Delhi High Court stays GAIL officers going on strike

The Delhi High Court has restrained executives of state-run gas utility GAIL (India)Ltd from going on indefinite strike from tomorrow for higher wages.

"We had approached the Delhi High Court, which stayed the strike by GAIL officers," company chairman and managing director UD Choubey said in New Delhi.

GAIL executives, 2,200 in number, are part of the Oil Sector Officers Association (OSOA), which has given an indefinite strike call from Wednesday to protest against a pay increase smaller than what was demanded by the organisation.

A strike in the oil sector can cripple the already fragile economy and companies like GAIL had been approaching courts for restraint orders to keep fuel supply lines operating.

The High Court had earlier stayed a strike in fuel retailing companies - Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum.

Officers man the aviation refuelling points at all the airports in the country and their withdrawal from duty would within minutes disrupt air services. Similarly, officers are in charge of dispatching auto and cooking fuel as well as natural gas through pipelines.

A strike in GAIL, the monopoly gas distributor and marketer, would have impacted users in the power and fertiliser industries.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), the nation's largest oil and gas producer, is also moving court on Tuesday for a similar stay to keep its operations running.