|
Oil strike: Officers spurn offer; states asked to invoke NSA
New Delhi, Jan.6: Close on the heels of the Indian government today
asking its federal states to invoke Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA)
and National Security Act (NSA) to cripple the 'illegal' indefinite strike call
by executives of public sector undertakings in the oil sector from January 7,
the oil executives have rejected the government offer of talks on their wage
demands and will strike work indefinitely from tomorrow, even as Oil Minister
Murli Deora once again appealed to them to call off the agitation plans, , a PTI
report said. New Delhi drew contingency plans to keep plants running and got
private refiners commitments to maintain fuel supplies. It is to be noted that
HPCL officers were not part of the strike and in all likelihood those of Oil
India may also not strike work. Executives of BPCL and GAIL have assured that
operations would not be impacted. While state oil firms would initiate
disciplinary action including suspensions, states like
Assam
have started invoking ESMA that may lead to arrest of the 'adamant' leaders of
oil PSU executives union, which has refused to talk to the Government on their
demand for higher wages.
The Oil Sector Officers Association (OSOA), which claims to represent executives
at 14 state-run firms, is protesting against a pay increase smaller than it had
demanded. "We are only being offered verbal assurances and there is nothing
concrete," OSOA President Amit Kumar said. Mr Kumar, who on Monday met BJP's
Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani on the issue, said no talks were planned
with the government. "There is no point talking to Deora or the Petroleum
Ministry as they have nothing to offer us."
Simultaneously, companies
like ONGC initiated contempt proceedings against its executives, who are part of
Oil Sector Officers Association, which has been restrained by the Delhi High
Court from going on strike before the next hearing in February. "I have myself
invited OSOA leadership for talks and have assured them that a high level
ministers' committee headed by Home Minister P Chidambaram will give its report
on the issues raised in 30 days but they have refused to come," Petroleum
Minister Murli Deora told newspersons here.
Indian Oil chief Sarthak Behuria said aviation services were likely to be
affected first because of the strike and arrangements had been made to deploy
senior officials at all ATF fuelling facilities in the country. "We have enough
stocks to last 30 days but the problems is delivery," he said. To keep
refineries and oilfield operations running, Territorial Army was being deployed,
while Reliance Industries and Essar Oil had committed to supply petrol, diesel
and LPG in case of shortages, Petroleum Secretary R S Pandey said.
Deora asked executives not to strike as the nation is going through a difficult
economic phase even as it grappled with terrorism originating from foreign soil.
"A strike in the oil sector can cripple the economy and cause severe hardship to
citizens," he said. "We are not vindictive against our own officers. All we want
is that the economy is not be impacted and citizens are spared of any hardship."
He has written to all the chief ministers, asking them to invoke Essential
Supplies Maintenance Act (ESMA) to ensure that auto and
cooking fuel supplies are not choked. Punitive National Security Act (NSA)
would be invoked in states that do not have ESMA. Also, contempt proceedings
against OSOA office bearers has been initiated in high courts, which had barred
the body from striking till next date of hearing in February.
ICICI Bank seeks shareholders nod for management changes
Mumbai, Jan.6: The country's top private sector
lender ICICI Bank is seeking approval from its shareholders for the
appointments of Chanda Kochhar as CEO and MD and K V Kamath as the non-executive
Chairman from May 1, reports PTI referring to a bank notice to its
shareholders. The shareholders have been asked to vote on the proposals, which
were approved by the board at the meeting on December 19, through postal ballot
by February 11 and the results would be announced on February 13, the
bank said in a notice to its shareholders. As per the
proposals, Kamath would replace N Vaghul as the bank's non-executive chairman,
after he retires on completion of his current term on April 30.
Another proposal calls for extending Kochhar's term as Joint MD and Chief
Financial Officer for a month from April 1 to April 30, and then appoint her as
the bank's CEO and Managing Director in place of Kamath, from May 1, 2009 to
March 31, 2014.
Kamath is being appointed the bank's non-executive chairman for five years from
May 1, 2009 to April
30, 2014. The bank has also sought the shareholders' approval for the
remuneration and other benefits to be paid to Kamath and Kochhar in their new
roles.
FIEO
apprehends 10 million job loss
New Delhi,
Jan 6: Ten million people in the export sector will be jobless by March this
year, as Indian goods find fewer buyers in the international market which is
battling the worst crisis since 1929. “There will be 10 million job losses by
March," Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President A Sakthivel
told newspersons here today, according to a PTI report. Indian exports, which
account for just about 20 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product, are
a highly labour-intensive activity, employing 150 million people.
India’s exports, which posted a robust 30.9% growth rate in the first half of
fiscal, contracted by 12.1% in October, for the first time in the last five
years. The negative trend continued in November, when exports fell to $ 11.5
billion from $ 12.7 billion. The data for December are yet to be released. "I
can safely say that negative growth trends will continue in December and in the
next couple of months... I hope we will end the fiscal with exports of about USD
175-180 billion," Sakthivel said. FIEO yesterday said there was no "serious
consideration" for exporters in the measures announced by the government last
week.
The target for the current fiscal is 4 200 billion while exports totalled about
$ 160 billion in 2007-08.
Europe
and North America,
which account for 37 per cent of
India's merchandise
exports, are reeling under recession and slowdown. The FIEO chief said he did
not see positive trends before the fourth quarter of the calendar 2009, "though
a complete U-turn may take a little longer", he said. |
