Posts
Sekhar Gupta
Tarun Madhira tarun.madhira@gmail.com
Date: Fri, Jan 30, 2009 at 4:51 PM
Subject: Congrats for Padma award & Poor content research & quality in your recent express columns - Addendum to my mail
To: sg@expressindia.com
Dear Shekhar jee
Congrats for your Padma award announced on Republic Day, from an Express loyalist for several years, though I subscribe for other dailies incl business ones BS & ET. Though I admire you as an incisive reporter & like many of the Walk the talk interviews, I was shell shocked to know how little you know about Govt. Undertakings or even about Armed Forces & their issues.
It speaks so low about you if you pen such things yourself rather than delegate it to someone else coz., this is undeserving from your Pen for the quality of its content except for the theme which is acceptable.
Though the strike by businessmen 'truckers' and working class of PSU can't be painted in the same brush, the strike per se are not justified by anyone. Infact many of the officers & thier leaders were shown live conceeding the same line and conveyed to the media that there were four such strike notices issued and withdrawn based on solid assurances from none other than Minster himself were not acted upon.
I buy the employees contention that being full time professionals in organised in public utility related areas, Strike is the last thing and rarely it occured in the industry because it is thier profession. I know the tricks played by several industrial houses with vested interests when it comes to PSUs coz., it is No ones baby so they dont hesitate to use it for all means including poaching of the talent. Expecting top class Techno talent and Scientists and MBAs for Rs. 30-40 thousand can happen only in Indian PSUs. As I know many of them excepting for some semi qualified people from ranks most of the educated donot need the job security in Oil Industry coz jobs are always available in India & Abroad for manufacturing unlike Services like Financial ot IT based which you seem to refer. Being related to this Industry I have seen even retired low level people from ranks being paid not less than 1-1.5 lakhs per month. In IT this is much above the figure. In many cases jobs were lost but . Several jobs are immediately available with 30-40% lesser salary & this is limited only during the low time. Come On you cant be that ignorant about professional job market in differnt industries Shekhar , for the experienced and qualified hands.
Nowhere you tried to touch the circumstances which led to such situations in Oilmen case as well as the outcome of the meetings of the Armed Forces Chiefs with the PM rather than with the concerned BABUS. WE EXPECT YOU TO DO THE HOMEWORK PROPERLY BEFORE OFFERING VIEWS TO THE PUBLIC, SHEKHAR. PLEASE DONOT JOIN THE LEAGUE OF SOME HINDI TV CHANNELS intersted only in Sensationalism, which I have personally seen, since my business is indirectly linked to the oilmen and I was also affected to some extent at that time and I was feeling bored with free time though I rarely watch Hindi news channels. Common People can say anything since they are the affected and they are not expected to know about all the problems of PSUs & Armed forces, but not the Media which has some responsibility. By the way there was no discontent in the entire rank & file of the Armed forces to precipitate a strike, but limited to a few affected small groups which were not properly benchmarked compared to their peers in Govt and other services. So this is also a different case.
The irresponsible media esp Hindi TV channels were virtually instigating a war like situation with their reporting. And no wonder Pakistani media was also crying hoarse about it without even any credible investigation or proven evidence. Nevermind even I agree with people's views and perceptions which may be perfectly correct. But can we substantiate it conclusively in the first 3-4 itself. News Channels were just forcing views and injecting venom in peoples minds virtually to wage a war and pressurise thinking in the government and people, who are already traumatised by the 26/11 incidents and the next 3-4 days events.
In case of Oil men Stike I have seen full page Ads given by the ministry reeling similar figures and Clippings which arreared in leading national dailies Economic Times, Business standard & Hindu/Frontline which are portraying the true picture by exact analysis of the history and chronology of events preceeding, based on documentary evidence which contradicts the Govt. line, which negates your 'empty rhetoric & emotional spills from your pen look.
Readers including myself respect you a lot for some of your qualities. So please take care to write only on the issues about which you have full information to keep your image intact. If it is an interview things would not have been so much in poor light, since it is a dialogue in first place and secondly rarely does one appears to be that incisive in interiews so they carry lesser impact to that extent than the print, of course except for some Karan Thapar, who is an outstandingly incisive interviewer and reporter on political and business issues because he does a lot of home work since he works for the content viewed by the most educated and influential in India.
Yours etc
Tarun Madhira
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Oil Strike that Crippled the Media
Talk about the Oil strike that 'crippled' the country over the three days. It is unfortunate that the 'elite media houses' have failed once again to be true. What a shame..!!
Oil Sector Officers Association (OSOA) a conglomeration of officers associations of 14 vibrant and thriving Oil PSUs representing over 55000 officers, was trying to make a case on the systemic subjugation and annihilation of the technocrats of these Corporations by the bureaucracy. And media was out to project as if they were criminals 'unleashing economic terror' on the nation..!! Strong words these.
Lets look at the events as they unfolded:
Pay revision to these officers was due as on 01.01.07, after 10 long years and the same was not finalised even after 12 years. (Some generation gap, one would say..!!). What was eventually announced was a meager 17 % net hike..!! Even if we consider a modest & simple 3% inflation over these 12 long years it should have been nothing less than 36%. (I am not giving the minute details of the numbers involved here because it is there for anyone, who makes a small effort, to find out). And this one time hike is supposed to hold for the next ten years, as the next revision is due only after 10 years as per the present arrangements
And to rub the salt in, this announcement is made by the Committee of Secretaries (COS - read Babus) which has unilaterally brushed aside the recommendations of the learned Justice M Jagannath Rao led Pay Revision Committee for CPSEs, which, for over 18 months, had gone into the whole gamut of issues concerning the pay revision of PSU executives, and made some sensational and far reaching recos. And what does the COS do? Within a month of submission of this report they throw aside these recommendations into the dust bin and come up with a surprise package..!!
Justice MJ Rao, we believe, had a vison, a vision of making these PSU executives into global challengers who could take on the world and still be happy in the environment they were working in. He wanted to bridge the gap between the compensation packages of these throbbing Oil PSUs and the neo-rich Private Oil Companies for whom these PSUs had become the favorite hunting ground for a ready, intelligent and specialized talent. If India wanted to be a world major in the Oil & Gas, this was a pre requisite. This required adequate compensation (not hefty mind you, but adequate) to be paid to these executives and Justice Rao realised this. Inputs were sought and obtained from across the globe, from eminent consultants, intelligentsia and the various stakeholders. There was paradigm shift in the thinking w.r.t the compensation package envisaged. India was at last doing what should have been done decades ago. The ‘Modern Temples of India” were being strengthened against the onslaught of the private MNCs who had cast their eyes on the huge Indian talent. The ‘brain drain’ had began..!!
A package was indeed announced to take cognizance of all of above and much more. A fairly reasonable package we would say, though the Oil executives felt disappointed that the compensation was not comparable to the pay packages of executives in the private sector in India. This is what these Officers of PSUs were trying to bring to the attention of the ministries concerned. ‘Please rationalize our pay else we will be losing all our hard-working brilliant executives to the private oil companies’.
The legitimate Associations of the officers of oil PSUs cried hoarse over the last six months to draw attention of the managements and the ministry to the shortcomings that had crept in the recommendations. Series of meeting were held at the highest levels including the Minister of P&NG, Minister of PE & HI, Secretaries of these ministries, Chairman of the DPE, who have at various times agreed that the demands being made were genuine and even recommended the same to the Government. The Officer’s Associations, on three occasions since Sept’08, issued strike notices to the Managements and the Govt. Representations were made to the PMO by these associations. But alas, nobody felt it necessary to address the issues involved which were going to have a long lasting impact over the lives of over 55000 officers of the Oil PSUs and their families and lakhs of members of the other PSUs. Inspite of deadlines issued, time and again, the people who were supposed to take action, ignored the same.
