC). Delhi, Assam, Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP and Maharashtra have invoked the Essential Services Management Act (ESMA) under which arrest warrants have been issued against the strikers.

Deora was away from the Capital most of the day, returning late evening for a meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers to decide the utilization of Reliance gas from the Krishna-Godavari field. A meeting between OSOA and the IOC management ended in drama this morning with Delhi and UP Police trying unsuccessfully to arrest OSOA office-bearers.

Behuria said no progress could be made as the OSOA harped on the same issues. “We said we can do nothing since a high-level ministerial committee is already looking into it.” OSOA, representing 45,000 officers from 14 oil and gas PSUs, feels the recent pay revision by the Government did not address their demands in full, and the raises were much below what the Rao Committee had recommended.

The agitation has badly affected industrial units in the western and northern regions, especially those on the Hazira-Bijapur-Jagdishpur gas pipeline. Besides lower crude oil and natural gas output, power generation and urea production has been hit in units fed by the HBJ pipeline.

... contd.