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Oil exploration and production is managed by men sitting in glass walled A/C rooms. Drilling
for oil is by magic and the offshore activities are like celebrating honeymoon in floating
cottages...hitherto undiscovered travesty of truth now goes to the credit of Zee TV primarily and
then those competed with Zee for TRP in the same coin. No words are sufficient to condemn this
sacrilege of the sacrifices of our oil men, hundreds who sacrificed their lives, two generations
who served the country in dense jungle of Assam and in the desert terrains of Thar, serving,
retired and above all those who have sacrificed their lives in service of the nation. We, the
ONGC people are deeply pained at the irresponsible onslaught of the media on our existence,
sacrifice and service since oil was struck at Makum, deep inside the dense jungles of Assam in
1867. We are to reiterate that the sagas scripted in blood cannot be washed away by the crocodile
tears of falsehood shed by the media to sensationalize the strike by men of oil industry.
Desa-drohi (enemies of the country), one of the channel kept up the shouting while the other
staffed by men who have not seen grease and weary of sweating screamed of seeing White
Collar Terrorists. And then came the description of blackmailers from the black media.. and thus
unfolded the horror movie ‘Sansani’ scripted by media for the public. Shall any honourable
media managed by sensible men or women stoop down to such levels of dirty campaign?
Are We Desadrohis?
We are to request all lovers of our great country to take an objective look at what this dubious
channel had propagated on 7-9 January 2009. Can a media be so ignorant as to announce that all
the oil company executives work in A/C rooms and draw a six figure salary per month? Can a go
into reporting sensational lines without even caring to know as to what is OSOA and what it
means by Oil Sector? The term Oil Sector in India means an Umbrella given by the Government
of India for both the Up-stream and Down-stream oil companies. Grouping together of such
diverse entities as Up-stream and Down-stream Oil Cos for pay and perks is a reflection of the
wisdom that has ruled India during the last six decades. Upstream companies ONGC and Oil
India are engaged in the most strenuous task of exploration and production while the
Downstream companies undertake refining and marketing of both the indigenous and the
imported Oil. In terms of scientific & technical enterprise involved, exploration and production
involves ‘gambling’ investments as well as adoption and application of advanced technology in
competition to the private and multinational players. Toil across Jwālāmukhi to Karaikkal and
Bhavanagar to Sivasagar that Geological Survey began in 1947 was taken up with a new vigor
by the newly formed ONGC in 1956 and since then it has been a saga of sweating out the blood
in the most inhospitable circumstances. ONGC offices had been working in thatched sheds for
major part of its 50 years of activity and even now a great majority of our executives are workers
sweating out in the sun and pinching cold under the threat of many hazards – ranging from H2S
and other emissions, poor safety and security conditions of offshore and onshore, hostile
Lest We Forget...
Unfortunately we are in a country where everything is priced. We can't express our opinion. We
cannot tell the public our side of the story. To do that we will have to pay the Media. They are
more obsessed with making a sensational story out of someone else's grievance. They do not
want to project the correct picture. They will make an innocent look like a criminal. They will
make a habitual offender, look like a saint. These people are worse than the most corrupt and
horrible black coats and politicians. Media has become the most dirty and business of blackmail
in the country.
May be what we did was wrong. We had another choice to make the deaf ears open? Anyone
tried to find out the cause of the strike and the reasons for the failure of the long drawn
persuasive process with the MoP&NG? Strike calls were withdrawn several times in the last two
and half years. The people who mattered made several assurances and cheated us every time.
Even in this last attempt, notice was given several days in advance. But less than a week before
the D-day only the government machinery could wake up to appoint a committee. And they were
to study again for another month. Given the dominance of the bureaucracy and their habituation
to keep gold and pay silver to others, any damn fool can be sure that the “Babus” will not allow
them to deliver a favorable decision to us.