Looking at the way events have unfolded, it is quite obvious that the babus have sabotaged the whole matter and taken the country to the verge of a precipice. Ministers were fed with false information on the implications of the pay revision benefits. False comfort was given to the political leadership on the consequences of strike calls given by the associations. Managements sympathetic to the cause of officers, were pushed on the back foot with veiled threats. Even as the calls of agitation was getting shriller by the day, recommendations made by the managements on the genuine demands, were brushed aside by the Government at the behest of the ministry officials. What started as a genuine and legitimate movement was being touted as a ‘high-handed act by an obstinate group of officers’.
Let’s pause for a moment to figure out why this was being done by the all and the mighty. (again.. read babus)? Why are these beauraucrats so much against the legitimate needs of the officers community? Why has this struggle become a bone of contention between the more reciprocating managements of the PSUs and the beauracratic establishment within the Govt...?? Is it because the changes being sought in the pay structure would catapult the technocrats above the IAS officers? And to ensure that it doesn’t, is this vested group willing to go to any extent to thwart the attempts..?? Only time will bring out the truth.
However, what we actually know is this:
These officers of the oil sector PSUs are professionally qualified and skilled group of people, who have brought laurels to their respective organisations. Over the years, it is these officers who have gone beyond the line of duty and ensured that the supply lines are live. If today, India is proud of oil PSUs being listed among the Fortune 500 listings and rubbing shoulders with the world leaders, it is thanks to the thousands of such dedicated officers in each one of these PSUs.
Even at times of extreme distress and severe challenges to the country, officers have stood together, shoulder-to-shoulder and ensured that the country’s and organization’s interests are upheld, time and again. Be it at the time of Kargil war, Gujarat earthquake or the devastating Tsunami, all the officers have worked relentlessly round the clock to stand by the nation and have even contributed their salaries to mitigate the sufferings of the masses. Never have these officers found wanting, in their commitment to the nation and to its people. It is associations of such officers who has, on many occasions in the last two years, taken conscious decisions to positively respond to the appeals of the Management and Govt to defer the agitation plans so as to uphold the dignity of collective bargaining, inspite of the strong sentiments to the contrary, expressed by the officers community. That these associations are very balanced, extremely mature and highly motivated is proved beyond doubt, time and again.
And what does the tech savvy media houses and their ill informed reporters see them as? ‘Economic terrorists’, ‘Desh Drohis’, ‘Kasav’s of India’. C’mon, give us a break..!! Can anything else be any farther from truth than this..?? Is the media caught in the clutches of the formidable Govt. machinery?
The elitist media experts including the Shekar Gupta’s and their likes refer to this group of people as ‘greasy palms’ and to quote his lines in one of the recent article posted on line ‘The world, particularly the Pakistanis, must be laughing at us, and LeT and various other Lashkars must be smiling smugly: Didn’t we tell you these Indians, they are a weak state, with weak people, remember the slogan we have loved and believed in for years, “hilti huyee diwar hai, ek dhakka aur do.” (It [India] is a shaky wall, just one more push...).’ Surely, Mr Gupta, you should have known better than that. You are an articulate man, with a deep sense of commitment to the nations interest. People sit up to listen to what you say because you have credentials to have the eyes and the ears of the powerful who matter. But, unfortunately your sense of such commitment was conspicuous by its absence when, for the past couple of years, one highly educated and committed section of the nation was pleading with all and mighty to address their woes. Let me ask one simple question to such opinion makers, Is asking for a just and fair pay structure commiserate with their professional contribution to the nation building, not legitimate? Is it a crime to seek comparable increases in their bottom line, when most of the commercial enterprises across the country were doubling or tripling the wages of their employees to retain them? Is it wrong when we say that a mere 17% net increase over a time horizon of 20 year (1997-2016) was grossly inadequate? Is it criminal to plead “Save us, Save our Companies from the butchery..!!”
Was it not necessary for you to remark on the fact that the Govt machinery was invoking ESMA, NSA with such alacrity? Did you not feel that this was an over-kill? Did it not strike to you that there could be more than what meets the eyes? For media people of such high standing in society, these information are only a couple of phone calls away. NO SIR, YOU DID NOT CHOOSE TO DO THAT? Instead you got convinced by the ‘over 200% hike’ slogan unleashed by the Secretaries and the Govt. For God’s sake, these forceful and authoritarian legislations were not even thought of during gravest security threats, barbaric terrorist strikes and national calamities, but the Govt did not even wink twice before unleashing the might of these laws to throttle the voices of the officers community. And you guys found nothing beyond ordinary when this drama was being played out..??
The Indian media did not even notice, when one section of the Govt machinery finds it necessary to throw well researched and far reaching recommendations on of eminent intellectuals on pay structure revision, into the dustbin.
Let there not be any doubts in the minds of the people of this country, we officers of the Oil sector PSUs do not believe in the ‘a shaky wall, just one more push’ philosophy as mentioned by some pervert thinking intelligentsia. We build the nation, build the communities, build harmony and re-build that shaky wall..!!.
Ask the armed forces of the nation, how many of our officers are with them when they are fighting a war. Ask the Railways and the State Transport undertakings, how we help them move the nation. Ask the Power Plants, the fertilizer units and the food and civil supply depts. They all will tell you what kind of walls we are helping them build. We don’t have to go to the Megasthenes period to find out how Oil sector is contributing to this nation. Just ask the people involved in the above-mentioned segments of our economy. They would tell you.
But you did not find it necessary to ask them. Instead you chose to hear ‘his master’s voice’. You labeled us as ‘rent-seeking sons-in-law of Mother India to resort to blackmail and ransom’. Was it we who really tried to bring the country to a stand still or was it the babus, who failed to appraise the political leadership of the impending crisis. The ones, who waited for the whole issue to reach a stalemate so that precipitative actions could be initiated. And the ones who decided let the country come to a grinding halt and see someone else’s head roll. And someone who said let the heavens fall but we will not succumb to their demands because that would allow them to draw more salary than me.
Officer’s of these Oil PSU’s are a naïve lot. They do not believe in the Machiavellian way of getting things done. They had faith in the system and believed that these systems would not let them down. But unfortunately, the systems worked the other way, leaving them with no other options but to fend for themselves. They would have done that probably, but for the evil designs of these babu’s and the well-fed and over weight media houses. So be it. But let there not be any doubt in the minds of these slimy manipulators, these officers will be back, like phoenix from the ashes. And this time more smarter then before. Because now they know their enemies..!!
An Oil man.
Oil Sector Officers Association (OSOA) a conglomeration of officers associations of 14 vibrant and thriving Oil PSUs representing over 55000 officers, was trying to make a case on the systemic subjugation and annihilation of the technocrats of these Corporations by the bureaucracy. And media was out to project as if they were criminals 'unleashing economic terror' on the nation..!! Strong words these.
Lets look at the events as they unfolded:
Pay revision to these officers was due as on 01.01.07, after 10 long years and the same was not finalised even after 12 years. (Some generation gap, one would say..!!). What was eventually announced was a meager 17 % net hike..!! Even if we consider a modest & simple 3% inflation over these 12 long years it should have been nothing less than 36%. (I am not giving the minute details of the numbers involved here because it is there for anyone, who makes a small effort, to find out). And this one time hike is supposed to hold for the next ten years, as the next revision is due only after 10 years as per the present arrangements
And to rub the salt in, this announcement is made by the Committee of Secretaries (COS - read Babus) which has unilaterally brushed aside the recommendations of the learned Justice M Jagannath Rao led Pay Revision Committee for CPSEs, which, for over 18 months, had gone into the whole gamut of issues concerning the pay revision of PSU executives, and made some sensational and far reaching recos. And what does the COS do? Within a month of submission of this report they throw aside these recommendations into the dust bin and come up with a surprise package..!!
