Petrol pump owners announce nationwide strike after talks over daily pricing fail

ISLAMABAD: The All Pakistan Petrol Pumps Owners Association (APPPOA) on Tuesday announced a nationwide strike from Wednesday night after negotiations with the government over daily petroleum pricing failed.

Speaking to the media after a meeting with the government’s team, led by Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, APPPOA representatives said their hour-long talks over the daily fuel pricing mechanism had “failed” to reach an agreement and that they were therefore left with no option but to go on an indefinite strike, as it was an issue of survival for them.

The APPPOA delegation comprised Chairman Humayun Khan, Vice Chairman Nauman Ali Butt and other officials.

Speaking to the media, Butt said the government’s plan to revise petroleum prices on a daily basis was “unacceptable to petrol pump dealers and unworkable”.

He said their main demand was that fuel prices should be determined on a monthly basis, adding that their longstanding demand for an increase in dealer commission had also remained pending, as the commission had remained frozen for the past three years.

Meanwhile, Khan said petrol pump owners were already facing “severe financial challenges” due to various pressures from the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), oil marketing companies (OMCs) and government policies.

“The daily pricing mechanism created confusion and destroyed our businesses already running at thin margins,” he said, adding that the daily mechanism favoured OMCs who could delay deliveries in case of declining prices and book upliftment with advance billing.

Khan said it was “ironic” that the government had taken a major decision without consulting key stakeholders, reflecting the exclusion of small private businesses from policymaking and a lack of understanding of ground realities.

“The APPPOA has decided to observe a nationwide strike from midnight on Wednesday, which means around 15,000 petrol pumps across Pakistan will remain closed on Thursday,” he said.

The APPPOA chairman demanded that the government reconsider the daily fuel pricing system, increase dealers’ commissions and include petrol pump owners in policy consultations.

Separately, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) also announced that it would decide on Wednesday whether to go on strike after a meeting of its executive body.

PPDA Senior Adviser Malik Khuda Bukhsh told Dawn that daily fuel pricing was “not possible and unacceptable”.

Interestingly, a statement issued by the Petroleum Division said its talks with the PPDA had been successful.

However, Khuda Bukhsh said the petroleum minister had asked them to meet the Ogra leadership and explain their viewpoint.

He said the PPDA team later informed Ogra of the challenges. According to him, the Ogra team acknowledged that the decision to introduce daily pricing had been taken in haste and sought the dealers’ input.

Khuda Bakhsh added that the dealers’ demands were explained in detail to Ogra, which sought seven days to convey those concerns to the government and get back to the PPDA, urging the association to remain patient instead of considering a strike.

“The PPDA team told Ogra that the association’s executive committee would meet on Wednesday to decide whether to go on strike, as the delegation was not authorised to make such a decision,” he said.

The Petroleum Division’s statement, on the other hand, claimed that the PPDA delegation appreciated the government’s effective management of petroleum product supplies during the challenges arising from the Strait of Hormuz crisis and “assured the minister of the association’s full support for the government’s policy”.

The minister briefed the delegation on Monday about the transition from weekly to daily petroleum price announcements, explaining that the new mechanism would be based on a seven-day rolling average of international prices.

He emphasised that the previous weekly pricing mechanism had also been based on a seven-day average of international prices and that the new system simply updated prices on a daily basis to enhance transparency, reduce market distortions and better reflect international price movements. “The PPDA expressed its support for the proposed mechanism,” the statement claimed.

The PPDA, however, published an appeal in newspapers calling on the government to “review” the 24-hour price adjustment mechanism. ...