Petroleum dealers throw their weight behind Petrol Pump Owners Association strike call

Despite the fact that Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik extended an olive branch to the Petrol Pump Owners Association (PPOA) and invited them for talks, petroleum dealers from across the country on Wednesday announced their support for the strike, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The decision was taken at a meeting of petroleum dealers.  

The dealers announced that from 6:00 AM tomorrow, petrol pumps will remain closed for 24 hours. 

They threatened the government with increasing the time period of their strike in cases their demands were not met. 

Speaking on the occasion, Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Chief Adviser Malik Khuda Bux said that revising the prices of petroleum products on a daily basis was not acceptable to the dealers. “The prices must be revised after one month,” he demanded.

Bux said that dealers were being paid only one per cent in commission. “We have reservations over that.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik again invited the Petrol Pump Owners Association (PPOA) for talks.

The minister said that due to the war in the Middle East, the prices of petroleum products were changing daily.

He said that the government was trying to broker a ceasefire between the US and Iran so that smooth supply of petrol could be ensured.

The All-Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners Association on Tuesday announced a nationwide strike after negotiations with the federal petroleum minister failed to resolve a dispute over dealers’ commissions and the government’s fuel-pricing policy.

Association Chairman Humayun Khan announced the strike at a news conference alongside Vice Chairman Noman Ali Butt and provincial office-bearers.

Khan said the association had held negotiations with the petroleum minister earlier in the day but had failed to secure assurances on its key demands.

“We announce a nationwide strike,” he said, adding that petrol pump owners across the country were facing serious operational and financial difficulties.

The association demanded that dealers’ commissions be linked proportionately to petroleum prices and revised monthly.

Khan said the existing commission structure was no longer sufficient to cover rising business costs.

He also rejected the proposed daily revision of petroleum prices, describing the mechanism as inconsistent and impractical.

Khan said the presence of the government, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority and oil marketing companies in the pricing process had created confusion instead of addressing the concerns of fuel retailers.

He accused the government of failing to resolve the problems faced by business owners and said petrol pump dealers had not been consulted before the new pricing policy was formulated.

“It is regrettable that we are not taken into confidence when policies affecting our businesses are prepared,” he said.

The association maintained that frequent price changes would create accounting, inventory and operational difficulties for petrol stations and could also confuse consumers.

Petrol pump owners have previously demanded that their margin be converted from a fixed per-litre amount to a percentage of the fuel price, arguing that their expenses rise whenever petroleum prices and other operating costs increase.

Reporter: Kawish Memon