Justice MJ Rao, we believe, had a vison, a vision of making these PSU executives into global challengers who could take on the world and still be happy in the environment they were working in. He wanted to bridge the gap between the compensation packages of these throbbing Oil PSUs and the neo-rich Private Oil Companies for whom these PSUs had become the favorite hunting ground for a ready, intelligent and specialized talent. If India wanted to be a world major in the Oil & Gas, this was a pre requisite. This required adequate compensation (not hefty mind you, but adequate) to be paid to these executives and Justice Rao realised this. Inputs were sought and obtained from across the globe, from eminent consultants, intelligentsia and the various stakeholders. There was paradigm shift in the thinking w.r.t the compensation package envisaged. India was at last doing what should have been done decades ago. The ‘Modern Temples of India” were being strengthened against the onslaught of the private MNCs who had cast their eyes on the huge Indian talent. The ‘brain drain’ had began..!!
A package was indeed announced to take cognizance of all of above and much more. A fairly reasonable package we would say, though the Oil executives felt disappointed that the compensation was not comparable to the pay packages of executives in the private sector in India. This is what these Officers of PSUs were trying to bring to the attention of the ministries concerned. ‘Please rationalize our pay else we will be losing all our hard-working brilliant executives to the private oil companies’.
The legitimate Associations of the officers of oil PSUs cried hoarse over the last six months to draw attention of the managements and the ministry to the shortcomings that had crept in the recommendations. Series of meeting were held at the highest levels including the Minister of P&NG, Minister of PE & HI, Secretaries of these ministries, Chairman of the DPE, who have at various times agreed that the demands being made were genuine and even recommended the same to the Government. The Officer’s Associations, on three occasions since Sept’08, issued strike notices to the Managements and the Govt. Representations were made to the PMO by these associations. But alas, nobody felt it necessary to address the issues involved which were going to have a long lasting impact over the lives of over 55000 officers of the Oil PSUs and their families and lakhs of members of the other PSUs. Inspite of deadlines issued, time and again, the people who were supposed to take action, ignored the same.
Looking at the way events have unfolded, it is quite obvious that the babus have sabotaged the whole matter and taken the country to the verge of a precipice. Ministers were fed with false information on the implications of the pay revision benefits. False comfort was given to the political leadership on the consequences of strike calls given by the associations. Managements sympathetic to the cause of officers, were pushed on the back foot with veiled threats. Even as the calls of agitation was getting shriller by the day, recommendations made by the managements on the genuine demands, were brushed aside by the Government at the behest of the ministry officials. What started as a genuine and legitimate movement was being touted as a ‘high-handed act by an obstinate group of officers’.
Let’s pause for a moment to figure out why this was being done by the all and the mighty. (again.. read babus)? Why are these beauraucrats so much against the legitimate needs of the officers community? Why has this struggle become a bone of contention between the more reciprocating managements of the PSUs and the beauracratic establishment within the Govt...?? Is it because the changes being sought in the pay structure would catapult the technocrats above the IAS officers? And to ensure that it doesn’t, is this vested group willing to go to any extent to thwart the attempts..?? Only time will bring out the truth.
However, what we actually know is this:
These officers of the oil sector PSUs are professionally qualified and skilled group of people, who have brought laurels to their respective organisations. Over the years, it is these officers who have gone beyond the line of duty and ensured that the supply lines are live. If today, India is proud of oil PSUs being listed among the Fortune 500 listings and rubbing shoulders with the world leaders, it is thanks to the thousands of such dedicated officers in each one of these PSUs.
Even at times of extreme distress and severe challenges to the country, officers have stood together, shoulder-to-shoulder and ensured that the country’s and organization’s interests are upheld, time and again. Be it at the time of Kargil war, Gujarat earthquake or the devastating Tsunami, all the officers have worked relentlessly round the clock to stand by the nation and have even contributed their salaries to mitigate the sufferings of the masses. Never have these officers found wanting, in their commitment to the nation and to its people. It is associations of such officers who has, on many occasions in the last two years, taken conscious decisions to positively respond to the appeals of the Management and Govt to defer the agitation plans so as to uphold the dignity of collective bargaining, inspite of the strong sentiments to the contrary, expressed by the officers community. That these associations are very balanced, extremely mature and highly motivated is proved beyond doubt, time and again.
And what does the tech savvy media houses and their ill informed reporters see them as? ‘Economic terrorists’, ‘Desh Drohis’, ‘Kasav’s of India’. C’mon, give us a break..!! Can anything else be any farther from truth than this..?? Is the media caught in the clutches of the formidable Govt. machinery?
The elitist media experts including the Shekar Gupta’s and their likes refer to this group of people as ‘greasy palms’ and to quote his lines in one of the recent article posted on line ‘The world, particularly the Pakistanis, must be laughing at us, and LeT and various other Lashkars must be smiling smugly: Didn’t we tell you these Indians, they are a weak state, with weak people, remember the slogan we have loved and believed in for years, “hilti huyee diwar hai, ek dhakka aur do.” (It [India] is a shaky wall, just one more push...).’ Surely, Mr Gupta, you should have known better than that. You are an articulate man, with a deep sense of commitment to the nations interest. People sit up to listen to what you say because you have credentials to have the eyes and the ears of the powerful who matter. But, unfortunately your sense of such commitment was conspicuous by its absence when, for the past couple of years, one highly educated and committed section of the nation was pleading with all and mighty to address their woes. Let me ask one simple question to such opinion makers, Is asking for a just and fair pay structure commiserate with their professional contribution to the nation building, not legitimate? Is it a crime to seek comparable increases in their bottom line, when most of the commercial enterprises across the country were doubling or tripling the wages of their employees to retain them? Is it wrong when we say that a mere 17% net increase over a time horizon of 20 year (1997-2016) was grossly inadequate? Is it criminal to plead “Save us, Save our Companies from the butchery..!!”
Was it not necessary for you to remark on the fact that the Govt machinery was invoking ESMA, NSA with such alacrity? Did you not feel that this was an over-kill? Did it not strike to you that there could be more than what meets the eyes? For media people of such high standing in society, these information are only a couple of phone calls away. NO SIR, YOU DID NOT CHOOSE TO DO THAT? Instead you got convinced by the ‘over 200% hike’ slogan unleashed by the Secretaries and the Govt. For God’s sake, these forceful and authoritarian legislations were not even thought of during gravest security threats, barbaric terrorist strikes and national calamities, but the Govt did not even wink twice before unleashing the might of these laws to throttle the voices of the officers community. And you guys found nothing beyond ordinary when this drama was being played out..??
The Indian media did not even notice, when one section of the Govt machinery finds it necessary to throw well researched and far reaching recommendations on of eminent intellectuals on pay structure revision, into the dustbin.
Let there not be any doubts in the minds of the people of this country, we officers of the Oil sector PSUs do not believe in the ‘a shaky wall, just one more push’ philosophy as mentioned by some pervert thinking intelligentsia. We build the nation, build the communities, build harmony and re-build that shaky wall..!!.
Ask the armed forces of the nation, how many of our officers are with them when they are fighting a war. Ask the Railways and the State Transport undertakings, how we help them move the nation. Ask the Power Plants, the fertilizer units and the food and civil supply depts. They all will tell you what kind of walls we are helping them build. We don’t have to go to the Megasthenes period to find out how Oil sector is contributing to this nation. Just ask the people involved in the above-mentioned segments of our economy. They would tell you.
