The employees of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) on Wednesday halted the distribution of petroleum products arguing that the state-owned fuel monopolist´s decision to distribute bonus to its staffers is justifiable.

They resorted to protest after the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority detained three senior NOC employees, including acting managing director Suresh Kumar Agrawal, for distributing bonus to employees flouting the anti-graft body´s direction.

The state-owned entity has accumulated a loss of Rs 27 billion and outstanding loans worth Rs 28 billion. Organizing a press conference here on Wednesday, three employees´ unions of NOC also warned of a series of protests if their detained colleagues are not released. Leaders of the three trade unions had decided to halt petroleum supplies at a meeting held on Wednesday morning.

The employees on the day padlocked NOC´s central office at Babarmahal. Similarly, they neither received supplies nor distributed fuel to NOC´s dealers. The employees, however, resumed supplies after 3 pm after officials of the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) warned them that supply disruption might send a negative message.

Speaking at the press conference, employee leader Devi Prasad Neupane said NOC distributed bonus to its employees as per the existing legal provisions. “The decision was endorsed by the NOC board,” he argued. He further said they were compelled to announce protest as their colleagues have been arrested while distributing bonus as per the existing laws.

He also said the CIAA has demoralized the employees by arresting their colleagues. “The issue of bonus distribution has been blown out of proportion,” he added. Though NOC has been posting a loss for the past few years, its management had decided to distribute Rs 198.8 million in bonus from the profit generated in 2008/09. The amount is equivalent to NOC´s total salary expenditure of about 17 months.

The board had also earmarked Rs 184.89 million as a housing allowance for the employees. But CIAA had directed the NOC board not to distribute bonus or allowance. However, the NOC management had decided to distribute the bonus coming under pressure from the employees in June this year.

Plagued by corruption, mismanagement and soaring losses due to skyrocketing prices of petroleum products in the international market, NOC has been suffering a monthly loss of around Rs 1.62 billion.

Published on: 26 September 2013 | Republica