Coming to what the media was talking the other day: We get more than what the armed forces
get. Oil industry and Armed forces are two entirely different regimes that smacks off any
comparison in terms of pay structure. If not for any other reason, the perks and post-retirement
benefits in Armed forces are a class of its own and same can be spoken of their living style,
social life and other facilities. Can any Media place before the country the cost to the India Inc
per month for the military officers? And we all know the slogan of our late Prime Minister, Lal
Bahadur Shastry – Jai Jawan: Jai Kisan – can we ignore the claims of the Kisan for a honourable
living?
We the ONGC officers are to make this challenge before the Government of India:
In states like Bengal and Kerala every week there is a bandh call and one or the other of the
political parties play this game to the ruin of the business and the public. None shed tears for the
hapless Indians getting doomed by politicians. We are blamed that we held the nation to Ransom
from the moment of beginning of the strike itself. In fact our fight was to save this nation. Issue
was not of the demand of higher wages by oil sector employees. Issue is the fair and judicious
implementation of the VIth Pay Commission across the different sectors Government, PSU
categories etc with due consideration for the established practices of earlier revisions 1992 and
1997. Being fair and judicious is the hallmark of good governance that a democratic Government
seeks to achieve through all the constitutional provisions available. Can the highly qualified
executives of the premiere Indian PSU be so irrational ask to raise a ‘funny’ or exorbitant
demand? Shall the 50,000 executives of the 14 organizations (including 5 of the 9 Gems or
navaratnas) take on a flight of fantasy to beat the GoI at this critical juncture after 26/11?
We leave the conclusions to the objective minds of the Indian Citizen. What was not said by the
media and babus may also be noted:
1. Our Company has taken the financial burden of the high oil prices/subsidies in all these
years, even after the dismantling of APM.
2. On the other hand the Babus and Netas are trying to kill these very companies by destroying
the level playing field by covert means.
3. Poor wages insufficient to have a dignified living in a society infected by IT and Media mean
have forced many of the talented men to seek greener pastures. Attrition rate may kindly be
noted.
4. If the trend continues, it will not be long before these companies shall be deprived of their
talent and the fields and established reserves be entrusted to private players. ONGC will be
destroyed and that apparently is the agenda of some political masters.
The government is making a false propaganda that entry level PSU officers would get a salary of
Rs 1,00,000 per month. As per Department of Public Enterprises guidelines issued, gross
emoluments of an entry level officer comes out to be Rs 38,317 if posting is in remote locations.
This shows that the entry level officers would get Rs 4,000 5,000 less if posting is not in remote
location. We do get house rent allowance up to Rs 10,000 in metros but that is a taxable perk.
Whereas in the case of the bureaucrats who live in posh localities of the capital not tax is levied
for the palatial accommodation given along with servants and servant’s quarters.
Then there was media scream that we are paid 2 lacs to 4 lacs a month. Most of us even after
working for 20 years take home a salary of not more than 30000/- a month. Our contemporaries
in college who joined the private company are receiving no less than a salary of 3 lacs a month.
Even though parity of pay structure had been our slogan, we did compromise to the maximum
and what we sought were only ornamental corrections to Rao Committee recommendations. We
seek a salary sufficient for dignified living in this era of liberalization and globalization. Babus
cannot continue to feed us on peanuts. PSUs had been a dream of Jawaharlal Nehru as temples of
India’s self-sufficiency. But in the changed social milieu of poor Indians surpassing the rich in
Swiss records, we have come to be pitted against capitalist rulers who wish to suppress the
workmen with brute force. We are aware of the circumstances after 26/11 and this is not the time
to seek sacrifice of our brothers for pay and perks. They have withdrawn and not surrendered.
We salute the poor Indians in uniform pitted against the terrorists and Pakistan.
We are not demoralized or fallen into silence of being cynical. We have returned to work to
make our resolve stronger and to be in guard against those who would like to sell ONGC and
India to business houses. We shall strive for a greater day for the PSUs and shall stay loyal to
this great Nation.
LONG LIVE ONGC LONG LIVE INDIA