But you did not find it necessary to ask them. Instead you chose to hear ‘his master’s voice’. You labeled us as ‘rent-seeking sons-in-law of Mother India to resort to blackmail and ransom’. Was it we who really tried to bring the country to a stand still or was it the babus, who failed to appraise the political leadership of the impending crisis. The ones, who waited for the whole issue to reach a stalemate so that precipitative actions could be initiated. And the ones who decided let the country come to a grinding halt and see someone else’s head roll. And someone who said let the heavens fall but we will not succumb to their demands because that would allow them to draw more salary than me.
Officer’s of these Oil PSU’s are a naïve lot. They do not believe in the Machiavellian way of getting things done. They had faith in the system and believed that these systems would not let them down. But unfortunately, the systems worked the other way, leaving them with no other options but to fend for themselves. They would have done that probably, but for the evil designs of these babu’s and the well-fed and over weight media houses. So be it. But let there not be any doubt in the minds of these slimy manipulators, these officers will be back, like phoenix from the ashes. And this time more smarter then before. Because now they know their enemies..!!
An Oil man.
The Mystery Unravels Further- Nexus Between Reliance and Govt
There is a serious doubt in the minds of all thinking indviduals that the Oil Strike was forced by Certain People to show the PSU oil companies in a bad light and so pave the way for rampant Privatisation of this Crucial Sector stiffling opposition from other parties by proving a point "that PSUs cannot be trusted!!" Look what Mr R.S. Pandey has said in this news item quoted below.
Our earlier stories were "The nexus between Reliance and Govt" and "The Mysterious Affair at Styles", complemented by our arguments at "The Govt is Celebrating its Success" , what Mr R.S. Pandey said. All posts can be seen by choosing Label="Reliance"
http://www.indiaprwire.com/businessnews/20090111/36816.htm
Quote:
There are other posts on this blog which shows how much concern Reliance has for the nation as they showed by their practices so far.
Our earlier stories were "The nexus between Reliance and Govt" and "The Mysterious Affair at Styles", complemented by our arguments at "The Govt is Celebrating its Success" , what Mr R.S. Pandey said. All posts can be seen by choosing Label="Reliance"
http://www.indiaprwire.com/businessnews/20090111/36816.htm
Quote:
Oil strike should not occur again: Petroleum secretary
New Delhi, Delhi, India, 2009-01-11 18:45:02
The oil industry will do 'introspection' to ensure that there is no recurrence of the strike that paralysed the economy this week, Petroleum Secretary R.S. Pandey said here Sunday.
'We have to ensure that the trauma does not occur again. The oil industry will have to undertake introspection,' Pandey told reporters at the inauguration of the media centre for the country's premier oil and gas conference, Petrotech 2009.
Nearly 45,000 employees of the public sector energy companies went on strike from Wednesday, demanding higher salaries. It lasted three days, with retail petrol vends closing down and fertilizer and power plants shutting shop due to lack of oil supplies.
The government took a tough stand, invoking the Essential Services Maintenance Act in several places. The state-run oil upstream major ONGC suspended 64 employees and IndianOil took action against three.
Petroleum Secretary Pandey said their fate after the strike would be decided by the companies.
Asked if the management of the oil companies would be taken to task for reportedly giving covert support to the striking employees, Pandey said: 'I am not aware of any such action'. He added that most of the gas and petrol supplies would be 'completely normal by (Sunday) night'.
All IndianOil refineries are back in action and in full capacity, except for the Gujarat refinery which has been deliberately kept at a lower capacity due to technical reasons.
ONGC chairman R.S. Sharma noted that the western offshore production has nearly gone back to normal. 'In the morning, the production was at 310 million barrels, compared to the regular rate of 342 million barrels,' he said.
Describing the oil sector employees as 'intransigent', the top official in the petroleum and natural gas ministry said the government has already constituted a high-level committee, chaired by Home Minister P. Chidambaram, to look into the demands of the oil sector officials.
'If they have genuine grievances, then these will be redressed,' he said.
On the role of private players in the energy retail sector, Pandey said: 'The government will seriously consider how to associate private players in the system. But what the decision will be, whether positive or negative, I cannot say.'
In the private sector, Essar Oil has already been operating over 1,000 outlets in the country, while Reliance has also indicated it wanted to re-enter the retail market.
Pandey added that public sector oil companies were still calculating the losses due to the strike.
The secretary did not reply when asked if there would be a revision of fuel prices, as indicated by Petroleum Minister Murli Deora in Mumbai Saturday. 'Any clear discussion on the price will take place at the cabinet,' he said.
Endquote
Media forgot to point out that had Mr Murli Deora not been hinting at Price Cuts, the dealers would have stocked up their tanks in view of the impending strike which was well announced in advance. But who wants to lose money? So the dealers did not stock product. So while Someone at the top refused to listen to a single demand wanting OIL PSUs to go on a strike so that it can pave the way for the Pvt players to come in in a massive way, someone else actually created the dry outs!!
There are other posts on this blog which shows how much concern Reliance has for the nation as they showed by their practices so far.
NTPC case: Ministry, counsel speak in different voices
Conspiracy hatched by Reliance is not something new. Unlike Tatas and Birlas this Industrial group came into existence and rose to its stupendous heights in Just One Generation and such fast growth cannot be achieved through normal routes. The Indian Public however sees and knows only what the Media tells them. Well we too are using the same media to collate some news items which seems to point towards something sinister at play.
Our earlier stories were "The nexus between Reliance and Govt" and "The Mysterious Affair at Styles", complemented by our arguments at "The Govt is Celebrating its Success" , what Mr R.S. Pandey said. All posts can be seen by choosing Label="Reliance"
Quote
http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=332638
In a letter to Joint Secretary DN Narasimha Raju last Saturday, Doabia refers to an earlier e-mail by him on August 13 where he had asked the ministry for a copy of the RIL-NTPC agreement so that he could study it for arguing his case.
In this e-mail, Doabia had said: “I believe that this was not final …” and that, in any case, “the price fixed in the NTPC agreement is subject to approval of Government of India”. His letter of August 23 then goes on to say:
Doabia chose not to comment on the letter when asked by Business Standard, saying, “No, no, I will not comment … there has already been a lot of muck on this.”
Petroleum Secretary RS Pandey and Raju, however, both confirmed they had indeed received Doabia’s letter though Pandey stressed all that mattered was that Doabia had been asked to withdraw his statement.
When asked, Pandey said he had no idea who had briefed Doabia to say what he had — Doabia had been hired four or five months ago, Pandey said, and would have briefed by a variety of officials.
Raju said he had never briefed Doabia, while Pandey said he was unaware of whether his predecessor had left any instructions saying the deal was not ‘concluded’.
In 2003, Reliance had won a global bid edging out bidders like Shell to supply NTPC 12 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) of gas for 17 years at a price of $2.34 per mmBtu (million metric British thermal units).
Towards the end of 2005, Reliance changed some of the terms of the contract — instead of an unlimited liability in case it failed to supply NTPC the requisite gas, Reliance capped its liability. NTPC refused to accept this and other changes and did not sign on the new terms.
Instead, it filed a case in the Bombay High Court asking that Reliance be told to fulfill its original contract. So, when Doabia said the NTPC-RIL deal was not a ‘concluded’ one, he effectively demolished NTPC’s entire case.
The NTPC case is important in the Reliance Industries Limited-Reliance Natural Resources Limited fight since the commercial terms of their contract were similar to those in the NTPC case. If there is no ‘concluded’ NTPC-RIL contract, there can logically be no concluded RIL-RRNL contract either.
