Half-day strike shuts down petrol pumps nationwide
Among the demands are the setting of the oil sales commission at a minimum of 7%, keeping lease fees for land from the Roads and Highways Department unchanged, and allowing lease renewals of pump-connecting roads upon submission of the prescribed pay order
Petrol pumps across the country, including in Dhaka, will remain closed from 6am to 2pm today (25 May) as the Bangladesh Petrol Pump and Tank-Lorry Owners' Unity Council observes a half-day work stoppage to press home their 10-point demand, reports Samakal.
The council, a coalition of the Bangladesh Petrol Pump Owners' Association and the Bangladesh Tank-Lorry Owners' Association, is demanding, among other things, that the oil sales commission be increased from the current 5% to 7%.
Md Mizanur Rahman, joint convener of the Unity Council, said the strike began at 6am as previously announced in protest of the authorities' failure to meet their demands.
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The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation has called a meeting at 10am to address the matter. The council will determine its next course of action based on the outcome of this meeting.
Among the demands are the setting of the oil sales commission at a minimum of 7%, keeping lease fees for land from the Roads and Highways Department unchanged, and allowing lease renewals of pump-connecting roads upon submission of the prescribed pay order.
They are also demanding that the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution verify only dispensing units, and that underground tank calibration, dip rod testing fees and registration requirements be cancelled.
Additionally, the council calls for the cancellation of licensing provisions from environmental, factory, and fire service authorities; a stop to illegal fuel sales through unauthorised setups; and a halt to direct oil sales by marketing companies without using dealerships.
They also want the process for renewing and issuing tank-lorry driver licences to be simplified, checks on documents to be completed at depot gates rather than on roads, and inter-district route permits to be issued for all tank-lorries.
At a press conference on 11 May, the council warned that if their demands were not met by 24 May, they would observe a symbolic strike on 25 May. As declared, the extraction, transport and marketing of fuel oil have been suspended during the work stoppage.
However, aviation fuel transport continues to ensure Hajj and international flights remain unaffected. Fuel supply to police vehicles is being maintained by select pumps with prior agreements. Ambulances and fire service vehicles are also not affected.
