BANGLADESH

A platform of owners and workers of petrol pumps and oil tank lorries has postponed a nonstop strike scheduled to be enforced from 6am on Sunday.

Bangladesh Petrol Pump Owners and Tank-Lorry Owners-Workers Unity Council announced the postponement in a media statement on Friday evening.

The platform had said that fuel oil will not be sold at about 9,000 petrol pumps while tank lorries would also have stopped supplying oil to press home its several demands including a hike in sales commission.


Convenor of the Council Nazmul Haque told bdnews24.com on Friday that at a press conference on Mar 31 they had issued an ultimatum for the government to raise commission on the sales of petroleum fuel and meet other demands before Apr 21.

"As the government has not made any move on the issue, we will enforce the indefinite strike from 6am on Sunday," he added.

One of the major demands of the association is implementation of the government's decision about increasing the pump owners' commission on sales of petroleum products.

After long negotiations, the government on Feb 23 last year agreed to raise the commission, but has yet to implement the decision.

A special committee formed by the government last year recommended increasing the sales commission of diesel and kerosene by 3.4 percent and octane and petrol by 4 percent.

"But the government on Jan 26 fixed 2.45 percent commission for the pump owners on diesel, 3.27 percent on petrol and 3.3 percent on octane without any discussion with us," he said.

Currently, around 4,900 petrol pumps are in operation.

Haque said the government raised prices of fuel oil several times in past few months but did not revise commission for the pump owners. Also the president of Petrol Pump Owners Association, Haque said pump owners and workers were being affected financially.

After the government raised fuel oil prices on Dec 29 last year, price of per litre diesel and kerosene went up to Tk 61, petrol to Tk 91, octane to Tk 94 a litre and furnace oil to Tk 60.

Their other demands include a guideline on installation of petrol pumps, increase in fares for tank lorries and an end to alleged police harassment in the name of checking papers of tank lorries.

"We have been pressing for several demands for past few years. The government assured us of meeting the demands but it is not keeping its pledge," Haque said.

The council had enforced an indefinite strike on May 9, 2010 but later called it off after prime minister's energy adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury and state minister for energy Enamul Huq had a meeting with them.

On May 17 last year, they once again announced to enforce a strike but later suspended it upon assurance from the government to meet some of their demands.