Our earlier stories were "The nexus between Reliance and Govt" and "The Mysterious Affair at Styles", complemented by our arguments at "The Govt is Celebrating its Success" , what Mr R.S. Pandey said. All posts can be seen by choosing Label="Reliance"
Quote
http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=332638
NTPC case: Ministry, counsel speak in different voices
After the power ministry and state-owned power utility NTPC took strong exception to the petroleum and natural gas ministry’s lawyer Tejinder Singh Doabia telling the Bombay High Court last Thursday that the RIL-NTPC deal was not a ‘concluded’ one, the petroleum ministry has asked the lawyer to withdraw his statement when the case is heard again on September 1.
The twist is that while the ministry says Doabia’s interjection in the Mukesh-Anil Ambani case (Reliance Industries Limited versus Reliance Natural Resources Limited) was beyond his brief, Doabia insists it was the ministry which instructed him to do so.
In a letter to Joint Secretary DN Narasimha Raju last Saturday, Doabia refers to an earlier e-mail by him on August 13 where he had asked the ministry for a copy of the RIL-NTPC agreement so that he could study it for arguing his case.
In this e-mail, Doabia had said: “I believe that this was not final …” and that, in any case, “the price fixed in the NTPC agreement is subject to approval of Government of India”. His letter of August 23 then goes on to say:
“In response to the above e-mail, I was instructed that there is no concluded agreement and mere letter of intent was issued.”
Doabia’s letter comes a day after he was telephoned by Raju asking for details of what had actually transpired in the Bombay High Court following media reports on the proceedings.
Doabia chose not to comment on the letter when asked by Business Standard, saying, “No, no, I will not comment … there has already been a lot of muck on this.”
Petroleum Secretary RS Pandey and Raju, however, both confirmed they had indeed received Doabia’s letter though Pandey stressed all that mattered was that Doabia had been asked to withdraw his statement.
When asked, Pandey said he had no idea who had briefed Doabia to say what he had — Doabia had been hired four or five months ago, Pandey said, and would have briefed by a variety of officials.
Raju said he had never briefed Doabia, while Pandey said he was unaware of whether his predecessor had left any instructions saying the deal was not ‘concluded’.
In 2003, Reliance had won a global bid edging out bidders like Shell to supply NTPC 12 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) of gas for 17 years at a price of $2.34 per mmBtu (million metric British thermal units).
Towards the end of 2005, Reliance changed some of the terms of the contract — instead of an unlimited liability in case it failed to supply NTPC the requisite gas, Reliance capped its liability. NTPC refused to accept this and other changes and did not sign on the new terms.
Instead, it filed a case in the Bombay High Court asking that Reliance be told to fulfill its original contract. So, when Doabia said the NTPC-RIL deal was not a ‘concluded’ one, he effectively demolished NTPC’s entire case.
The NTPC case is important in the Reliance Industries Limited-Reliance Natural Resources Limited fight since the commercial terms of their contract were similar to those in the NTPC case. If there is no ‘concluded’ NTPC-RIL contract, there can logically be no concluded RIL-RRNL contract either.
Endquote
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - An Agatha Christie Mystery
With impeccable timing Hercule Poirot, the renowned Belgian detective, makes his dramatic entrance on to the English crime stage. Recently, there had been some strange goings on at Styles St Mary. Evelyn, constant companion to old Mrs Inglethorp, had stormed out of the house muttering something about 'a lot of sharks'. And with her, something indefinable had gone from the atmosphere. Her presence had spelt security; now the air seemed rife with suspicion and impending evil. A shattered coffee cup, a splash of candle grease, a bed of begonias all Poirot required to display his now legendary powers of detection........
Replace a few words .. "Styles" by Office of the Secy,where who knows what is being planned, "Sharks" by Reliance who may be waiting to pounce, "Security" by Trust which is no longer there, impending evil by .... well impending evil nothing less.
Further to our last post on "The Nexus of Corruption- Reliance and Govt" here is some eye-opener news items our people could dig up from the web from this link:-
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/samajwadi-party-suspects-ril-hand-in-new-oil-secy-selection/352984/
Samajwadi Party suspects RIL hand in new oil secy selection
Replace a few words .. "Styles" by Office of the Secy,where who knows what is being planned, "Sharks" by Reliance who may be waiting to pounce, "Security" by Trust which is no longer there, impending evil by .... well impending evil nothing less.
Further to our last post on "The Nexus of Corruption- Reliance and Govt" here is some eye-opener news items our people could dig up from the web from this link:-
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/samajwadi-party-suspects-ril-hand-in-new-oil-secy-selection/352984/
Samajwadi Party suspects RIL hand in new oil secy selection
New Delhi, August 24: Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh has asked the Government to cancel the appointment of R S Pandey as petroleum secretary, saying there was a “suspicious” role of Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani in the crucial appointment. In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Samajwadi Party general secretary has said that Pandey’s appointment “should be cancelled forthwith”. The Prime Minister has sent a reply acknowledging the party’s letter.
Incidentally, Pandey’s appointment came just before former petroleum secretary M S Srinivasan retirement on July 31. The SP leader had then alleged that Srinivasan was showing favouritism to RIL and had demanded a CBI probe. Noting that Pandey’s appointment reflects “the unholy influence of one of the biggest industrial houses in the appointments of key government officials,” Singh, in his letter dated July 29, expressed concern on the “unexpected haste and suspicious co-incidental meetings” between the RIL chairman and Pandey before his appointment as petroleum secretary. Singh quoted media reports that said that Ambani met Pandey, just a day before his appointment, in a meeting facilitated by Minister of State for Steel Jatin Prasada.
Besides this, 24-hours after his appointment, petroleum minister Murli Deora himself hosted a tripartite meeting in his house between Pandey and Ambani, Singh said. Singh has also expressed his concern that these meetings send “wrong signals overall reflecting a suspicious nexus leading maybe to even favouritism to select players”.
With ENS inputs
Frontline Magazine Reports on Oil Sector Strike Correctly
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Update 28-01-2009 Disciplinary Actions!!
Press Trust of India
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 (New Delhi)
State-run ONGC on Wednesday decided to reinstate 62 executives, out of the 64 it had sacked following the three-day strike in the company that had crippled its oil and gas production.
"Our board on Wednesday decided to take back 62 officers whose services had been terminated," ONGC Chairman and MD RS Sharma told reporters here.
The decision in case of the other two -- the company's Officers Union President Amit Kumar and General Secretary Rajan Pillai -- was deferred, he said.
"They were signatories to the strike call given by the Oil Sector Officer's Association (OSOA) and their fate will be decided in consultation with the industry."
OSOA, an umbrella body of officers in 14 oil PSUs, had stopped work on January 7 to demand higher wages. The strike which had crippled fuel supplies across the country was broken by the government on the evening of January 9.
ONGC had terminated services of 64 officers, while IOC had done the same for three for going on strike that was declared illegal by various High Courts.
Sharma said of the 62 officers being reinstated, six would be placed under suspension pending a disciplinary enquiry against them. The fate of Amit Kumar and Pillai would be decided on the basis of the view that the government, in consultation with the industry takes.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 (New Delhi)
State-run ONGC on Wednesday decided to reinstate 62 executives, out of the 64 it had sacked following the three-day strike in the company that had crippled its oil and gas production.
"Our board on Wednesday decided to take back 62 officers whose services had been terminated," ONGC Chairman and MD RS Sharma told reporters here.
The decision in case of the other two -- the company's Officers Union President Amit Kumar and General Secretary Rajan Pillai -- was deferred, he said.
"They were signatories to the strike call given by the Oil Sector Officer's Association (OSOA) and their fate will be decided in consultation with the industry."
OSOA, an umbrella body of officers in 14 oil PSUs, had stopped work on January 7 to demand higher wages. The strike which had crippled fuel supplies across the country was broken by the government on the evening of January 9.
ONGC had terminated services of 64 officers, while IOC had done the same for three for going on strike that was declared illegal by various High Courts.
