Petroleum dealers threaten countrywide strike

The petroleum dealers have threatened to observe countrywide strike for demanding a hike in the commission from the government, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

The petroleum dealers threatened to shut petrol pumps across the country and demanded the government to restore 5% margin.

Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) Chairman Abdul Sami Khan said that they cannot continue sale of petroleum products with the current dealers’ margin.

READ: Petroleum dealers reject hike in POL prices

He announced that an emergency session of the dealers is summoned in Lahore on July 12 (tomorrow). Khan claimed that the sale of petroleum products was dropped by 40% due to smuggled petrol and diesel in the country.

Last year, the dealers had demanded to fix the dealer’s margin at 6% and threatened to observe a countrywide strike.

READ: Petroleum Ministry invites petrol dealers for talks after strike warning

Earlier, the oil marketing companies (OMCs) had written a letter to the Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC) to the federal government, demanding to set OMC’s margin petrol and for high-speed diesel (HSD) at Rs12 per litre.

It was learnt that the dealers’ commission had been increased by more than 25% to Rs7 per litre in 2022, witnessing a hike in OMC’s margins from Rs3 and Rs3.68 per litre on petrol and HSD to Rs6 per litre in November 2022.