Good News: IOCL Nationwide Strike Averted
CLC ensured that dialogue prevailed over confrontation, preventing a disruption that could have had wide-ranging economic and social impacts
The looming nationwide strike by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) unions has been successfully averted after an intervention by the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC). The crucial conciliation meeting, held at the CLC’s Dwarka office in New Delhi at around 2:30 pm today, saw the participation of IOCL’s senior management and trade union representatives.
Highly placed sources told www.indianpsu.com that “The matter has now been seized, and both parties have been asked to maintain status quo until further orders. The management has been directed to hold negotiations with the union and try to reach an agreement before October 14. Both sides will once again appear before the Chief Labour Commissioner on the next date of hearing, scheduled for October 14.”
The discussions, which continued late into the evening, for over seven hours helped defuse rising tensions in the petroleum sector that could have disrupted fuel supply chains across the country.
Key Demands of Trade Unions
During the meeting, union representatives put forth a long list of grievances and demands, which include:
- Recruitment Policies: Immediate withdrawal of unilateral recruitment on E-O posts violating the Memoranda of Settlement (MoS).
- Restructuring Issues: Stoppage of synergy and restructuring exercises in Pipeline and Marketing divisions.
- Labour Rights: End to unilateral withdrawal of facilities violating MoS and enforcement of labour laws.
- Hiring Needs: Immediate recruitment of both blue-collar and white-collar workers across all divisions.
- Performance Incentives: Rollback of sudden changes in the Performance Incentive Scheme (PIS) calculation.
- Job Security: Halt outsourcing of permanent workmen’s jobs, particularly in aviation and marketing operations.
- Promotion Policy: Address alleged violations of bipartite and tripartite promotion agreements dating back to 1991.
- Pension & Retiral Benefits: Implementation of 40% pensionary benefits under the Superannuation Benefit Fund Scheme (SABE) as per past agreements.
- Medical Benefits: Furnishing pay data related to the Post-Retirement Medical Attendance Scheme (PRMAS) and inclusion of union representatives in its Trust.
- Contract Workers: Stoppage of arbitrary termination and assurance of fair wages, job security, and retiral benefits for all contract workmen.
The CLC’s Role
The Office of the Chief Labour Commissioner plays a critical role in enforcing labour laws under the Central Sphere, covering key establishments such as Railways, Mines, Banks, Insurance, Major Ports, Defence Boards, and major public sector undertakings including IOCL, BPCL, HPCL, ONGC, and FCI.
By bringing both parties to the table, the CLC ensured that dialogue prevailed over confrontation, thereby preventing a disruption that could have had wide-ranging economic and social impacts.