Sharma said of the 62 officers being reinstated, six would be placed under suspension pending a disciplinary enquiry against them. The fate of Amit Kumar and Pillai would be decided on the basis of the view that the government, in consultation with the industry takes.
Indian PSUs- A Report: The Sekhar Guptas of this country should read this
Senior media people cannot be really unaware of the Real Strengths of the PSUs and they are surely not blind to the fact that these PSUs did not become strong by itself and that everything had to do with us- the PSU employees. They are not fools are they? No! Look at how they win National Awards by being slaves of their Masters! Are we seeing a single Channel publicly apologising yet for their False Reporting? No!
Here is a Report of what PSUs really are! While the seniors in the Media are only licking the boots of their masters, the Juniors are nothing but Dumb. This report is a glaring proof of what WE are.
A report on Indian PSUs -2009
Here is a Report of what PSUs really are! While the seniors in the Media are only licking the boots of their masters, the Juniors are nothing but Dumb. This report is a glaring proof of what WE are.
A report on Indian PSUs -2009
Letter to Financial Express- from Asim Kumar Tiwary, CEC IOOA UPSO-II
Dear Editor,
I write apropos to your Editorial "Monopoly Profits" in FE dated 27/01/2009. Your edit was a great disappointment (which is actually a gross understatement) and has affetced adversely upon your image in my eyes. I am shocked at your uni-dimensional approach in disparaging the sterling performance of PSUs which has been acknowledged by a well known International Consultant from Private Sector in its study on which you have commented. What is more galling that you have ignored important parameters in the study e.g. the fact that effective tax rate for PSUs has grown to 31.4% in 2008 as compared to 22.9% (which has come down) in case of Private sector companies. Moreover, contribution by the way of dividends to their shareholders by PSUs was 33.5% of their profits as compared to 20.6% of Private Sector.
Sadly, you have also completely ignored the contribution of Public Sector in social upliftment e.g. reservations in jobs for social objective category (SC/ST etc) while writing your referred editorial . Oil PSUs have provided Petrol Pumps and Gas agencies to these categories at their own cost even after so called deregulation. Upstream & Down Stream Oil PSUs still bear/ or contribute towards under-recoveries for subsidising petroleum products (merit of such a move is, of course, debateable) under instructions from Government of the day. These costs incurred by Oil PSUs, which are over Rs 50000 Crores for year 2008, are not even accounted for any where in their contribution to the exchequer, which means these contributions are over and above the figures reported by Dun & Bradsheet in their report. Private Sector companies are mortified of reservations and are also horrified when a Narayan Murthy starts talking of giving up tax exemptions.
And as regard Monopoly Profits? The true benefit of the monopoly and license & permit regime and government's largesse has been taken by most of the top Business Houses in India, whose current profits come more by way of saving taxes by lobbying in Power Corridors and vicinity to those who matter than their competitive abilities. Had the competitive ability been the forte of Private Sector then BSNL & MTNL would not have been restrained from growing and Oil Sector would have been fully deregulated rather than pursuing policies which selectively benefit largest business house in the country.
I would once again like to request you to consider other costs on private sector, before considering it as more efficient than public sector, like yearly Tax exemptions totalling around Rs 1 lac Cores a year, NPAs of about 20000 Cores a year of PSBs (if Dear Editor, if I remember correctly India Express reported a cumulative NPA of 11 Lac Crores a couple of year ago and these did not belong to Public Sector.)
I would like to say that Public Sector is more profitable for government as well as public (as shareholder as well as consumer) whereas private sector is more of a burden for public and government. But, yes, Private Sector is profitable for the promoters and politicians.
Asim Tiwari
(Not to be printed : I hope you display the trademark courage of Indian Express group and publish this comment,howver, you are free to edit for more clarity or to correct the figures quoted by me. But if you don't print my opinion in next two days then it would go on to prove my point)
I write apropos to your Editorial "Monopoly Profits" in FE dated 27/01/2009. Your edit was a great disappointment (which is actually a gross understatement) and has affetced adversely upon your image in my eyes. I am shocked at your uni-dimensional approach in disparaging the sterling performance of PSUs which has been acknowledged by a well known International Consultant from Private Sector in its study on which you have commented. What is more galling that you have ignored important parameters in the study e.g. the fact that effective tax rate for PSUs has grown to 31.4% in 2008 as compared to 22.9% (which has come down) in case of Private sector companies. Moreover, contribution by the way of dividends to their shareholders by PSUs was 33.5% of their profits as compared to 20.6% of Private Sector.
Sadly, you have also completely ignored the contribution of Public Sector in social upliftment e.g. reservations in jobs for social objective category (SC/ST etc) while writing your referred editorial . Oil PSUs have provided Petrol Pumps and Gas agencies to these categories at their own cost even after so called deregulation. Upstream & Down Stream Oil PSUs still bear/ or contribute towards under-recoveries for subsidising petroleum products (merit of such a move is, of course, debateable) under instructions from Government of the day. These costs incurred by Oil PSUs, which are over Rs 50000 Crores for year 2008, are not even accounted for any where in their contribution to the exchequer, which means these contributions are over and above the figures reported by Dun & Bradsheet in their report. Private Sector companies are mortified of reservations and are also horrified when a Narayan Murthy starts talking of giving up tax exemptions.
And as regard Monopoly Profits? The true benefit of the monopoly and license & permit regime and government's largesse has been taken by most of the top Business Houses in India, whose current profits come more by way of saving taxes by lobbying in Power Corridors and vicinity to those who matter than their competitive abilities. Had the competitive ability been the forte of Private Sector then BSNL & MTNL would not have been restrained from growing and Oil Sector would have been fully deregulated rather than pursuing policies which selectively benefit largest business house in the country.
I would once again like to request you to consider other costs on private sector, before considering it as more efficient than public sector, like yearly Tax exemptions totalling around Rs 1 lac Cores a year, NPAs of about 20000 Cores a year of PSBs (if Dear Editor, if I remember correctly India Express reported a cumulative NPA of 11 Lac Crores a couple of year ago and these did not belong to Public Sector.)
I would like to say that Public Sector is more profitable for government as well as public (as shareholder as well as consumer) whereas private sector is more of a burden for public and government. But, yes, Private Sector is profitable for the promoters and politicians.
Asim Tiwari
(Not to be printed : I hope you display the trademark courage of Indian Express group and publish this comment,howver, you are free to edit for more clarity or to correct the figures quoted by me. But if you don't print my opinion in next two days then it would go on to prove my point)
WHY THERE WAS NO STRIKE IN HPCL
President of hpcl Officers Association Shri.Ashok Singh, was Convener of Oil Sector Officer’s Association (OSOA) also since 1997. Oil Sector had successful salary revision during the BJP regime after an 8 hours strike on 11th Jan. 2000, Later he could stop Privatisation of HPCL/BPCL by a judgement from Hon’ble Supreme Court in Sept. 2003.
Political leadership of MOP& NG and beaurocrat’s were scared of this formidable leader in the oil sector and specially at this crucial juncture while salary revision is due and Parliament Elections are around the corner 3 unsuccessful attempts of strike on 30th May 2006, 5th Sept. 2006 and 21st August 2007, emboldened the beaurcrats that neutralizing the leaders by punitive Administrative measures will break the OSOA, and Govt. can get away by offering peanuts to PSU oil officers.
The sinister design came into play from May 2008, while HPCL officer’s opposing the arbitrary appointment of an Ex HPCL officers as a CEO of HPC’s JV with Colas SA. France (HINCOL), went on a flash strike.HPCL Management under instruction from Shastri Bhavan (MOP & NG) promptly issued charge sheets to Shri.Ashok Singh and r.P.Srivastava for instigating the officer to proceed on flash strike.
