Petrol pump owners call off strike

The strike called by a faction of petrol pump owners has been called off. This decision was taken by the Petrol Pump Owners Association and Tanker Owners Association after a meeting with Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) on Sunday night.

Secretary general of Petrol Pump Owners Association Mizanur Rahman confirmed the withdrawal of the strike. He said, discussions have been held with BPC. They have assured to accept the demand within this month. Hence the ongoing programme has been postponed till 30 September.

Members of these two associations purchase fuel oil (diesel, petrol, octane) from government agencies, transport it to various depots and petrol pumps and sell it to consumers.

The two associations had set a deadline of 31 August to fulfill the three-point demand. One of these demands has been met. However, their main demand is to increase the commission on fuel oil. They have been making this demand since 2016.

They held a strike in the release, transportation and sale of fuel oil across the country from Sunday morning to realise their demands. As a result, oil supply from various depots of the country was stopped for the whole day. Despite being sold at petrol pumps, there were shortages of oil in many areas.