Stock up on fuel while you can

Petrol pumps across the country will go on strike from September 20, with a petroleum traders' union warning of "no money, no purchase, no sale" after talks with the Oil Ministry to hike the rate of commission on fuel sales fell through.



In a meeting held on Monday with petrol pump dealers, the oil ministry refused to accept the demand for at least 5 per cent of the invoice value of fuel sales to be paid as commission to the dealers, official sources said.

At present, commission is paid to petrol pump owners as a fixed margin.



The ministry was of the view that accepting the demand will increase the burden of the oil marketing companies, which are expected to suffer losses of over Rs 50,000 crore in 2010 -11 on account of fuel subsidies. The meeting was also attended by senior officials of the oil marketing companies.

"We are continuing with our agitation. This will be a non-cooperation movement on our part... No money, no purchase, no sale from September 20," Federation of All-India Petroleum Traders (FAIPT) General Secretary Ajay Bansal said.

FAIPT claims to represent 37,800 petrol pump dealers.



Last week, the government had increased the dealers' commission by 9 paise a litre for petrol and 8 paise for diesel, due to which auto fuels prices in the country had increased by 9-13 paise a litre.

However, terming it an ad-hoc solution, the FAIPT has maintained that dealers should be paid a commission of at least 5 per cent of the invoice value.



"We are still ready for talks as we do not want to cause any inconvenience to the public. However, we are forced by the Petroleum Ministry and the oil marketing companies to take this extreme step," Bansal added.

Some of the other demands of the FAIPT include a freeze on establishment of new retail outlets, as mushrooming growth of petrol pumps is affecting the business of existing dealers.

Source: Agencies

Strike paralyses parts of India

Kolkata/New Delhi: Millions of people struck work and scores of flights were cancelled as a 24-hour nationwide strike called by eight trade unions against rising prices and privatisation disrupted life in parts of India, particularly those ruled by Left parties.



The strike was virtually complete in the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) ruled states of West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala, while it evoked a mixed response in states like Tamil Nadu and a tepid reaction in Karnataka.

The financial capital Mumbai and the national capital New Delhi were relatively unaffected except for commuters who were hit with autorickshaws joining the protest.

According to G. Sanjeeva Reddy, president of the Congress-backed Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), around 100 million (10 crore) workers and employees from sectors including banks, insurance, coal, power, telecom, defence, port and dock, road transport and petroleum and unorganised sectors such as construction joined the strike.



"The strike is 99 percent successful," the Rajya Sabha MP and convener of the Coordination Committee of the Central Trade Unions, which called the strike, told IANS from Hyderabad.

The strike, he said, was being held to "reassert" the bargaining power of the trade unions.



According to him, government leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, wanted to discuss the workers' demands. He said senior central ministers had already contacted him for this.

The trade unions that called the strike are, besides INTUC, the Left-affiliated All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and the Centre of Indian Unions (CITU) as well as the All India United Trade Union Centre (AITUC), Trade Union Coordination Centre (TUCC), All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), United Trade Union Congress (UTUC) and the Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS).



The workers want a check on price rise of essential commodities, pro-active measures to protect employment in recession hit sectors, strict enforcement of all basic labour laws without exception, Rs.50,000 crore for an unorganised workers' social security fund, and a halt to privatization of central public sector enterprises.

The demands found resonance in West Bengal, where life ground to a halt in most parts, crippling commercial activities and road traffic.

However, with the opposition Trinamool Congress bringing out processions, a few shops and markets opened as the day wore on.

More than 100 flights run by private airlines to and from Kolkata were cancelled in advance.



Kolkata, which bustles with activity on normal weekdays, saw empty roads as vehicles did not venture out. The strike was total in industrial areas like Taratala.

Government and private buses did not ply and most people chose to remain indoors.

The strike paralysed the industrial belt on both sides of the Hooghly river in Hooghly, Howrah and North 24-Parganas districts, with workers picketing factory gates.



Clashes between CPI-M and Trinamool Congress erupted in several places.

Two people were injured when a scuffle broke out between workers of the two parties over the opening of shops in North 24 Parganas' Baranagar.



Life in Tripura was crippled as well with most markets, shops and business establishments, government and semi-government offices, educational institutions, banks and financial institutions shut. Roads were deserted and rail services between Tripura and the rest of the country affected.

In Assam, life was impacted in many places though tea and oil production were not hit.



Elsewhere in India, there was a mixed response.

In Mumbai, commuters had a tough time as autorickshaws joined the stir but banks and financial institutions, both in public and private sectors, responded wholeheartedly.



According to Vishwas Utagi, secretary of the All India Bank Employees Association, around one million bank employees protested against a host of issues including foreign direct investments in public sector banks and entry of foreign banks.

In Orissa, mining operations in Sundergarh and Keonjhar districts were paralysed. But work in major establishments, including at the state-owned National Aluminium Co (NALCO) mines and refinery in Koraput, was not hit.

Source: IANS

Image Credit: PTI