Ashok Singh armed with all necessary information received by his Advocate through RTI on a ‘Marker’ system which was introduced by MOP & NG with lot of fan-fare and national publicity, filed a CBI Complaint against them Secretary Petroleum and Natural Gas . Mr.M.S. Srinivasan the UK based Supplier M/s. Authentix and their Indian Agents M/s. SGS Ltd. to Joint Director CBI (Western Region) Mumbai, irked bureaucrats promptly ensured that Shri.Ashok Singh is suspended within 4 days after filing complaint in a misappropriation case for an irregularity in one of the Retail outlets ( He had 140 such outlets) under his jurisdiction along with 2 more officers.
Repeated Appeals to CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) under Govt. of Indias’ resolution for whistle Blower Protection against victimization yielded no result.
Simultaneously HPCL Management rushed to Registrar’s Officer to obtain a letter stating that the Registration of HPCL officer’s Association had been cancelled some times in May 1999 i.e. 9 years before, this fact was well advertised to all officers and Management under threat and coercion made atleast 50% officers to resign from the association. The above registration could not be restored till date, since HPCL is opposing it tooth and Nail in the Industrial Dispute’s court.
Management made no of changes in their existing CDA (Conduct, Discipline and Appeal ) rules to empower themselves for punitive Administrative actions against officers so much so, the authority of suspending any officers below gM’s rank has been given to General Manager , situation in HPCL is such that the word ‘strike’ or ‘Association’ is good enough to suspend an officer.
So, much so HPCL Board in their meetings in June and July 2008, recorded that Management is bent upon fixing the Association leaders.
Basis CBI complaint one spirited citizen of NAPM (National Alliance of People’s Movement) filed a PIL in Mumbai High court on 16th June 2008. Against then Secretary Petroleum, OMC’s Chairman, PPAC, CBI, MOeF, Legal Metrology, Authentix and SGS, Hon’ble Mumbai High Court in their judgement on 23rd Oct. directed MOP & NG, Vigilance and CBI to conduct enquiries. It is reliably learnt that Investigating Agencies have commenced the enquiries. s
R & D of OMC’s have declared in their report dt. 25th Sept. that the alleged ‘Marker’, which was launched as ‘ foolproof’ and most effective weapon against the Adulteration can be laundered by ordinary ‘clay’ Interestingly this ‘marker was procured for Rs. 200 Crores by OMC’s @ Rs.10000/- litre may not be north even Rs. 10/- / litre MOP & NG for reason best known to them discontinued Marker w.e.f. 31.12.2008.
MOP & NG kept on avoiding the strike in oil section on one assurance or the other sometimes by showing a letter written to DPE, or 2 ministers (Petroleum and Heavy Industries) assuring the agitated OSOA Leaders during Sept. October and November 2008,while OSOA gave the final date of 7th Jan. 2009, for an indefinite strike once again government promptly appointed one more committee headed by Hon’ble Home Minister.
Shri.Ashok singh Stepped down from the convenorship of OSOA in Aug 2008, and handed over the reigns to ASTO President Shri.Amit Kumar, MOP & NG which had already tasted blood in HPCL adopted the same tactice and from the day one of strike, adopted arrests, invoking ESMA and unleashing a propaganda of (Deshdrohi) that OSOA is not coming forward to discuss the issue at the same time forced OSOA leaders to remain in hiding for the fear of being arrested. Government ‘ successfully ‘ ended the oil sector strike and saved public at large from “inconvenience’.
HPCL Management (The only Company which did not participate in strike C & MD and his team was “well” appreciated by MOP & NG) suspended officers Association Activist Mr.R.P. Srivastava for instigating the officers to go on strike once again.
Political leadership of MOP& NG and beaurocrat’s were scared of this formidable leader in the oil sector and specially at this crucial juncture while salary revision is due and Parliament Elections are around the corner 3 unsuccessful attempts of strike on 30th May 2006, 5th Sept. 2006 and 21st August 2007, emboldened the beaurcrats that neutralizing the leaders by punitive Administrative measures will break the OSOA, and Govt. can get away by offering peanuts to PSU oil officers.
The sinister design came into play from May 2008, while HPCL officer’s opposing the arbitrary appointment of an Ex HPCL officers as a CEO of HPC’s JV with Colas SA. France (HINCOL), went on a flash strike.HPCL Management under instruction from Shastri Bhavan (MOP & NG) promptly issued charge sheets to Shri.Ashok Singh and r.P.Srivastava for instigating the officer to proceed on flash strike.
Ashok Singh armed with all necessary information received by his Advocate through RTI on a ‘Marker’ system which was introduced by MOP & NG with lot of fan-fare and national publicity, filed a CBI Complaint against them Secretary Petroleum and Natural Gas . Mr.M.S. Srinivasan the UK based Supplier M/s. Authentix and their Indian Agents M/s. SGS Ltd. to Joint Director CBI (Western Region) Mumbai, irked bureaucrats promptly ensured that Shri.Ashok Singh is suspended within 4 days after filing complaint in a misappropriation case for an irregularity in one of the Retail outlets ( He had 140 such outlets) under his jurisdiction along with 2 more officers.
Repeated Appeals to CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) under Govt. of Indias’ resolution for whistle Blower Protection against victimization yielded no result.
Simultaneously HPCL Management rushed to Registrar’s Officer to obtain a letter stating that the Registration of HPCL officer’s Association had been cancelled some times in May 1999 i.e. 9 years before, this fact was well advertised to all officers and Management under threat and coercion made atleast 50% officers to resign from the association. The above registration could not be restored till date, since HPCL is opposing it tooth and Nail in the Industrial Dispute’s court.
Management made no of changes in their existing CDA (Conduct, Discipline and Appeal ) rules to empower themselves for punitive Administrative actions against officers so much so, the authority of suspending any officers below gM’s rank has been given to General Manager , situation in HPCL is such that the word ‘strike’ or ‘Association’ is good enough to suspend an officer.
So, much so HPCL Board in their meetings in June and July 2008, recorded that Management is bent upon fixing the Association leaders.
Basis CBI complaint one spirited citizen of NAPM (National Alliance of People’s Movement) filed a PIL in Mumbai High court on 16th June 2008. Against then Secretary Petroleum, OMC’s Chairman, PPAC, CBI, MOeF, Legal Metrology, Authentix and SGS, Hon’ble Mumbai High Court in their judgement on 23rd Oct. directed MOP & NG, Vigilance and CBI to conduct enquiries. It is reliably learnt that Investigating Agencies have commenced the enquiries. s
R & D of OMC’s have declared in their report dt. 25th Sept. that the alleged ‘Marker’, which was launched as ‘ foolproof’ and most effective weapon against the Adulteration can be laundered by ordinary ‘clay’ Interestingly this ‘marker was procured for Rs. 200 Crores by OMC’s @ Rs.10000/- litre may not be north even Rs. 10/- / litre MOP & NG for reason best known to them discontinued Marker w.e.f. 31.12.2008.
MOP & NG kept on avoiding the strike in oil section on one assurance or the other sometimes by showing a letter written to DPE, or 2 ministers (Petroleum and Heavy Industries) assuring the agitated OSOA Leaders during Sept. October and November 2008,while OSOA gave the final date of 7th Jan. 2009, for an indefinite strike once again government promptly appointed one more committee headed by Hon’ble Home Minister.
Shri.Ashok singh Stepped down from the convenorship of OSOA in Aug 2008, and handed over the reigns to ASTO President Shri.Amit Kumar, MOP & NG which had already tasted blood in HPCL adopted the same tactice and from the day one of strike, adopted arrests, invoking ESMA and unleashing a propaganda of (Deshdrohi) that OSOA is not coming forward to discuss the issue at the same time forced OSOA leaders to remain in hiding for the fear of being arrested. Government ‘ successfully ‘ ended the oil sector strike and saved public at large from “inconvenience’.
