India Fuel Shortage Due To Oil Sector Strike

NEW DELHI — About 55,000 white collar workers at state-run oil companies called off a three-day strike late Friday, the petroleum minister said, after causing a severe fuel shortage in India.

News reports said the strike left nearly 60 percent of gas pumps dry and delayed flights across the country.

"Good sense has prevailed and I'm glad they have withdrawn," Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said. He gave no other details.

There was no immediate comment from the office workers, who had been demanding salary hikes.

The Petroleum Ministry had said earlier Friday that the workers _ who were employed at state-run oil companies including the Indian Oil Corporation and the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. _ could be fired if the strike continued.

The fuel shortage held up harried drivers waiting an hour or more to fill up at gas stations that were still open, and some gas stations rationed fuel.

The absence of oil executives who oversee operations at airports around the country also caused delays on more than 150 flights Thursday, The Times Of India newspaper reported.

Meanwhile, another strike involving nearly five million truckers who are demanding fuel price cuts and toll charge waivers continued.

Nearly 70 percent of goods in India are transported by trucks, but India's transport ministry said in a statement Friday that there has been no impact on the supply of essential items.

Comments

[HMDMSR]

Americans unions are dysfunctional for the very reason you give. This trait is wide spread throughout the population in the US. It's sad.

[gsc 99]

It seems you didn't even bothered to read this brief article before posting you post that doesn't make any sense what so ever.

Union employees are striking for better wages. Compare that to current economic crisis in US. Lets say Auto industry. They have aUnion but it is unable to have any say in the bail0out plan. Not so in India. Workers are exercising their right to protest which is leading to fuel shortage.

India has brought lifted millions of poors from poverty. Compare that to failed countries that surround India like Pakistan. Pakistan is the epi-center of international terrorism.

Also, the two links that you provide don't work.

[hypnotoad72]

It's great other countries are being pulled out of poverty - but why at the cost of the US (appearingly) heading into poverty?

[gsc 99]

US is not entitled to all the natural resources of the world, lets be clear about that. Expense of US? How so? When the British came to India, it had biggest GDP in the world next only to China. The British left India after plundering all the wealth. That wealth and raw material from India fulled Industrial revolution in England. Nobody was lamenting then, oh the West is growing at the expsense of China and India.

Now that China and India are re-surging, there will changes in world economy. what you see now is just the start. It woule be better to go with the flow and learn from history then point-fingers at other