HPCL Management (The only Company which did not participate in strike C & MD and his team was “well” appreciated by MOP & NG) suspended officers Association Activist Mr.R.P. Srivastava for instigating the officers to go on strike once again.
Oil PSUs deny govt claim on execs' pay
Oil PSUs deny govt claim on execs' pay
Kalpana Pathak / Mumbai January 28, 2009, 0:19 IST
Contrary to the government’s claim that entry-level officers of the state-owned oil companies earn as much as Rs 1 lakh a month on the basis of the revised pay package, details provided by the oil-marketing companies to Business Standard show that the entry-level salaries are much lower.
At present, the annual cost-to-company (CTC) of an entry-level officer in an oil-marketing company stands at Rs 6.3 lakh per annum, including the annual performance bonus and various allowances, perks and retirement benefit that these officers are entitled to.
read more...........
Business Standard_Oil PSUs Deny Govt Claim on Execs
Kalpana Pathak / Mumbai January 28, 2009, 0:19 IST
Contrary to the government’s claim that entry-level officers of the state-owned oil companies earn as much as Rs 1 lakh a month on the basis of the revised pay package, details provided by the oil-marketing companies to Business Standard show that the entry-level salaries are much lower.
At present, the annual cost-to-company (CTC) of an entry-level officer in an oil-marketing company stands at Rs 6.3 lakh per annum, including the annual performance bonus and various allowances, perks and retirement benefit that these officers are entitled to.
read more...........
Business Standard_Oil PSUs Deny Govt Claim on Execs
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sehwag, Ishant bat for ONGC colleagues
All PSUs Unite against Injustice
Dear Mr Iocian,
I am not from oil sector, but from another Navaratna PSU. I have been regularly following your blog. You are doing a fantastic job.
Mr Shekhar Gupta is being rewarded with Padma Bhusan for the damage he has done to you officers. They know how to remain on the right side of the Govt and to hell with ethics.
But I feel that we all should work towards evolving a strong political opinion on our genuin demands. We should talk to all important leaders of major political parties and put our views across.
Considering the forthcoming Loksabha elections, they can not afford to ignore us. Let us talk to socialist minded ministers like Arjun Singh and Pranab Mukherjee. Mr PC, being Harvard educated, won't care a damn for PSUs. Given a free hand, he won't mind selling whole India to MNCs.
Best wishes for your struggle ahead
Mochhu
I am not from oil sector, but from another Navaratna PSU. I have been regularly following your blog. You are doing a fantastic job.
Mr Shekhar Gupta is being rewarded with Padma Bhusan for the damage he has done to you officers. They know how to remain on the right side of the Govt and to hell with ethics.
But I feel that we all should work towards evolving a strong political opinion on our genuin demands. We should talk to all important leaders of major political parties and put our views across.
Considering the forthcoming Loksabha elections, they can not afford to ignore us. Let us talk to socialist minded ministers like Arjun Singh and Pranab Mukherjee. Mr PC, being Harvard educated, won't care a damn for PSUs. Given a free hand, he won't mind selling whole India to MNCs.
Best wishes for your struggle ahead
Mochhu
THE STORY BEHIND THE TEAR EYED AIR HOSTESS ON YOUR FRONT PAGE
The GOI & Ministry (PNG) staged reel drama in retrospect of the Oil Strike comes as a big eye opener to me. In retrospect, did anyone wonder about the sacking of the Jet Airways Air hostess? Surely those young girls were in the dark, but tear eyed on media front pages, they beat up the sentiments of all the fools & patriots of our country, including me. And overnight they were reinstated by their CMD Goyal, stating he could not sleep that night. I was surprised by the suddenness of this reversal of his decision. Too good to be true. Surely now you can smell the rat, in hindsight, looking at how adept these master sinners of our Ministry are. These master plotters & our minister “Uncle Reliance” came out as the winner of this game. The first win: In the eye of the people, he became the Conscious driven & Magnanimous guy!!!
Now this was stated as something necessary, coz of economic meltdown. What a wall? Now who can deny that? Mind you, this happened even before the real impact of meltdown was to be addressed by the world. Forget about some minuscule private Airlines operating from Mumbai coming in way of Global Meltdown in a matter of hours. A conspiracy that in all probability was hatched by none other than the chief sinner in our Ministry (PNG), so he could make massive payouts as soft loans from loss making Oil Companies to the Private Airliners. The second win for our Minister “Uncle Reliance”.
Surely without this staged drama, he could not fuel the rich & the famous. Even today the common man’s & suicidal farmer’s diesel or fuel price has not been addressed, but the Aviation Turbine Fuel cost was slashed many times over. Aha!! The rich & the famous needed to be bailed out in India first, much much before the farmer (who suicides) or the back broken common man. How else can money change hands, & trickle into the party funds? Aha now that is Uncle Reliance’s third win, the money changing hands.
Surely if the common mans fuel price was to be cut, no kickbacks & party funds to be realized. His memory is short, so it has to be timed just before the elections for votes.
True we Oilmen along with our fellow Indians are nothing but Fools & Traitors, hopelessly believing in the reel stories of the Govt & media.
Anyhow, Oilmen, where do we stand today? Are we ready for another Fight, with this traitocrats of India? As for me, I have lost all faith in this Govt after being conned to think Congress was for Aam Admee, a voice for the minorities, a friend of the poor & the down trodden. Poor me. God save this country from those who make heroes out of Azharruddins & Traitors out of us. Guess we need to think seriously of taking flight outwards, though that’s something they would really want!! Surely even as a second or third rated citizen, with our education & experience, we could still have sanity & self respect, don’t you think!!! Maybe we need to then call ourselves proudCanadian or proudAustralian & so forth.
Contributed by an Oil Officer
Now this was stated as something necessary, coz of economic meltdown. What a wall? Now who can deny that? Mind you, this happened even before the real impact of meltdown was to be addressed by the world. Forget about some minuscule private Airlines operating from Mumbai coming in way of Global Meltdown in a matter of hours. A conspiracy that in all probability was hatched by none other than the chief sinner in our Ministry (PNG), so he could make massive payouts as soft loans from loss making Oil Companies to the Private Airliners. The second win for our Minister “Uncle Reliance”.
Surely without this staged drama, he could not fuel the rich & the famous. Even today the common man’s & suicidal farmer’s diesel or fuel price has not been addressed, but the Aviation Turbine Fuel cost was slashed many times over. Aha!! The rich & the famous needed to be bailed out in India first, much much before the farmer (who suicides) or the back broken common man. How else can money change hands, & trickle into the party funds? Aha now that is Uncle Reliance’s third win, the money changing hands.
Surely if the common mans fuel price was to be cut, no kickbacks & party funds to be realized. His memory is short, so it has to be timed just before the elections for votes.
True we Oilmen along with our fellow Indians are nothing but Fools & Traitors, hopelessly believing in the reel stories of the Govt & media.
Anyhow, Oilmen, where do we stand today? Are we ready for another Fight, with this traitocrats of India? As for me, I have lost all faith in this Govt after being conned to think Congress was for Aam Admee, a voice for the minorities, a friend of the poor & the down trodden. Poor me. God save this country from those who make heroes out of Azharruddins & Traitors out of us. Guess we need to think seriously of taking flight outwards, though that’s something they would really want!! Surely even as a second or third rated citizen, with our education & experience, we could still have sanity & self respect, don’t you think!!! Maybe we need to then call ourselves proudCanadian or proudAustralian & so forth.
Contributed by an Oil Officer
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